I think Idaho Falls needs to plan for the day we hit 100,000 residents, else we are planning to fail.
However, what and where are the top traffic spots in Idaho Falls that tick you off today, that you wish the city would fix ASAP?
The Boise newspaper had a weekly traffic column, where residents could write in their traffic questions and concerns. A Boise city traffic coordinator responded to the letters, either unveiling the logic behind why some things were the way they were, or admitting the situation was bad and got to work fixing it.
I always thought that column would do well here also, but nobody has started one. Until now.
Perhaps by identifying some of Idaho Falls’ worst traffic complaints, those problems can be fixed sooner rather than later.
For example, how many more decades will 17th street suffer backups at the intersection with Rollandet? Westbound traffic on 17th street becomes dangerous when a car has to wait to turn left (south) onto Rollandet. The traffic backs up behind that car, cars try jumping over into the right lane as other cars are speeding through, it’s just bad.
It also happens when a car going eastbound on 17th tries to turn left (north) going past the Sandwich Tree/Wheeler Electric. Traffic backs up in the left lane, even back to the intersection with South Yellowstone Highway. Cars try popping out into the right lane where cars are already speeding past.
What could fix that intersection? A dedicated middle turning lane? A big roundabout? Another light?
Another traffic thing that ticks me off is on the highway 20, going eastbound from Grandview, where the light is to let freeway traffic on. The eastbound light stays red forever, while traffic gets to move much earlier in the opposite direction. I realize the light does this to allow the freeway exit ramp traffic in, and that can be a problem. Maybe the freeway traffic exit ramp should be longer, or have a dedicated right turn to merge into traffic?
The light seems timed rather than sensitive, since I’ve sat there for a long time with no freeway exit ramp traffic coming in.
Another traffic sore spot has got to be the Target parking lot exit, where folks try to turn left (south) onto Hitt Road. I think they just need to completely block off left turns from that parking lot.
What traffic spots tick you off in and around Idaho Falls?
Popularity: 13%
Related posts:
- Broadway Railroad Crossing Gives Bad First Impression of Idaho Falls
- Can we get more roundabouts in Idaho Falls?
- Idaho Falls is Hostile to Pedestrians
- City proposes a face-lift for Memorial Drive and the riverfront. Is it cause for concern? What about downtown parking and traffic?
- Electronic Sign Strategies in Idaho Falls
It WAS all he had to say about it!
:@:)
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{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
i htink they need to ditch some of these dedicated lefturn green arrows let us turn when the traffic is slack
the leftturn is needed some places but a lot they make yo uwait even longer
People who still don’t understand roundabouts. Its so annoying when you see people treating the one at Lincoln / Hitt as a 4 way stop which just bogs things down.
Holmes Avenue from 1st to 17th street anywhere there are lights. These lights NEED the green arrow light. Otherwise half the time you can never get through unless you run the red after its changed or you take wild chances. Try going south on Holmes and turning left onto 12th street during rush hour. You’ll be there forever unless you break the law or risk your life.
I agree, Joe. Idaho Falls’ traffic has grown to be too big for its britches. And if some serious planning and re-configuring doesn’t happen now, we’re doomed.
My drive home at lunchtime and rush hour (from the railroad tracks parking lots downtown to the far west side) has become a major hassle.
Each downtown block of Yellowstone is backed up at nearly every light. It’s not uncommon to have to wait through several red lights to get to Broadway.
And Broadway is often the same way until I pass under the freeway or the light at Skyline. The most noticeable shift came after the Wal-Mart Supercenter opened its doors.
On average, the 3-mile drive home takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Too long, in my opinion. I’ve done the same journey on my bike in 12 minutes.
One traffic tick-off I go out of my way to avoid is the intersection at Hitt Road (northbound) turning left onto westbound 17th Street. The left turn lane gets backed up well beyond the entrances to both the mall and the Albertson’s shopping center. Much like the Target parking lot exit that Joe mentioned, it’s also complicated by cross-traffic, either making left turns or trying to hop Hitt Road from one side to the other. It’s a total cluster.
Also, why are there almost no right-turn reliefs? How many times have you waited through one red light after another, just to make a right turn, and at least one other driver in the right-hand lane is heading straight through the intersection? Some larger cities I’ve driven in have entire lanes that are reserved entirely for right turns only, to relieve congestion in the through-traffic lanes.
more right turn reliefs are needed all over idaho falls
Cool I hope this becomes a vibrant discussion, identifying problems and suggesting solutions.
