Boise River opens July 1 to floaters with new regulations and recommendations in place
The official opening of the Boise River for float season will start Wednesday, according to a Facebook post by Float the Boise River, but floaters might notice a few changes.
While the Boise River is never technically closed, this official announcement means that Barber Park parking fees, equipment rentals, shuttle service and snack shack will be operational throughout the summer as long as park visitors and floaters follow all newly posted protocols and recommendations to reduce community spread of the coronavirus.
“Masks are encouraged for people who pull through. They are not required, but our employees will be wearing them,” said Scott Koberg, the director of Ada County Parks and Waterways. “If folks are coming to Barber Park and renting equipment, we have an extensive line-management system with marks for 6 feet of spacing.”
According to Koberg, everything that the agency manages — including parking, equipment rental and shuttle — will have some form of requirement or recommendation.
Masks will be provided and recommended on each shuttle, which will operate at a lower capacity and be sanitized after each trip. Each driver will have a mask.
Ada County reported a record number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the second time in a week with 187 cases on Friday. With the recent rise in cases, Central District Health moved Ada County back to Stage 3 of Gov. Brad Little’s Idaho Rebounds plan.
“The status and risk of COVID-19 transmission in our community is ever changing,” Float the Boise River’s Facebook post said. “... All park visitors and floaters should practice 6-feet physical distancing whenever possible.”
Float the River Boise also announced earlier this week that guests must be ready to “show up and blow up” their floating devices or rent since the Barber Park air stations will not operate during the 2020 season to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
All rental equipment will be sanitized, a normal practice for life vests that will now be applied to all rentals.
According to the Facebook post, the Boise River was able to open after a consultation with and approval from several community partners, including Central District Health, the Board of Ada County Commissioners and the Boise City Mayor’s Office.
Koberg said people may come into an environment where they might encounter more people than they have the past few months and they need to be responsible.
“Ultimately, what we really want people to know is we will do what we can. But it really comes down to the floaters and park visitors. They need to be responsible for their behavior and the park and for taking responsibility for wearing masks and distancing,” Koberg said. “There is always the chance that we will observe behaviors that won’t allow us to keep doing what we are doing.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
