A unique, linear park is coming to Boise — in a place that lacks nearby access
A new one-of-a-kind park will be added to Boise’s West Bench neighborhood, which was a previously under-served area for pathways and parks.
Nearly 2,000 West Bench residents will join the list of 70% of Boise residents to live within a 10-minute walk to a park.
The Boise City Council on Tuesday approved over $2 million from the city’s levy fund, which voters approved in 2015 to preserve open space and wildlife habitat in the city, to build the park and pathway.
The three-acre linear park, Linear Park and Pathway at West Goddard Road, would run along West Goddard Road and the Settlers Canal, across the street from Capital High School. The park would be on a narrow piece of land with a pathway running through the center. The park’s landscaping would be next to the canal, but the pathway is separate from the canal, which does not have an existing path.
The park and pathway would include a shaded bus stop with public art, plus native plants and landscaping aimed at attracting birds and bees, a 10-foot-wide accessible multi-use pathway and a pavilion with seating with raised seat walls.
The linear park adds a pathway to the neighborhood that surrounds it and also adds a connection between Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve on Maple Grove Road and Spaulding Ranch on Cole Road.
The plan was designed following community feedback, the city said in a news release Wednesday.
“As we look to expand equitable access and parks for everyone, the opportunity to create this park and pathway means that more than 1,900 residents will directly benefit from having park space within a 10-minute walk from their home,” Mayor Lauren McLean said in the release.
Settlers Irrigation District donated the land for the park to the city last year.