Dedicated Left Green Arrows: they do and don’t work in locations around Idaho Falls. I think we need to specify the exact intersection where you think it should be one way or the other.
Roundabouts: definitely need better instructional signs on approach. I saw one on the interwebtubes awhile back that was really nice, will try to find that again. In fact I think it was a comment in another IFz thread…
Yeah, the whole Hitt road stretch from the 17th street intersection south to 25th is pretty hairy. It needs some kind of changes to handle the traffic it has now, let alone when Idaho Falls reaches 100k.
Right-turn dedicated relief turns: this should be a requirement of nearly all new Idaho Falls intersections being built, they are so awesome, they significantly help relieve the traffic.
Also with relief lanes you don’t get our current situation of one vehicle going straight but blocking ten vehicles that could have turned right on the red light.
I think they need to change Broadway and 17th street during morning, midday, and evening peak traffic.
I think they should set the lights like Boise’s Myrtle and Front streets, where all the lights turn green in succession for approaching traffic, so you only hit one red light if you do the 35mph speed limit.
Agree or disagree with any of these?
What is your Idaho Falls traffic tick-off?
This whole town is a traffic nightmare. I think we are at least 10 years behind in vision.
My proposals: At least one Limited Access Highway running from the West side of the Freeway to the Mall/Hospital area (Ammon?) on the East. The city is trying to route traffic around 17th street, but it is too little too late. The traffic is terrible during rush hour, and though the route I take across town is faster than 17th St., it is still crowded. It appears that growth is out-pacing planning.
I agree with the lights at the freeway/Hwy intersection. . .with BYU-Idaho going to 4 years, this will only become a greater problem. The traffic coming off the freeway is backed up. Traffic in both directions on the Hwy are backed up. Even the Skyline/Grandview intersection is too small to handle the traffic particularly from the East, North, and South. (We were hoping they were going to add an additional lane going east-west, but it looks like it is only being resurfaced.)
One Hwy, with no signals and limited access would allow people to get across town quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, by the time it is built, and ready to go, it will need to be 6 lanes wide.
I would like to see the entrances to Hwy 20 that have yield signs to be replaced with merge signs. I realize this would include a change on the part of drivers here to move to the passing lane to let other’s in. Unfortunately, after living here 16 years, I am not confident that this will likely happen.
Oops. Edited material got a bit scrambled. . .and I ran out of time to fix it.
According to the Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization, the entity that does traffic studies and finds problems and solutions to those problems has come out with it’s 2007 population figures.
Interestingly enough, they say the population of Bonneville County is just shy of 103,000 people. Take away the few who live in the Swan Valley area and there are already close to 100,000 living within 10 miles of Idaho Falls.
Then you must add in Bingham County, Madison County, and Jefferson County, and the number skyrockets over the 200,000 mark.
All these people use the roads and highways in and around Idaho Falls and let’s not forget about the tourist population either, I won’t even try to put a figure on that.
The Idaho Falls Metro Area is growing at a steady 4% per year and will more than likely keep increasing over the next decade.
So I do appreciate this article because it is time to get the planning done, figure out how to pay for it and do it.
I agree with all the above comments and there are plenty of sore spots that are still left.
For me the Pancheri overpass needs to be replaced, ASAP, before it collapses onto the freeway and kills somebody or someone drives off of the side. There is too much traffic going over it to let this go much longer.
Also, will Idaho Falls ,Ammon, and Bonneville County finally come to terms on who should pay to finish widening Hitt Road. The bottleneck that thing creates is without a doubt another accident waiting to happen.
Speaking of Hitt road.
The powers that be have been promising for years to fix the mess at Hitt and 1st street where traffic suddenly and without warning bogs down to one lane each direction right before the intersection creating huge backups on Hitt.
So why hasn’t it been fixed despite promises that this would have been done by now?
And can we start getting companies to put out accurate maps?
Imagine my surprise when using a map once to see that according to the map John Adams continues out into the county. It does start up again out north of Walmart but the maps show that its continuous from Holmes.
Or that Hoopes is continuous from 12th street to John Adams.
And many other examples.
The maps thing, I think they’re using planning maps instead of actual current completion maps. I’ve also seen those maps with the fully extended John Adams.
