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Boise City Council approves mixed-use development amidst concerns over traffic safety

An aerial view of the lot where a hotel, apartment complex and a Hindu temple is set to be developed.
Planning and Zoning Commission
/
City of Boise
An aerial view of the lot where a hotel, apartment complex and a Hindu temple is set to be developed.

Plans to build a hotel, apartment complex and a Hindu temple on Vista Ave. are moving forward despite neighbors’ concerns over traffic safety.

In August, the City of Boise Planning and Zoning Commission approved construction on the mixed-use nine acre lot located on Sunrise Rim east of Vista near the I-84 intersection.

Tammy Zokan, who appealed that initial decision, said the city should have considered adding safety measures, like new crosswalk signals or additional space to buffer pedestrians waiting to cross, before approving the development.

“Not looking at pedestrian cyclist safety at the only intersection providing connectivity to the development before adding thousands of car trips to that intersection per day, that has deadly consequences,” she said at theBoise City Council meeting on Tuesday evening.

Council President Jimmy Hallyburton agreed it was “not a great intersection” but voted against the appeal.

“I do think that there needs to be a lot of safety concerns addressed on Vista, and I think that there's other mechanisms for us to do that as well. But I don't see an error in planning and zoning’s decision with this one,” he said.

The board voted unanimously to deny the appellant’s request.

I joined Boise State Public Radio in 2022 as the Canyon County reporter through Report for America, to report on the growing Latino community in Idaho. I am very invested in listening to people’s different perspectives and I am very grateful to those who are willing to share their stories with me. It’s a privilege and I do not take it for granted.

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