8th Street Improvements
State to Union Concept Design
WELCOME
Thank you for visiting the 8th Street Improvements, State to Union Concept Design Virtual Open House. Here you will find information about the project’s background, what we’ve heard so far from the community, and the revised draft concepts. At the end, you will be able to provide feedback on those concepts.
You can continue scrolling down to browse through the full content of the website or toggle to different sections using the navigation bar above. If you need printed materials mailed to you or need to make other arrangements to answer your questions, please call 208-387-6100 | TTY 1-800-377-3529 and we will be happy to help you.
This open house will be open through December 1st, 2022.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
ACHD, the City of Boise and its urban renewal agency, Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC) are collaborating to extend improvements on 8th Street from State Street to Union Street. This is our second public outreach effort for this project. For more project background information, click here and to see the results of our first round of outreach click here
HAPPENINGS SINCE JANUARY OUTREACH
ACHD, CCDC, and the City of Boise initially selected Concept A as the preferred concept after January 2022 outreach showed broad support for this option. After public testimony in opposition to this decision at the first adoption hearing in April 2022, the project team collected additional data, performed more analyses, and met with stakeholders.
Following these meetings, a revised Concept A was presented for adoption in May 2022. After public testimony expressing additional concerns about the revised Concept A, the ACHD Commission directed staff to evaluate additional concepts and options to address the concerns expressed at the hearing.
In response to these site-specific concerns raised by property owners and ACHD Commission direction, the project team prepared another modified version of Concept A, which only uses 8th Street, and two new concepts, Concepts D and E, which use 9th Street, as well as 8th Street. The map above shows the areas affected by the new concepts. We are looking for your feedback on these concepts from Franklin Street to Union Street.
The ACHD Commission approved Concept A for the State Street to Franklin Street section of 8th Street at its November 9th meeting. There were no new alternatives for this section and all concepts presented here will be compatible with Concept A in this section. Some small changes were made to Concept A in this section along the St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral frontage in response to specific comments raised by St. Michael's.
Based on public feedback, the original Concepts B and C are not currently under additional consideration.
Key findings from our outreach so far include:
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Based on community feedback and input from ACHD, CCDC, and the City of Boise, three concepts are under consideration.
Concept A (Modified)
Raised bike lanes on 8th Street with parallel parking on one side.
Concepts D & E
Raised southbound bike lane on 9th Street from Franklin Street to Union Street with parallel parking retained on one side. Raised northbound bike lane on 8th Street from Franklin Street to Union Street with parallel parking retained on one side.
Concepts D & E differ based on which side of the street the bike lane and parking are provided on 9th Street.
Continue scrolling to learn more about each concept and tell us what you think about them.
COMPARATIVE EVALUATION
The following evaluation matrix compares the three options:
The graph below summarizes the number of on-street parking spaces that would be replaced by protected bike lanes in each concept. Concept A (Modified) replaces about 29 spaces, while Concepts D & E replace about 27 spaces each.
All Three Concepts:
- Improve conditions for people walking
- Improve conditions for people biking
- Improve crossings of 8th Street for people biking, driving, and walking
- Slightly increase delay for motor vehicles at the signalized Hays Street intersection
- Will be compatible with CCDC's planned implementation of Concept A from State Street to Franklin Street
Key differences between the concepts include:
Concept A:
- Most comfortable direct bike route into downtown
- No impacts to on-street parking on 9th Street
- Removes approximately 29 parking spaces total on 8th Street
- Slight increase in motor vehicle delay at the Fort Street intersection (though will still be within ACHD's standards)
- People biking southbound will have to cross two Boise Co-Op Driveways
- No changes to 9th Street
Concept D:
- Requires out-of-direction travel to reach 8th Street in downtown for people east of 9th Street
- Maintains two motor vehicle travel lanes on 8th Street between Hays Street and Fort Street
- Removes approximately 27 parking spaces total (approximately 7 spaces on 8th Street and approximately 20 spaces on 9th Street)
- Requires people biking southbound to cross one Boise Co-Op Driveway
Concept E:
- Requires people biking southbound to cross 9th Street at Franklin Street to get to 8th Street downtown
- Maintains two motor vehicle travel lanes on 8th Street between Hays Street and Fort Street
- Removes approximately 27 parking spaces total (approximately 7 spaces on 8th Street and approximately 20 spaces on 9th Street)
- Avoids crossing any Boise Co-Op driveways
8th STREET / 9th STREET CONCEPTS
Concept A (Modified) - Raised Bike Lanes with Parallel Parking on One Side
Concept A (Modified) will reallocate roadway space to provide:
- Raised bike lanes on both sides of the street
- On-street parking is retained on one side of 8th Street
- One northbound motor vehicle travel lane on 8th Street
The concept does not impact existing landscaping along the corridor, except where properties are redeveloping.