I agree Pancheri overpass needs to be replaced ASAP, like they need to plan and take bids on it this year, it is terrible.
Another thing to biking considerations. We could reduce vehicle commute traffic in Idaho Falls if there were a few more bike-friendly aspect.
For instance, do you realize that Broadway is the only realistic way to bike from the west to the east side or back?
I’m referring to crossing the freeway on a bike. The northern route has the road construction now, but even before the route was very difficult and dangerous to bikers. The south route is Pancheri overpass, which doesn’t even have room for two traffic lanes, let alone a poor biker trying to get over.
The beltway has been discussed before, the freeway to go around Idaho Falls. I think we need to crack some eggs (a few homes) in the way to make this happen sooner rather than later.
Thanks dnix for the population figures. We are approaching a dire situation very soon with our traffic.
Who is in charge of planning and executing Idaho Falls traffic? Maybe a meeting with that person and what plans they have could be helpful.
One other thing, this traffic discussion is not just to complain about traffic.
I think many of us are concerned Idaho Falls is failing to plan traffic well enough, and therefore is planning to fail.
I’m sure the city has five year plans for traffic, but those are probably mostly reconstruction/repaving projects.
Does Idaho Falls and Bonneville County have 10-20-30 year growth plans? Have they started planning for traffic considerations over the next decades?
Pancheri overpass needed to have been replaced twenty years ago. Ditto with the “D” street underpass.
Another arterial with bottleneck problems is woodruff. That street needs to be four lane from Sunnyside to US26.
When talking about population on the roads in Idaho Falls, you need to include Butte, Clark, Fremont, and Teton counties as well as West Yellowstone, Jackson, Afton/Star Valley, etc. Many people in these counties and communities come to Idaho Falls once or twice a month to go shopping. Sit on any major intersection in town and you will see license plates from all over the region.
By the way, major kudos to Idaho Falls for going ahead with the Sunnyside project even without fed/state funding. That’s taking responsibility for one’s own area rather than complaining about being a victim.
I see that as a hopeful sign…
I agree, pancari needs attention ASAP. Im supprised that there has not been a horrific crash there yet.
Another area that I have to contnd with is hitt rd. Its bad all the way from hwy 20 through first street. Why cant cities and county come together to get that area improved?
anther thought; I realize one is city and one is county but why are they doing major construction on sunnyside and on Lincoln rd at the same time. I think that has really added to the burden that 17th, 1st and Iona roads have to bare.
I think if things dont improve this is going to be a nightmare area to live as far as traffic is concerned.
The county has vastly improved Hitt from US 26 to IF city limts (just north of Mesa), with additional travel lanes, roundabouts, et cetera. This road is much easier to travel now, thanks to the work the county has put in it. I grew up on Hitt Rd, still have family in the area. Ther are a LOT less accients and headaches on that stretch of Hitt since the county did its work. Hitt and First, however, is a mess. C’mon, IF. Get it fixed.
A visual result of the city/county neglect at Hitt and First is the gas station’s placement of boulders along their property.
Obviously since being neglected and unimproved, there are no curbs to control where vehicles enter/exit the gas station lot. They have just two paved entrances, one facing Hitt and the other facing First, but you could realistically enter and exit their lot wherever you wanted.
Many vehicles over the years would tear across the gas station lot, through gravel and all, because it was frustrating to wait at that light, in that single lane.
The fact that the gas station had to place those boulders to prevent the drive-throughs should be seen as a badge of shame on our area planners, that they have neglected this intersection for so long.
Another area of concern is the intersection of Lincoln and Holmes. . .but this time it is the train situation that backs traffic up for 20 minutes or so at a time. (Traffic has to wait for the train to pull forward, then back up to add some cars (or drop some cars) pull forward a little further and do the same back and forth numerous times. (The same thing happens where Anderson/Science Center Dr intersect the railroad tracks.) This is especially frustrating in the summertime, when the heat is high, and one has no air conditioning.
Isn’t it about time we either build a bridge over the tracks, or under them? (Realizing that the tracks have to be kept relatively level).
Or could the train company relocate their loading/unloading apparatus somewhere else – outside city limits – say x miles north of town? That would also free up the eyesore area in the middle of town and allow for more housing and streets.
How many 100k resident cities have trains loading/unloading in the middle of intersections and causing 20 minute traffic waits?
