Future street connection raises concerns in Boise Bench neighborhood

Two new hotels are coming to the Hillcrest neighborhood. Along with those new buildings will be a connection between two Boise Bench streets.

• Two new hotels are being built in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Boise.
• Street connectivity from Elder Street to St. Andrews Street will be added.
• Residents are concerned about a possible traffic increase in the neighborhood.
• ACHD has worked with hotel developers to address traffic concerns possibly, installing speed humps and narrowing Elder Street once the hotels are built.

(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

Two new hotels are coming to the Hillcrest neighborhood, but along with those new buildings will be a connection between two Boise Bench streets.

I'm your Boise Bench Neighborhood Reporter Jessica Davis and neighbors tell me they're less concerned about the hotels and more worried about traffic if drivers start using that route to get to Roosevelt.

"We think that'll add more traffic and noise, to this neighborhood," says Ashley Molloy.

Ashley Molloy is the president of the Hillcrest Neighborhood Association.

She says many homeowners share concerns about ACHD's plans to connect two dead-end streets, Elder Street and St. Andrews.

"Our main concern is providing unhindered vehicular connection to the two main arteries in the neighborhood," says Molloy.

The new connection, between Elder and St. Andrews, would give drivers a straight shot between Vista and Roosevelt.

Molloy says neighbors reached out to ACHD about traffic concerns, but ACHD tells me it was a few weeks after the 10-day appeals period closed.

Christy Little is the Development Services Manager for the Ada County Highway District, she says, "The problem is if ACHD were to go back significant changes to our recommendations the city council and planning and zoning commission have already made decisions, and they wouldn't be able to open their decision-making process back up."

In May the city of Boise submitted the hotel development application to ACHD.

In their review, ACHD outlined their policies and traffic impacts.

"One of our policies is that you connect streets, as public street connectivity is important not just for vehicular traffic but also for pedestrians and bicyclists," says Little.

Ada County Highway District says it should make it easier for people living in these neighborhoods to get to Vista and the interstate and say they've worked with hotel developers to come up with plans to address traffic concerns.

Little says, "He, the developer, actually has volunteered to give ACHD some money for future traffic calming so after the hotels are constructed, we can monitor the volumes, and types of traffic to determine the best place to install speed humps for example that might be on St. Andrews or that might be on Roosevelt.

As for Ashley, she and her neighbors have started a petition hoping to address ACHD directly.

"To try to push at least a democratic process of a hearing, we could have the same results at least the neighbors can be heard," says Molloy.

Although the project is expected to move forward there's no set date for the start of construction.