EAGLE, Idaho — A neighbor's question about crossing Horseshoe Bend Road near WinCo led Idaho News 6 to investigate pedestrian safety concerns and learn more about future improvements planned for the corridor.
The story began when a neighbor emailed Idaho News 6 after repeatedly seeing people try to cross the busy roadway near the shopping center.
In the email, the neighbor said they had watched seniors and people using wheelchairs attempt to cross Horseshoe Bend Road, with some waiting long periods for traffic to clear and others making risky crossings.
The neighbor asked a simple question: "Why isn't there a crosswalk there?"
That concern led Idaho News 6 to Kim Strouse, who has lived in the area since 1989 and regularly walks near the corridor with her father.
"My dad and I walk just about every day, and sometimes even police officers don't stop so we can cross," Strouse said. "Some people are very kind and do."
Strouse said traffic in the area has changed significantly over the years.
"I understand Boise was a wonderful place to live, but traffic now is absurd," she said. "You can't go anywhere without bumper-to-bumper traffic."
Questions about pedestrian safety along the corridor were taken directly to the Ada County Highway District.
Brian Rapp, a project manager with ACHD, said the agency already has a project planned for Horseshoe Bend Road between State Highway 44 and Hill Road.
"This project was purely designed to keep safety and connectability in mind here in this corridor," Rapp said. "So we're going to be installing a 10-foot-wide multi-use pathway with new pedestrian ramps and bikeway signage where needed all the way from State Highway 44 all the way up to Hill Road."
The project also includes a signalized pedestrian crossing at Utahna Street and a precast pedestrian bridge across a nearby canal.
Rapp said the crossing is intended to provide a safer, designated place for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross the roadway.
ACHD's current plan schedules construction in 2030. According to Rapp, the timeline is based on the agency's five-year planning and ranking process.
"So 2030, you know, it's our, we go based on the ranking system of our five-year plan that the cities provide us at ACHD," Rapp said. "I would like to reach out to your cities if you would like to have this maybe try to be moved up sooner than 2030."
Future development in the area could also affect portions of the project.
Rapp said it remains unclear how a proposed Costco development could influence roadway improvements.
"It's hard to know really what Costco's plans would be on this road, but we know right now that the crossing shouldn't be impacted at all," Rapp said. "There might be more impacts up towards the Hill Road intersection where the multi-use pathway would meet into whatever improvements they would build."
Rapp noted ACHD does not determine whether developments are approved.
"We don't get to control what Costco does," he said.
Instead, ACHD's role is to review roadway improvements associated with development proposals.
While the long-term project remains years away, ACHD said pedestrians already have the right of way at an existing unmarked crossing near the shopping center.
"We do have ramps across this old Horseshoe Bend Road right now, and with the proximity of it to the shopping center, we just need to tell drivers to be a little bit more aware that people are crossing here," Rapp said. "It is an unmarked crosswalk, but they do have the right of way with those pedestrian ramps."
ACHD is encouraging drivers to remain aware of pedestrians in the area.
"We just like them to be a little bit more aware of their surroundings and not just worry about getting to their destination," Rapp said.
Strouse said concerns about traffic and growth in the area are not new. She said she, her husband, her mother and a 95-year-old neighbor have attended public meetings and spoken with local leaders about issues affecting the area.
"When I shared my concern, the mayor [Lauren McClean] told me that she was going to be out of town," Strouse said. "But in six weeks she would get a hold of me, and she was going to walk on my street with me. She still has not done that."
Strouse said she believes the planned pathway could benefit pedestrians and bicyclists, but she still has concerns about safety today.
"For pedestrians and for bicyclists, my husband and I bicycle, and I mean, I don't feel safe," she said.
For more information on ACHD's Five-Year-Plan, you can click here.