Idaho Falls is one. I like the idea of moving this operation a mile or two north of where it is now.
I remember once sitting there waiting, and the train cars going back and forth were passenger cars. The train passengers kept waving to the waiting cars, and I wondered how many drivers were flipping them off in response? It just didn’t create a good situation.
What ticks me off is why do so many roads in this town changes names at some point?? 17th turns into Panceri, 25th turns into Hitt, Yellowstone turns into …..you see what I’m getting at here? It’s crazy and uncalled for.
I also agree on the posts regarding right hand turning lanes. This town does have some serious traffic issues that need to be addressed quickly before the population gets too much higher.
I agree with the name changes on some roads, like Science Center Drive, to Anderson (Anderson-Lincoln), to Lincoln. A friend of mine moved here from another state, and it was difficult to tell her how to get across town.
Street names shouldn’t have to change, just because they twist and bend.
I called 911 a few weeks back to report someone who was driving Slow, hesitating, weaving, etc.) This was on 17th Street. It seemed to me that they had been drinking or something, and were trying to appear “normal” by not going too fast.
The dispatcher asked if the person was old. (He was about 45-50).
I said, “Not really.”
But dispatch seemed unconcerned, as if all slow, erratic drivers were just old people. I don’t think she offered to have someone check into it, although I described the truck and gave the general direction they were going.
Although i look forwards to the beltway being done. It was planned 15 years ago and is just getting done! The problem now is that it is in to close to town.
To the people that want the rail yard to be movied, remeber that the railroad was here first. It is a yard used to short rail cars not used for unloading. Some how i dought that the railroads which are some of the biggest tax payers in the state are going to just let you all make them move! It is also a fed law that railroads come first! So if you want them to move, plan on paying big bucks to buy the land, lay the track and other stuff along that lines. The railroad are a big part of why east idaho is boomming. Just look at Pocy with all the railroad jobs that they lost. When U.P. railroad want to upgrade the yards (would of cost 100 mil or more) there they asked for tax breaks and Pocy told them no. Well do to that they lost a big part of there job base.
The real problem has been that the city would rather spend money on inspectors/cops for who has to many weeds, cars, tables on sidewalks and what ever they can think of to bug the people they work for! There is a reason why Amomm is growwing with biz and homes. It at times hard to live and work in a town that would rather make all sorts of rules to colect money then take care of it’s people!
The city was at one time a forwards thinking city. The mayor seems to me to see it that way too. We need to get back ahead of curve, we are looking more and more like Salt Lake. It is going to take all the citys in the metro to band together to get more of our bucks back from Boise.
I can definitely respect that perspective.
What about if Idaho Falls annexed/purchased land just outside (north west or south) of the city, then swapped that land for the current rail yards?
I realize that sounds too simplistic for what would be a complicated affair, but the end result could be a new and upgraded yard for the railroad, our municipal traffic functioning a little easier without the rail yards in the middle of town, and our city being able to reclaim those rail yards for other purposes.
How about that solution?
I bet if the city came up with the land, a good part of the money and taxs breaks. The railroads (there are two) would go for it. But it going to be in the millons. It costs about 1 millon per mile, times that by 2 miles and about 20 tracks = 20 millons. The truth is that the yard is maxxed infact the R.R. now use a smaller yard by the old station and they built a small yard down by the maltting plant. Though i dought the city would every give up the tax money, think about it, the yard is about 1/8 of the land of the city!
Okay then let’s think this out.
If the railroads are maxxed out, they have more incentive to move if we swap them an area larger than they have now and gives them a centralized place to grow in the next 30 years.
Maybe some tax incentives spread out over the next 10 or 20 years could be traded for them paying to relay all the track. I’m not sure of the details, but I’m saying the city’s finances in this could be spread out over the next decade or two.
Yes it would cost alot.
How much would that “new found” interior Idaho Falls land be worth to developers?
What opportunities could that land present to Idaho Falls over the next 20-40 years?
Plus again, we would decrease the traffic pressures caused by the trains operating throughout our city center.
Good idea, bad idea, possibilities?
Sorry, IF sunk all of it’s millions for interior and other good ideas that could benefit the whole community already. But if you like baseball in a fancy stadium like me, it’s your lucky day.
I like this idea about moving the rail yard and the ideal location would be south of Sunnyside. Let me explain why.
