Speed bumps are popping up ‘like dandelions’ around Northwest Boise. Here’s why
A slew of new speed bumps have appeared in Northwest Boise.
Most are temporary, according to Rachel Bjornestad, spokesperson for the Ada County Highway District.
She said that over a dozen speed bumps were temporarily installed on Pierce Park Lane, Castle Drive, Elmer Street, Maplewood Drive, Johns Landing Way and other roads in the area to calm traffic during an ACHD project at the intersection of State Street and Pierce Park Lane that began in March.
The project, which includes widening State Street and adding U-turns, medians, an additional crosswalk and multi-use pathways for pedestrians and cyclists to the area, is ongoing, according to the agency’s website.
Some residents praised the temporary Pierce Park Lane speed bumps on social media for slowing the traffic in the neighborhood.
“I’m very glad to have them,” one user said in the r/Boise community on Reddit. “I’m walking and biking, often with kids and/or dogs in tow most weekdays.”
Others aren’t too pleased.
“Speed bump outbreak? They are popping up like dandelions on the streets,” a Nextdoor user posted Friday. “I live in Northwest Boise, so I can whine only about my area, but the dang things have proliferated on Pierce Park, Castle and Blue Grass. They’re great for rattling your rig … ”
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Bjornestad told the Idaho Statesman the speed bumps and other temporary traffic-calming measures such as stop signs that were added to neighborhoods north of State Street in Northwest Boise will be removed when the project is completed.
The measures are intended to help with cut-through traffic while the area is under construction, she said.
Some streets have gotten permanent speed bumps, however.
Bjornestad said ACHD’s safety engineering team has installed permanent speed bumps in various areas of Boise as part of its traffic investigation policy at the request of residents of the neighborhoods. The areas were determined to meet speed, volume and neighborhood petition criteria, she said.
The permanent speed bumps are bid as a “package” each year, and ACHD is now wrapping up design for the 2025 speed cushion package, she said.
“We had a fairly large number last year,” Bjornestad said.
To be eligible for traffic-calming speed bumps, residential streets must be over 750 feet long, with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less. The roads must be traveled by at least 400 vehicles per day and no more than 4,000, according to ACHD.
In 2024, the agency installed permanent speed bumps on Mountain View Drive from Maple Grove Road to Glenwood Street northwest of Boise.
Other areas of Ada County that received permanent speed bumps include:
- Irving Street - Orchard Street to Garden Street
- Garden Street - Freemont Street to Holmes Street
- Crescent Rim Road - Latah Street to Capital Boulevard
- Roanoke Drive - Shenandoah Court to Troutner Way
- Kelsan Avenue - Hubbard Road to Treehouse Way
- Main Street - Idaho 44 to Star Road
- Mitchell Street - Victory Road to Arabian Drive
- Temple Drive - Bergman Way to Meridian Drive
- Bott Lane - Cloverdale Road to Hillsdale Avenue
- Cassia Street - Roosevelt Street to Latah Street
- Starview Drive - Warm Springs Avenue to Latana Street
- Gage Street - Orchard Street to Garden Street
- Ashton Drive - McKinley Park Avenue to Frandon Avenue
