Two downtown Boise one-way streets might not be that way much longer. Here’s why
Beneficial conversations are known as two-way streets. Those kinds of talks among the city of Boise, the Ada County Highway District, Boise’s urban renewal agency and area businesses could result in the end of a pair of one-way streets downtown.
Boise’s City Council and ACHD commissioners met Thursday and said they are making plans to convert 5th and 6th streets from one-way to two-way. As it stands now, 5th Street is northbound only and 6th Street southbound only.
The proposed changes would convert 6th Street from Myrtle to Fort streets and 5th Street from Myrtle to Washington streets. There would be nothing done on 5th from Washington to Fort.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from businesses along 5th and 6th streets, and then of course businesses downtown in general. The more conversions we can do, the better off the businesses are,” Mayor Lauren McLean said. “It just gives more options for up and down movement.”
Both ACHD and city officials praised the move for its benefits to businesses, safety and the overall experience of downtown. Capital City Development Corp., the urban renewal agency, is leading the potential conversion.
Two-way streets help businesses become more visible to drivers, officials said.
“The value of being in an urban area and having a grid of streets is that you have so many ways around,” Boise Planning and Development Services Director Tim Keane said. “That’s what makes the city work. ... The more (two-way streets) you have, the better.”
From a safety perspective, drivers unfamiliar with certain roads end up going the wrong way down one-way streets and creating dangerous situations, according to city officials. Also, emergency vehicles may take longer to reach their destination if they have to navigate to one-way streets.
“I have had a few close calls on the road when we’re dealing with one-ways,” Boise City Council Member Lisa Sánchez said. “I don’t know if it’s that we’ve had an influx of new community members who are not used to the one-way grid. I barely use my horn and I’ve had to for my own safety. And so I think it’s timely.”
From 2014 to 2016, several one-way streets in downtown Boise were converted to two-way. That included 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and Jefferson. At the time, 5th and 6th streets were considered for two-way conversion, but weren’t included because of “perceived complexity,” CCDC Project Manager Zach Piepmeyer said.
ACHD conducted further study and reconsidered turning 5th and 6th into two-way streets, but money was stripped from the project and plans have sat idle since 2019, Piepmeyer said.
The plans were revived in August 2021 when the city contacted ACHD affirming the importance of the project. ACHD oversees nearly all public roads in the county except those controlled by the Idaho Transportation Department. Staff members from ACHD, the city and the urban renewal agency began coordinating, and CCDC took over as the lead agency.
The three agencies could enter an official agreement this fall, and design could take nine to 12 months, with construction starting in 2024, Piepmeyer said.
The full project is expected to cost about $6.2 million. A planned outline calls for ACHD paying $4.1 million and CCDC contributing $2.1 million.
ACHD Commissioner Alexis Pickering called the conversions a “no-brainer.”
Discussion also took place regarding Front and Myrtle streets, both large one-way roads controlled by the Idaho Transportation Department and running east-west through the city — without as many crosswalks as most other downtown streets have.
McLean said the project for 5th and 6th streets was the priority, and she didn’t want it to be delayed by involving other roads.
“This conversation just opens the door, to even more and more to make our downtown, which is great already, even better,” said Boise City Council Member Elaine Clegg.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 7:23 PM.