First of all it would relieve Anderson Street when a train has to keep backing up and triggers the signals, something that is indeed a “tick off”.
Secondly, that is where most of the frieght is going to be moved from with GM Modelo, AH Bush, and the “future” Iogen plant all in that area. It makes sense to have that much needed rail infrastructure close to the industry that needs it the most. All of the other companies that use the line will still have access as well.
I can’t remember the last time I saw the stockyards being used for the railroad, does anyone know if this still happens?
The stockyards are a bleeding eyesore, not just an eyesore. Having this kind of ugliness close to downtown tends to drag the property values down as well. Imagine what the land could be used for after words. I know that there will probably not be a Gateway Mall here in IF, but it worked down in SLC to help get their eyesore removed and a valuable piece of property redeveloped.
Idaho Falls is on a redevelopment kick as of the last decade or so and this could definetly be something that could be looked at as a possibility. The city could trade land down by the plant for an updated rail yard, and who knows maybe the railroad may move some jobs up this way as well. Idaho Falls could possibly get a new redevelopment area out of it.
Think of how well the Trackside Mall does and how awful the location is. Cut down the railroad to one track and landscape around it. (I’m sure that would cost some dollars, but some trees and shrubs and grass would look better than gravel.) Then flatten out all the old stockyard and any empty facilites and build off the success of the Trackside Mall.
Who knows, this could be a new era for the Northgate Mile corridor.
I’m no genius and try not to pretend I know everything but, there is always a way for the city to get money, trust me.
There you go, just south of town does make sense with all the industry sprouting up there.
And think of all that prime “discovered” real estate in our city center. We could sell it in chunks to developers or the whole thing to the developer with the best plans.
I realize that I haven’t been everywhere. However, I have yet to see a city that planned for future infrastructure before it became a crisis.
It seems to me that most cities are pretty well maxed out on resources simply maintaining the existing roads and bridges let alone building for the future.
Idaho Falls has already used up whatever surplus it had with the new ball field and the Sunnyside expansion.
I guess I’m feeling cynical today…
Northgate isn’t going to be fixed, redeemed, or reinvented. Not in our lifetimes anyway. The Taylor’s Crossing development is going to suck up almost all the new retail industry in town with the remaining try to squeeze into the 17th / Hitt road area. The only thing Northgate is likely to turn into is the red light district of Idaho Falls. Every metro town has one and its usually in the seedier part of town where all the respectable businesses have left.
What ticks me off is the way our local fire dept feels like they need to shut down 17th street in order to raise money! I work off of Yellowstone Hwy and last week I had to run some errands over off of Hitt so I decided to run my errands on my lunch hour. The traffic ended up being backed up for miles because the fire dept had guys standing at an intersection with their boots wanting donations. There were four guys standing in the middle of the road holding up traffic. I had to sit at one light while it changed 4 times before I got through it. You would think they’d come up with a better way to raise money. Not to mention it being a traffic hazard!
I’m all for supporting our local fire department, but c’mon guys…find a better, safer way!
Regarding the first post by SpecialCode: You’re right about the left hand turn signals. Not to mention this city has it all backwards. Many of the turn signals come on AFTER both sides of traffic have gone straight, then the left turn signals come on. How bassackwards is that? Every city I’ve driven in, the left arrows come on first and then the traffic proceeds. NOT this town though! Aiy yai yai!!
I think Ace is correct. Most cities don’t plan for adequate traffic flow until it is a crisis.
Maybe we need to go back to an idea DNIX proposed last year – something like using existing rail space for commuter trains.
Portland is probably best known for the lighter rail trains. But, with what UT has done and is doing with TRAX (in a land-locked area), it is an interesting thought.
Also, many factors are beyond the control of any of us. When I read the offer about connecting McNeil with a retailer of interest on IFz.Com for essentially a finder’s fee, my third and fourth thoughts were, “Is that so McNeil can land the business not SRL?”
Perhaps I’m too cynical today, perhaps too much of a realist. So ask yourself the same questions. Look at the millions of dollars of land McNeil bought in Washington Co, UT (outside of St. George). And then tell me they can’t meet the right people for developments we want.
Grow Idaho Falls has done a marvelous job at selling Idaho Falls. However, I wonder if when they started their work to draw new industry, or expanding existing businesses here, they thought about people who didn’t have specific skills and are now openly asking on the Internet what kinds of jobs can they get when they move to Idaho Falls.
