BOISE, Idaho — Drivers traveling through Boise's Hyde Park neighborhood may notice a new safety feature at several intersections.
The City of Boise has painted yellow curbs at six intersections in the busy Hyde Park area to better identify existing no-parking zones, improve visibility and reduce potential conflicts between drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
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While the painted curbs are new, the parking restrictions are not.
Under Idaho law, drivers cannot park within 30 feet of a stop sign or within 20 feet of an intersection without a stop sign. City leaders say the yellow paint simply makes those areas easier to recognize and encourages drivers to park farther from corners.
North End resident Kelly Olson has lived on 13th Street for 40 years and says Hyde Park has changed significantly over the decades.
"There's been great changes, but these great changes have brought a lot of traffic," Olson said.
She said she supports recent neighborhood safety improvements, including lower speed limits and, now, the painted curbs.
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Although the Ada County Highway District owns the curbs, it permitted the City of Boise to paint them.
Mayor Lauren McLean said the Hyde Park intersections were selected because of the area's high volume of pedestrians and proximity to local businesses.
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"What I love about Boiseans is that we want to follow the rules and we want to take care of our neighbors," McLean said. "Now that they're painted, people aren't parking there. Kids can walk across the street and look and see what's coming. Drivers feel better."
Residents have asked whether they can paint curbs themselves, but McLean said the city is working with ACHD to expand the program through official channels.
"I want to see this happen throughout the city, so we're encouraging ACHD to meet us in making this happen everywhere," she said.
ACHD tells Idaho News 6 that they don't paint curbs for parking restrictions since parking falls under a city's code enforcement.
For neighbor Kelly Olson, visibility is only part of the issue. She said Hyde Park's narrow streets, increased traffic and concentration of restaurants and bars have contributed to frequent sideswipe crashes along 13th Street.
"We call it the graveyard for side mirrors," Olson said.
McLean said the city plans to continue identifying intersections where painted curbs could improve safety, with priority given to areas near schools, parks and business districts.
