Boise Development Thread - Page 177

boisecynic · #**3521** Posted: **Dec 27, 2008, 2:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by City Of Trees

Several other cities' inner downtown grids are also skewed (Portland and Seattle come to mind). I want to say that maybe it had something to do with the magnetic north pole, but I may have just made that up.

Also, in your first picture, it looks like they've implemented a four way stop at 12th and Bannock. Is that true?

Yup, I thought it was temporary due to construction at the Boise Plaza parking structure, but they've planted those stop signs firmly into concrete.

EDIT: Oops, new page, here's one of the solstice-sunrise-aligns-to-grid pics again. Two more on previous page.

Cottonwood · #**3522** Posted: **Dec 29, 2008, 4:18 PM**

Downtown design news from the Boise Weekly.

http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/...d=oid%3A319939

boisecynic · #**3523** Posted: **Dec 29, 2008, 5:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

Downtown design news from the Boise Weekly.

http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/...d=oid%3A319939

No comment, Cottonwood?

The problem isn't just the design of The Grove Hotel and similar buildings, it's Front Street itself. 5 lanes of noisy speeding traffic isn't conducive to a pedestrian friendly atmosphere, no matter what the design of those buildings. At first thought, the sidewalks should have been wider, but how wide CAN they be? It's a problem considering the very small size of city blocks in Boise. Perhaps mandated use of cantilevers like The Aspen is an option to explore.

As I've written before and Shealy once proposed, the City of Boise should look into burying Front through downtown. Why the City is looking into a street car system before burying Front is beyond me.

Cottonwood · #**3524** Posted: **Dec 29, 2008, 5:58 PM**

My idea would be to eliminate a lane on Front between Capitol and 9th, on the South Side--the BoDo side, and turn it into an extra wide sidewalk with extensive landscaping. This would also give people exiting the City Centre parking garage onto Front a little more room to merge.
I think the sidewalk on the North Side next to The Grove Hotel is wide enough but could maybe have more flower pots and more trees.

I don't really like the fact that Front Street is so wide, but at 5 lanes it is still a skinnier street than similar streets in other cities. The lanes on Front are pretty tight. But, I agree that burying Front through downtown would be nice and what used to be street level could be turned into block after block of parks similar to the set up of a street in downtown Portland....I can't think of the name of that street.

Boiseguy · #**3525** Posted: **Dec 29, 2008, 11:52 PM**

burrying front and myrtle streets is the best option for long term planning IMO. I mean it will be expensive and a huge mess for a year or two while it's being done.. but imagine the headaches in trying to properly address the issue when 100,000 people are commuting down that corridor for work. in 15 or 20 years.
Having both streets burried while going through downtown will also allow for the stop lights to not effect getting in and out easily.
Burrying the corridor to go under Americana, 13th, all the way to atleast 5th street would be a huge improvement for vibrancy.. But you also have to look at capital blvd and the massive amount of traffic that turns from capital onto front. Having the left two lanes of capital be burried as well to merge down onto front below grade would make for directing traffic out and into the city core.. without stops.. and also allowing for more pedestrian crossings across capital...

Evo5Boise · #**3526** Posted: **Dec 30, 2008, 4:05 AM**

I agree with you guys. Burying would be the way to go. That would be a huge project. But they do certainly have to start thinking of the transportation issues that will come with more years of growth. Boise is growing up. They need to realize that. For many years watching this area grow, it always seemed to me that Boise was stuck trying to stay a small city. Now its getting late in the game and they are getting behind in some areas..

Visualize · #**3527** Posted: **Dec 30, 2008, 4:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

Downtown design news from the Boise Weekly.

http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/...d=oid%3A319939

It's great that someone is heading the charge for better design and development. It's no suprise that most are unhappy with recent development downtown but until someone in a position to be heard did something about it not much was going to change.

In the artice Sarah Schafer, Boise's design review and historic preservation manager, said,

Quote:

In drafting the guidelines, the city's objectives will include having buildings address the street by creating more pedestrian interaction, having an open second level, and integration of new designs with the historic character of downtown.

Does anyone know exactly what she meant by "open second level"? She could be referring to an open entry with 20+ foot ceilings but I am thinking that she might have meant buildings similar in design to where the Piper Pub is on Eighth and Main and The Balcony which is on the other side. I have long thought that more buildings of this nature would be great and foster an even greater restaurant and bar scene that could offer a view and provide some protection from the street. I thouroughly enjoy the restaurants that are street level on Eighth but having a homeless guy peer over your shoulder, shaking his ratty pompadour as he walks feet from your table is less than appealing when at a nice restaurant. The Emo's along there aren't much better. Looking down on the street life from the comfort of a balcony is a much more desireable location to me. A mix of both would be best, creating very unique three dimensional vibrancy.

Contrary to Boisecynic I believe that the streetcar should come before lowering Front because doing Front first might scare off developers for several years while the work is done and not necessarily offer any marketable advantages. If the streetcar was developed first it would give developers something to work off of and market to while Front Street was under construction another few years after the streetcars completion. In other words, getting the streetcar stimulus item underway first is a better option in my opinion, helping to avoid or lessen the lapse in development that this monumental construction project would probably create. Just a thought...