Pancheri is a major problem and I say both Ball Ventures (and any sub-developers), Taylor’s Crossing and the rest of the commercial developers in Rennaisance should contribute to the costs of the new Pancheri Overpass. Not the entire cost, but some of it.
No, those businesses didn’t initially design the bridge over the river and the Pancheri Overpass linking the east and west side of town; but, they sure utilized the traffic flow numbers when deciding where to start their redevelopment. All I say is pay a part of what you, the developer, are directly reaping from the traffic flow.
Wasn’t it Lowe’s that had what seemed like endless amount of hearings and meetings with neighbors? And in the end, the company agreed to pay for the costs of curbs, turn ins, the costs of other traffic issues such as re-routing or ending a street and adding greenery etc.? Maybe I’m mistaken of which big box it was, but local developers, learn from the big box groups – there are reasons they are so successful.
Even look at what Walgreen’s has agreed to do in anticipation of building the store in the northwest corner of Woodruff and 1st Street.
I’ve given this a lot of thought recently, both because of the comments I’ve read on the Internet asking what jobs people moving to the area will get once they are here. A city cannot stay low on a radar with the high rankings so many publications are giving that city.
I’ve also been thinking about the CURRENT population, not even projected, because of a local professional who relocated stating the “dynamics of change” in Idaho Falls as part of the reason for his relocation to a far smaller area. I’m sure there is more to that story. However, his comments about traffic now not being the same as they were in 1987, are factual.
So partly, I think the city and citizens have to decide if we want to keep growing at all costs, which in many ways, it appears Boise does. If so, how can there be enough planning?
I totally agree with DNIX about the railroad south, as I had already been asked that question should Iogen locate here. At the same time, one has to ask what infrastructure attracks industry and high paying jobs? Look at where the industrial parks are being built on the northwest corners of the city. How will those companies transport their goods to the consumer?
Other cities easily promote their easy of trucking and railroad (and in the case of Lewiston – their seaport) as viable ways to transport products, to businesses wishing to relocate. If the railroad is totally moved south, how does that help Idaho Falls business?
If you the owner of business X and you needed to export your product out of Bonneville County for distribution, how would you do it?
Also, we have to realize this isn’t a service area of 50,000 people. The argument currently is 330,000 or 350,000 permanent residents that use I.F. as their hub.
In many ways, I think our answers lie looking at much larger cities to see how they have handled similar problems. Just having this discussion and having as many people participate who have encourages me that many more are realizing that we can’t plan for the growth of 100,000 people, it is already here. We have to plan for smarter growth and safer transportation.
I have travelled through more than one city where planning was not as fore-sighted as it should have been and two major items helped keep traffic moving without beating up the budget. First, the officers (as much as I personally hate inviting them into this) were as quick to issue citations to any driver who was impeding the flow of traffic for driving too slow as they were for driving too fast. and Second – the lights were synchronized! What a novel approach. Can anyone honestly say they can drive down Broadway or 17th and make more than two lights in a row even during slow traffic times when there is no impediment to the speed limit? Having the traffic engineers who are already on staff synchronize a few lights and having the officers, who are already on the payroll, pull over and at the very least advise slow drivers to use another route besides the major thorougfares if they can’t do the speed limit. Neither of these would cost us a dime above what we are already spending, would improve the flow of traffic, help us reduce our gasoline usage and improve the environment. Too simple? Oh yeah. And one more thing. Right turn on red has been legal for thirty years. Turn already!
I think it’s been said about Boise’s Front and Myrtle streets, but I’ll mention them again.
Those two streets are a couple of the most effective streets in all of Boise, both are one-way streets going in opposite directions through about two miles of downtown Boise.
The lights on both streets are synchronized so if you go the speed limit, you are GUARANTEED to only hit one red light.
I like synchronized lights, but I don’t know that they will work on two-way streets rather than just one-way streets.
As for the right-turn on red, yeah those get annoying too when someone sits there with their blinker on. Dedicated right-turn only lanes could help that, as suggested before.
Turn South Boulevard back into a 2 lane road and install speed bumps on the numbered streets. That is my traffic dream. I am pretty burned out on drivers who don’t live in the neighborhood, using the neighborhood to drive 65+ miles an hour to shorten thier driving time.
