ACHD's Road Wizard
Sunday, April 7, 2019
ACHD's recent attempts to prohibit on-street parking before street sweeping; sweeping Five Mile Road between Overland and Franklin roads relatively easy; small swimming-pool-sized pothole on Floating Feather Road at Horseshoe Bend Road; concrete curb causes turning trouble at Franklin and Ten Mile roads
The Road Wizard Replies
Dear Road Wizard: Whatever happened to the idea of requiring on-street parkers to occasionally move their vehicles so ACHD street sweepers could do a better job of keeping our streets clean and our storm drains unclogged? Our East and North End streets are choked with vehicles that never move, and by other obstructions like boats, RVs, trailers, and piles of lumber that prevent regular street maintenance and make street sweeping a hit-or-miss proposition. Residents are using public streets as long-term storage lockers. Please, some help for those of us who live with leaf-choked gutters and storm drains every spring, fall, and winter.
David
Road Wizard:
It's like vacuuming a dirty carpet but never cleaning under the furniture. The effort to get people off the couch and move their vehicles for sweeping is riddled with road blocks beyond old travel trailers.
Two autumns ago, ACHD placed temporary "no parking" signs and provided additional outreach to try to clear vehicles in advance of fall leaf sweeping, but there was limited compliance with the restrictions. It takes a lot of time and effort to place, move, and then remove these signs as sweeper trucks progress, so the effort needs to be worthwhile. And weather delays could extend the length of no-parking requirements along the routes if sweepers don't get there as scheduled.
Another challenge is that ACHD has no enforcement authority over parking matters. Coordination has to occur with local police and city code enforcement. This would be on top of the other external coordination efforts, which include working around trash pickup days, delivery services, and city-approved residential parking permits.
Regarding vehicles and materials that are left in on-street parking spots, Boise limits that to 24 hours. But it is often up to residents to report violators because areas outside of downtown are generally not part of routine parking patrols.
Dear Road Wizard: Can you please send the street sweeping crew out to sweep the north and southbound lanes of Five Mile Road between Overland and Franklin roads? Debris and gravel are in the bike lanes on both sides of the road.
Bill
Road Wizard:
There is far less on-street parking in this area, and ACHD got the sweeping done.
Dear Road Wizard: While traveling by bike or car eastbound on Floating Feather Road in Eagle and needing to go right at Horseshoe Bend, there is a pothole the size of a small swimming pool at that corner. Either a cyclist or group of riders is going to have a major injury here, or a vehicle is going to lose a wheel. Can someone please look into filling this hazard?
Kris and Mike
Road Wizard:
Maybe more kiddy-pool size, but ACHD patched it during "Pothole Days."
Dear Road Wizard: While making a left turn eastbound onto Franklin Road while coming from the north on Ten Mile Road from the inside left-hand turn lane, you encounter a concrete curb that sticks out into traffic. The location of the curb makes it hard for vehicles, especially pickups pulling trailers, to make the sharp turn. Could the concrete curb be shortened a few feet back to the east?
DW
Road Wizard:
This sticks out like a sore thumb! Raised medians of this type are often shorter. But it's more of an inconvenience than a safety issue, so while cutting it back would be helpful, it's not considered urgent.
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Road Wizard
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Garden City, ID 83714
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