Last Chance for Public Input on Proposed Jefferson Street Closure
Show ACHD This Decision Matters!
1. Attend The Final Public Hearing
- Date: Wed. June 22nd , 2016* / Thursday, June 23
- Time: 6 PM
- Place: 3775 Adams Street, Garden City
2. Email or write to the ACHD Commissioners
Feel free to cut and paste the text below into an email and send it to ACHD via: tellus@achdidaho.org
Sample e-mail below:
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Subject Line:
"Please Deny St.Luke's Request to Vacate Jefferson Street"
Dear Commissioners,
I am writing to express opposition to the taking of the public right of way on East Jefferson Street as outlined in the proposed St Luke's Master Plan.
Closing Jefferson Street is not in the best interests of all Ada County taxpayers, public safety or quality transportation.
1. Jefferson is a vital East-West traffic alternative for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. None of the proposed mitigation replaces this lost connectivity.
2. Closure will create congestion on State, Fort, Warm Springs, Broadway, with dangerous ‘cycle track’ and pedestrian traffic crossings.
3. St. Luke’s has ignored reasonable expansion options that leave Jefferson intact, such as locating medical office buildings near existing, appropriate travel corridors.
I am particularly concerned about:
Public safety / Boise’s connectivity / Traffic congestion and air quality
Closed campus “dead zone” / Poor location for most county taxpayers
Other
*Name:
*Zip:
Contact information (optional):
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Feel free to cut and paste the text above into an email and send it to ACHD via: tellus@achdidaho.org
Or email your comments to individual commissioners:
Jim Hansen — jhansen@achdidaho.org — 283-7028
Rebecca Arnold — rarnold@achdidaho.org — 387-6110
Paul Woods — pwoods@achdidaho.org — 381-6110
Kent Goldthorpe — kgoldthorpe@achdidaho.org — 381-6110
Sara Baker — sbaker@achdidaho.org — 866-4068
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Independent experts agree: closing Jefferson goes against our best interests and values
Planning and Zoning Commission—a few reasons for their six to one denial of St. Luke's application
"I do think the case has been made by the public that an undue burden is placed on transportation…by the closure of Jefferson.” —Commissioner Demarest
"We’re now trying to combat chronic diseases, obesity, diabetes, all of the things that you all are experts in. I believe that this exacerbates that problem."—Commissioner Danley
“St. Luke's is an important part of our community but it is a part of the community. We’ve heard tonight from many people, we have legitimate concerns about closing Jefferson, and I have those same concerns. It’s a close call for me, but I think connectivity has to trump design issues in this case…”—Commissioner Just
"...what is the real cost of closing Jefferson? That analysis has not been presented yet...Against that, I set the clear, public loss of an important street. So for that reason alone, I can’t support the plan." —Commissioner Gillespie
Safety Concerns
“…there is absolutely no way I could advocate for, or be in favor of shutting down Jefferson St. It really boils down to safety and connectivity, and the closing of Jefferson presents significant problems to both of these. For those who don’t know, Jefferson at Ave. B is a preferred and heavily used bike route for accessing the East End Neighborhood from Downtown Boise and vice versa.”
—Jimmy Halyburton, Boise BicycleProject (League-Certified Bicycle Safety Instructor, Participant in St. Luke’s Cycle Discussion)
Boise, Idaho Downtown Walkability Analysis—10/24/2013
In a study commissioned by the Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), walkability expert Jeff Speck found that:
"Downtown Boise benefits from a quite small block size—about 300 feet square—and almost none of these blocks have been consolidated into superblocks, which tend to decrease walkability by focusing traffic on fewer streets, causing them to become too wide. The logic of small blocks suggests that no further block consolidations should be allowed, such as the one currently considered at St. Luke’s, which will significantly undermine the effectiveness of the street grid in that location.” (pp. 16, 17)
Health Care Architecture and Planning Perspective
“Hospitals have this implied mission of ‘do no harm’…but by fundamentally creating a superblock in a choke point in your city, they (St. Luke’s) are in fact, harming the city.” —David Allison, FAIA, FACHA—Alumni Distinguished Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Architecture + Health at Clemson University
Kent Goldthorpe — kgoldthorpe@achdidaho.org — 381-6110
Sara Baker — sbaker@achdidaho.org — 866-4068
**************************************
Independent experts agree: closing Jefferson goes against our best interests and values
Planning and Zoning Commission—a few reasons for their six to one denial of St. Luke's application
"I do think the case has been made by the public that an undue burden is placed on transportation…by the closure of Jefferson.” —Commissioner Demarest
"We’re now trying to combat chronic diseases, obesity, diabetes, all of the things that you all are experts in. I believe that this exacerbates that problem."—Commissioner Danley
“St. Luke's is an important part of our community but it is a part of the community. We’ve heard tonight from many people, we have legitimate concerns about closing Jefferson, and I have those same concerns. It’s a close call for me, but I think connectivity has to trump design issues in this case…”—Commissioner Just
"...what is the real cost of closing Jefferson? That analysis has not been presented yet...Against that, I set the clear, public loss of an important street. So for that reason alone, I can’t support the plan." —Commissioner Gillespie
Safety Concerns
“…there is absolutely no way I could advocate for, or be in favor of shutting down Jefferson St. It really boils down to safety and connectivity, and the closing of Jefferson presents significant problems to both of these. For those who don’t know, Jefferson at Ave. B is a preferred and heavily used bike route for accessing the East End Neighborhood from Downtown Boise and vice versa.”
—Jimmy Halyburton, Boise BicycleProject (League-Certified Bicycle Safety Instructor, Participant in St. Luke’s Cycle Discussion)
Boise, Idaho Downtown Walkability Analysis—10/24/2013
In a study commissioned by the Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), walkability expert Jeff Speck found that:
"Downtown Boise benefits from a quite small block size—about 300 feet square—and almost none of these blocks have been consolidated into superblocks, which tend to decrease walkability by focusing traffic on fewer streets, causing them to become too wide. The logic of small blocks suggests that no further block consolidations should be allowed, such as the one currently considered at St. Luke’s, which will significantly undermine the effectiveness of the street grid in that location.” (pp. 16, 17)
Health Care Architecture and Planning Perspective
“Hospitals have this implied mission of ‘do no harm’…but by fundamentally creating a superblock in a choke point in your city, they (St. Luke’s) are in fact, harming the city.” —David Allison, FAIA, FACHA—Alumni Distinguished Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Architecture + Health at Clemson University
Note. Taxpayers and neighbors felt this decision was important enough to ask for an independent expert and we were fortunate to get the best. Learn more here.
Blueprint Boise (DT-C 2.1: BLOCK PATTERN)
(b) Where superblocks exist, work with property owners and developers when redevelopment is proposed to re-establish the street grid and create blocks that approximate the traditional block size… (c) Avoid development of megastructures on superblocks that create either real or perceived barriers to connectivity.
Blueprint Boise (DT-C 2.1: BLOCK PATTERN)
(b) Where superblocks exist, work with property owners and developers when redevelopment is proposed to re-establish the street grid and create blocks that approximate the traditional block size… (c) Avoid development of megastructures on superblocks that create either real or perceived barriers to connectivity.
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