It’s a sad state of our city that the neighborhoods are faster to cruise through than the main roads.
I would support a few speed bumps in my neighborhood, also.
South Boulevard is a strange road to be four lanes wide and yet 25 mph.
Either make it 35 mph or turn it into two lanes with bike paths on either side.
Excellent, excellent post, OK4Now. You hit the nail on the head, IMO.
Just to enlighten some about speeds.
People by in large vastly overestimate how fast cars are going. I can’t even begin to count how many times I heard people claiming to have cars going 50+ MPH on their streets on a regular basis. Yet I’m never able to find these cars. Stealth mode perhaps?
Take 12th st or South Boulevard for example. Both are heavily traveled streets with speed limits of 25 mph. You can run radar for hours on them and count on one hand the number of cars doing 40+ mph. Most cars tend to do 30 to 35 mph. That is speeding but its not the regular 50 mph people claim.
I recall one extremely vocal complainer of speeders. He wouldn’t accept that there wasn’t a speeding problem on his street. He was convinced it was a steady stream of racers. So to pacify him we had him sit with an officer for an hour while the guy guessed at speeds of oncoming cars. He consistently was guessing about 15 to 20 mph fast. By the end he grudgingly admitted the problem wasn’t as bad as he thought. The fastest any car we ever saw on his street was 37 mph and he guessed it at 55 mph. Still a speeder, but not nearly as bad as he thought. And he consistently guessed people doing the speed limit to be doing around 40.
Occasionally you will get the extreme speeder. I once got a guy doing 63 mph on John Adams. But they are far and away the exception, not the rule.
There is a guy who rides a motorcycle, not a Harley….but one of the rocket bike types down my street on a regular basis and I have no doubt that he goes no less than 45 to 50 miles an hour. I too have been told by the police that there is not a problem with speeding on my street. I have had to decide that I will agree to disagree. My young daughter answered the door to a friend last summer and our dog ran out the door, straight for the street and was killed by a guy speeding down the street. I hope that it doesn’t take the death of a child for the police to admit that there is a speeding problem. In addition to the speeding, Idaho Falls drivers seem completely unaware of the bike and pedestrian laws. But again…. I have been told that it’s not a problem.
Why are there sometimes two traffic lights for one lane? For example at the westbound lane at the intersection of Skyline and Grandview. I think there are a couple others around town but that’s the one I saw today and thought of the question.
I think they need to add some kind of “don’t park on the road” sign for the north-west entrance ramp onto the highway (coming south from the ISU/INL campus and turning right onto that on-ramp, merging onto the highway). Lately I’ve experienced drivers who are afraid to merge into the traffic so they stop completely on the road and wait for a long open stretch to appear. I realize the merging area is not too long but I am amazed how many people stop completely in this spot.
That’s one thing I noticed when I moved up here. The merging lanes are ridiculous! (or rather non-existant!) In every other state they have an actual merging lane runs parallel with the far right hand lane on the hwy for about a quarter mile and then merges into the other lane. Not here though! Here, the on ramp leads right into the lane onto the hwy or freeway without any real merge. Most people can’t build up enough speed and then you have to jump right into traffic. I’ve never seen anything like it. I can’t believe their aren’t more accidents because of this.
I agree with several of the gripes already posted above.
A couple I’d like to add:
Speaking of merging, those right hand lanes that simply disappear shortly after they go through the intersection. I call them drag race lanes. You know the ones on Woodruff and Hitt plus I’m sure there are others that I’m forgetting. A really bad situation is the short drag race that happens with North bound traffic on Woodruff at the intersection of Lincoln road. The right hand lane should be right turn only (with the snow piled up across the intersection, it is for now). You have folks lining up in the right hand lane heading North from Walmart on Hitt and North from Winco on Woodruff, racing to get in front of all the traffic and forcing their way into the left lane at the last second, causing the people behind them to slam on their brakes. Sometimes they have a space to pull in, but they have to get in front of at least two more cars.
Secondly, what’s up with all these idiots and jerks (you know who you are) in their hot rod diesel pickups? They are drag racing everybody they can, even in heavy traffic. The more black smoke they can blow, the bigger their manhood, grows I guess. I do know one thing, I won’t be calling (insert business name here) for any landscaping or house contracting, etc. when he or his employees drive like irresponsible jackazzes. It really makes me wonder what kind of quality work they can produce.