Cottonwood · #**3528** Posted: **Dec 30, 2008, 4:36 PM**

Does anyone know the status of the new transport hub the city is building downtown with federal money? The last time I remember reading about this project they had narrowed the location down to the parking lot adjacent to The Record Exchange and the Royal Plaza and that it would be built in 2009.

anyone???

boisecynic · #**3529** Posted: **Dec 30, 2008, 5:09 PM**

The last paragraph of the Boise Weekly article:

"I think there's a great potential in Boise to create a great downtown," Stastny said. "But you have to allow the creativity of people to create a city instead of saying 'This is the way it's going to be.'"

This made me think of the Foster's Building, and the short section about Sarah Schafer, Boise's historic preservation manager. Historic preservationists mandated that Foster's be saved. Classic government meddling. Saving the Foster's building added considerably to the costs of design and construction of the Bodo parking garage. So how did we benefit? It is not very visible from anywhere. And to this day it remains at least partially vacant.

I agree there should be some sort of design standards, but forcing property owners to save every old building is not one of the gov't intervention policies I agree with.

I feel strange about all the parking garages also. If we build them they will come. They will HAVE to come. Those structures aren't cheap, and they need cars to use them to pay back the investors.

boisecynic · #**3530** Posted: **Dec 30, 2008, 5:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

Does anyone know the status of the new transport hub the city is building downtown with federal money? The last time I remember reading about this project they had narrowed the location down to the parking lot adjacent to The Record Exchange and the Royal Plaza and that it would be built in 2009.

anyone???

I believe this is the latest news:

October 8, 2008:

Quote:

Charles Trainor gave an update on the TVHCTS. Charles noted that it has three components, the multimodalcenter in downtown Boise, the downtown circulator system, and the rail corridor. There is $9 million to build the multimodal center. The site that has been selected for the multimodal center is bounded between IdahoStreet and Bannock and on the east side of 11 th Street. It’s the ½ block that sits next to the Empire Building that currently has the drive-up banking facilities on it. This site is desirable to the City of Boise and Valley Regional Transit because it is geographically closer to downtown employment. The Documented CategoricalExclusion environmental paperwork was turned in August, 2008. In September, 2008 the Federal HighwayAdministration requested a full environmental assessment. A public comment opportunity is required, andmore detail about the building design, landscaping, and pedestrian treatments are required. The fullenvironmental analysis will delay the process about four months.

The downtown circulator portion of the study has been transferred to the City of Boise and Capital City Development Corporation who will be working with the downtown businesses to develop a financial plan tofund the circulator as there is currently no funding available.

The rail corridor portion of the study has not begun as there is no funding available

Source: http://www.compassidaho.org/document...utes100808.pdf

I'm guessing no news on this project until February at the earliest.

Cottonwood · #**3531** Posted: **Dec 30, 2008, 5:41 PM**

Nice...thanks Boisecynic. I was thinking of the wrong parking lot.

On another note here is an update for a new comedy club coming to downtown in the Mode Building:

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/200...ves_no_i_swear

Boiseguy · #**3532** Posted: **Jan 1, 2009, 8:29 PM**

It's fantastic to see so many new ventures coming downtown... The only thing that has me a bit concerned is the locally owned restaurants dying out.. and being replaced with chains...

Cottonwood · #**3533** Posted: **Jan 2, 2009, 3:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boiseguy

It's fantastic to see so many new ventures coming downtown... The only thing that has me a bit concerned is the locally owned restaurants dying out.. and being replaced with chains...

It's a downer that some of the local downtown restaurants have closed but once the economy turns new restaurants will start opening again. The same thing happened downtown after 9-11 when the national economy tanked, I remember several really cool places folded but then within a few years there were tons of new restaurants opening once again in downtown. There is too much of a local culinary scene and creative people and chefs in Boise to give in to half assed national chains. This is one of the reasons our downtown rocks compared to some nearby similar and larger cities downtowns ..because of our scene here and the creativity and entrepreneurship which exists in Boise.
Spaghetti Factory might be considered a good addition to downtown by some, but I think of it more of a place where suburban families head to on Family Home Evening night.
There are still a lot more locally owned restaurants downtown than chains and it had better stay that way

Cottonwood · #**3534** Posted: **Jan 2, 2009, 3:41 PM**

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepie...ry/620210.html

Mid-Michigan · #**3535** Posted: **Jan 3, 2009, 5:09 AM**

Appears Boise, Idaho is getting smaller on the map. I had a hard time finding it on google map, only to know it's no longer a big red dot anymore. That would be Nampa and Meridian.

Boiseguy · #**3536** Posted: **Jan 3, 2009, 5:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mid-Michigan

Appears Boise, Idaho is getting smaller on the map. I had a hard time finding it on google map, only to know it's no longer a big red dot anymore. That would be Nampa and Meridian.

must be a big red dot conspiracy...

BoiseAirport · #**3537** Posted: **Jan 4, 2009, 12:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mid-Michigan

Appears Boise, Idaho is getting smaller on the map. I had a hard time finding it on google map, only to know it's no longer a big red dot anymore. That would be Nampa and Meridian.

Haha, I noticed that too...

Anthony

Boiseguy · #**3538** Posted: **Jan 4, 2009, 7:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

Haha, I noticed that too...

Anthony

maybe it's a meridian/nampa conspiracy.. they like to take up all the vacant land... seems only logical that they'd like to take all the big red dots.. hehe

TANGELD_SLC · #**3539** Posted: **Jan 5, 2009, 1:46 AM**

Does Boise have massive city blocks like Salt Lake does?

el conquistador · #**3540** Posted: **Jan 5, 2009, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TANGELD_SLC

Does Boise have massive city blocks like Salt Lake does?

No, the blocks are pretty small, really.