Former Mayor: Dick Eardley: Streetcar is distracting us from real air quality and traffic issues

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October 08, 2009

Dick Eardley: Streetcar is distracting us from real air quality and traffic issues

READER'S VIEW BOISE STREETCAR

BY DICK EARDLEY - Idaho Statesman

READER'S VIEW BOISE STREETCAR

As a former mayor of Boise, I have always refrained from giving advice or criticizing current city administrators, simply because I didn't feel it was my place to do so. However, in the city's current rush and push to establish a streetcar in Downtown Boise, I feel I must voice an opinion. I say that because I think city policy-makers and leaders are putting far too much emphasis on a gimmick while ignoring the real problems of air quality and traffic facing Boise and southwest Idaho.

I don't think anyone can argue the fact that the smoggy air over this area and the growing problem of traffic jams are both caused primarily by an overabundance of automobiles and trucks and a lack of roads and/or other transportation alternatives. A better use of federal and local tax dollars would be a light rail system from Caldwell through Nampa and Meridian to Boise and stretching at some time in the future all the way to the Ontario/Payette/Fruitland area and possibly even to Mountain Home on the east side. I say that for the following reasons:

1) A trolley system in Downtown Boise would take very few, if any, automobiles off the roads of Ada and Canyon counties. Commuters would continue to clog morning and afternoon traffic lanes throughout the area, and practically no one would abandon their autos for the trolley that runs only from one end of Downtown Boise to the other. Yes, it would be cute and nice to have - something for the tourists to see and locals to use for a few blocks instead of walking - but it would do little to relieve otherwise congested areas. In fact, it may even add to the congestion of Downtown Boise, with the trolley using up to one lane of traffic at any given time.

2) The cost of $60 million for the trolley system seems exorbitant when compared to the benefits it would give. And make no mistake about it, the $60 million comes from taxpayers, both federal and local. In addition, I have seen nothing to pinpoint what ongoing costs would be, even as "free ridership" is being touted. Somewhere along the line, the city will have to bear the price of maintaining the line, including equipment, personnel and all the other attendant costs that go with such an operation.

3) I have to doubt seriously the idea that the trolley alone will be responsible for $207 million in new development along the route and in 3,970 jobs that would be created. Some new development would obviously be spurred by creation of the trolley, but in a growing city, to say all new development and job creation would be attributed solely to the streetcar is, I think, stretching the point.

If we really need to spend $60 million of public money, would it not be better to spend it on some form of light rail transportation? A well-operated system would obviously take a good share of commuters off the already-overburdened highways and freeways leading into and out of Boise. That, in turn, would not only ease traffic woes but also could contribute greatly to a reduced amount of carbon monoxide spewing into the air daily. Even though the basic groundwork is already in place for such a system, the biggest roadblock has been funding, and yet we plan to spend $60 million just to set up a trolley system in Downtown Boise, plus the ongoing costs to operate it.

In conclusion, the idea of a trolley in and of itself is fine as a cute way to make Downtown Boise unique, but it does nothing to solve a far more critical problem. It makes me wonder what has happened to all the hyped-up plans for light rail that were, for a number of years, the city's top priority. That idea, by the way, has already included the purchase of several miles of railroad track east of Boise in years past.

Dick Eardley of Meridian is a former mayor of Boise.