[/rant off] I feel better now………….
I completely agree with you there LRimport. Not sure why there are so many of those lanes that just dissapear, when their should be more right hand turning lanes in this town. I can understand the one on Hitt in front of WalMart. I think their supposed to be widening that road this summer to 4 lane. But people do race from that light and try to get in front of whats usually only a couple of cars. They desperately need a left turning signal at that stoplight once you get to 1st street. I’ve sat at that light and watched it change 9 times once. Especially on Saturdays when the traffic is at its worst. A long line grows for people turning left off of Hitt onto 1st and usually only one car can get through at a time before the light turns red.
I also agree with the idiots in their diesel pickups. Not sure how we can fix that one. It’s just a matter of them getting caught by the cops. Or better yet, call the number on the side of the pickup and report them to their boss. I’m sure they’re not aware of their employees hot rodding around town.
That bottleneck at 1st and Hitt is one of my pet peeves also. It was intentionally created through incompetent city planning (do we even have planners?). Most cities expand their main arterials BEFORE the city expands. Idaho Falls likes to do things bass ackwards. They’ve had plenty of time to expand Hitt road to four lanes but no they have to wait until the city is bursting at the seams with traffic before even considering it. And it’s still one of the LAST items on the list of road expansions. What kind of moron funnels four lanes of heavy traffic down to two and refuses to even install left turn signals?! Idahoans are bad enough drivers as it is without creating more opportunities for them to have a demolition derby, which is exactly what this intersection becomes each day at rush hour.
Does anyone have a clue why so much effort was put into expanding Lincoln Road when there are other roads that are in far more urgent need of widening? That one could easily have waited another year or two until Hitt Road was finished. That’s just plain stupidity.
Speaking of stupidity – lets see how SMALL we can make our roundabouts! Most of these things appear to have been designed by an engineer on crack. Most larger vehicles can’t fit through them without running over the curb or taking up both lanes.
Now if you’ll excuse me I think I’ll go throw some snowballs at large hotrodding diesel pickups…
LOL….good post Cafe…
I needed a good laugh!
I have a solution for Hitt and 17th. Why not have the East and West Bound traffic on a separate light sequence with two left hand turn lanes onto Hitt, North and South. Like the light off Holmes onto 17th.
I can understand why the roundabouts are small, but they were just a band aid fix for a bigger problem caused by a 4 way stop. If you think Ammon and 1st’s 4 stop is bad, you should have seen the mess that Lincoln and Hitt was a few years ago with the 4 way. Traffic was literally backed up almost to Woodruff during rush hour. The roundabout has helped alleviate some of that congestion. What really needs to be done is a traffic light, but God forbid Bonneville County install a traffic light if they have to pay for it.
That section of town is so bad, my solution these days is simple: if at all possible, never travel farther east than Woodruff. Hopefully issues like this will continue to arise and people will see how beneficial a tight-knit, central town lifestyle can be.
Idaho Falls recently annexed a few acres at Hitt and 1st so that they can help Ammon and just fix that intersection. It might not happen till 2009, though, because they got such a late start. It’s nice to see the towns work together on those matters, though.
yeah because ammon can’t do anything by itself
I was recently approached to sign a petition to speed up the construction of a new overpass on Pancheri. Wish I could have signed it a hundred times! If anyone would like to help with that effort and sign the petition, please email me at kalyship@yahoo.com. Surely traffic counts, not to mention common sense, support a solution sooner than the planned date of the project–2012!
I thought Pancheri was slated to be replaced in 2010? Judging by your link I imagine you are more in the know than I am though.
When was Pancheri overpass originally built? The mayor said he had to bike over it as a teenager to get to driver’s ed, so he is personally aware of what a pain it is for students and drivers in that area.
If they are still planning/designing it, I hope they overbuild it to last for the next 50 years. It must be four lanes, and it must have wide pedestrian sidewalks on both sides, preferably with the “cages” over the pedestrian sidewalks to protect them from the traffic and the overhang (for jumpers).
I found your site while looking for information about Idaho Falls traffic signals. The reason being that we (the City of Tacoma) are getting your old signal equipment. We will use your old stuff to replace/upgrade our even older stuff. Your signal equipment must be state of the art with fiber hook-ups and the works. I can keep you posted on our progress.