Eagle Road is ‘a race track,’ Meridian mayor says. This is what he wants to do about it
Transportation and housing were top of mind for Meridian Mayor Robert Simison in his second State of the City address, but he also took a couple of minutes to criticize the Idaho Legislature and to grieve with the community of Uvalde, Texas.
Simison did not hold many emotions back as he criticized the Idaho House over last year’s efforts to halt the library budget over materials it deemed “harmful” and pornographic, and as he reflected on the 19 children and two teachers who lost their lives in the Uvalde Texas school shooting. He also discussed the city’s need to improve the dreaded Eagle Road and to address affordable housing.
‘We need a road that doesn’t feel like a race track’
One of Simison’s top concerns for the city of Meridian is transportation.
“A safer transportation network helps improve our community,” Simison said.
He slammed Eagle Road, saying it feels like “a race track” running through the city. The Idaho Transportation Department plans to complete a widening project from Ustick Road to Franklin Road this year — it will add an extra lane to the state highway. But that isn’t enough, Simison said.
He criticized the speed limit on the road — 55 mph.
“Capacity improvements are not the only thing needed,” he said. “We need a road that doesn’t feel like a race track as people are accessing critical health care services and businesses.”
Simison said Eagle Road, also Idaho 55, is the only state highway in the Treasure Valley and maybe the state that runs through a city’s central business district.
“Highway 55 already slows down in Nampa and Eagle. Why must this road be driven at 55 through Meridian?” Simison said.
He said the city and its transportation partners need to consider whether changes to the speed limit, signal timing or both are solutions to the congestion problem.
“It is time to make safe road changes to Eagle,” Simison said. “We need to find meaningful, long-term solutions to make Eagle Road safer to all those who travel it.”
Meridian considers government role in affordable housing
Simison said the city is considering what its role is in the housing affordability problem facing residents in the Treasure Valley.
He said the City Council heard a workshop presentation earlier this month from city staff members and the Idaho Housing and Finance Association about how affordable housing projects work.
“We don’t have the answers yet, but we do know we have some existing development tools available, and we are looking to others as well,” Simison said.
He added that the council and city learned that no one solution will solve the lack of affordable housing facing the valley.
‘Not the Idaho I grew up in’
Simison took a few minutes near the end of his speech to thank former Meridian Library Director Gretchen Caserotti for her many years in the library system.
Caserotti served as the director of Meridian Libraries from 2013 to 2022. She accepted a job as the executive directory of the Pierce County Library in Washington in March, according to The Suburban Times.
Simison said he believed Caserotti made the move for her family and to further her career, but he added that he would have understood if the decision came after she watched the end of the Idaho legislative session this year, when the House refused to pass the state library budget without a special working group to study young Idahoans’ access to “harmful” materials in libraries.
“I would not have blamed (Caserotti) if she chose to leave, because of the views expressed by some in our community, views that were further flamed by the Idaho Legislature during this last year towards librarians,” Simison said.
According to previous Idaho Statesman reporting, it took five versions of the budget bill to get through the House.
“I don’t understand the approach the House made on this issue,” Simison said. “What they did is disappointing and is not the Idaho I grew up in.”
Simison also called on the Legislature to fully fund education to allow school districts to focus on educating children rather than having to run elections for bonds and levies.
Mourning for Uvalde Texas in Meridian
An event still on the minds of many Americans was also on the mind of the Meridian mayor.
Simison appeared to choke back tears on stage near the end of his speech, when he began to talk about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this month.
“As a parent, the thought of this is unimaginable,” Simison said. “We send our children to school every day to learn and grow, but more and more they are being put in a position to be aware of the violence that can exist.”
Simison said that in his budget proposal for next year, he suggests the city hire six new school resource officers to staff West Ada elementary schools in Meridian. That would allow existing school resource officers to focus on middle and high schools, Simison said.