Changes Made to Concept A Since January Outreach
Based on public outreach, the following changes have been made to Concept A since it was originally presented to the public in January 2022:
- The northbound raised bike lane has been continued through the Fort Street to Union Street section, which resulted in on-street parking being removed from the west side of the road. This change was in response to survey results indicating most (i.e., 53%) respondents indicating the painted bike lane was a concern to them.
- On-street parking was switched to the west side of 8th Street from Hays Street to Fort Street.
- Fence and landscape barriers will be on either side of the raised bike lane in front of St. John's Cathedral (see image below), with designated crossing locations across from the entry stairs, to reduce potential conflicts between people biking and school children being dropped off for school.
Concept A (Modified) offers the following advantages:
- Improves biking conditions
- Provides the most direct bike route into downtown
- Maintains existing street trees and other landscaping
- Provides additional buffer space for people walking on the east side
- Reduces the number of lanes people have to cross across 8th Street
- The proposed modifications in front of St. John's Cathedral will reduce potential conflicts between people entering/exiting parked cars and people biking in the southbound bike lane
- Consistent with recently approved Concept A from State Street to Franklin Street
Some potential trade-offs related to Concept A (Modified) include:
- Removes approximately 29 on-street parking spaces
- Slight increase in motor vehicle delay at the Fort Street and Hays Street intersections (though it will still be within ACHD’s standards)
- People biking southbound will have to cross two Boise Co-Op Driveways
Concept D - Raised Bike Lanes and Parallel Parking on One Side on 8th Street and 9th Street
Concept D will reallocate roadway space to provide:
- Raised southbound bike lane on the east side of 9th Street
- Raised northbound bike lane on the east side of 8th Street
- On-street parking on the west side of 9th Street
- On-street parking on one side of 8th Street, except from Franklin to Hays and Fort to Union, where it would be on both sides
- Two southbound motor vehicle travel lanes on 9th Street
- One northbound motor vehicle lane on 8th Street, except from Hays to Fort, where the two-lanes would be retained
The concept does not impact existing landscaping along the corridor, except where properties are redeveloping.
Concept D offers the following advantages:
- Improves biking conditions
- Maintains existing street trees and other landscaping
- Provides a northbound left-turn lane on 8th Street at Fort Street
- Does not require people biking southbound to cross 9th Street at Franklin Street
- Maintains motor vehicle capacity on 9th Street
Some potential trade-offs related to Concept D include:
- Requires out-of-direction travel to reach 8th Street in downtown for people east of 9th Street
- Removes approximately 27 parking spaces
- Slight increase in motor vehicle delay at the 8th Street/Hays Street intersection (though it will still be within ACHD’s standards)
- Requires people biking southbound to cross one Boise Co-Op Driveway
Concept E - Raised Bike Lanes and Parallel Parking on One Side on 8th Street and 9th Street
Concept E will reallocate roadway space to provide:
- Raised southbound bike lane on the west side of 9th Street
- Raised northbound bike lane on the east side of 8th Street
- On-street parking on the west side of 9th Street
- On-street parking on one side of 8th Street, except from Franklin to Hays and Fort to Union, where it would be on both sides
- Two southbound motor vehicle travel lanes on 9th Street
- One northbound motor vehicle lane on 8th Street, except from Hays to Fort, where the two-lanes would be retained
The concept does not impact existing landscaping along the corridor, except where properties are redeveloping.
Concept E offers the following advantages:
- Improves biking conditions
- Maintains existing street trees and other landscaping
- Provides additional buffer space for people walking on both sides of 8th Street and 9th Street
- Maintains motor vehicle capacity on 9th Street
- Provides a northbound left-turn lane on 8th Street at Fort Street
- Does not require people biking southbound to cross a Boise Co-Op Driveway
Some potential trade-offs related to Concept E include:
- Requires out-of-direction travel to reach 8th Street in downtown for people east of 9th Street
- Removes approximately 27 parking spaces
- Slight increase in motor vehicle delay at the 8th Street/Hays Street intersection (though it will still be within ACHD’s standards)
- Requires people biking southbound to cross 9th Street at Franklin Street to get to 8th Street downtown
SURVEY
Please take a moment to provide us some additional feedback and information. Thanks!
NEXT STEPS
Contact
Brooke Green, Senior Transportation Planner
208.387.6100
TTY: 1.800.377.3529
Zach Piepmeyer, Project Manager
Capital City Development Corporation
208-384-4264