file://c:\documents and Settings\SSchafer\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\4C98A7A9C... Page 1 of 1 9/27/2010 Sarah Schafer - JUMP From: Daniel Prohaska <sontaine@gmail.com> To: <sschafer@cityofboise.org> Date: 9/21/2010 12:40 PM Subject: JUMP Attachments: JUMP.pdf Sarah -- Enclosed please find my letter in support of JUMP. I also recommend enhancing the pedestrian crosswalk as follows: (1) pedestrian activated red light to stop traffic; (2) 16 foot wide crosswalk to accomodate large crowds and to increase visibility; and (3) strobe lights embedded in pavement on the north side of the crosswalk to increase visibility. Best wishes. Daniel Prohaska, P.O. Box 608, Boise, Idaho 83701, 373-6500 (work).
September 20, 2010 Boise City Design Review Committee Boise City Hall 150 N. Capitol Boulevard Boise, Idaho 83701-0500 Re: Support for JUMP, DRH10-00178 and Recommendation to Improve Project Dear Committee Members: I am writing to support JUMP and encourage the Committee to make any necessary compromises and reach a reasonable resolution of any pending issues to allow this outstanding project to be built for the benefit of the applicant and the citizens of Boise. While I am writing in my personal capacity, please note that I have the privilege of serving as Chairman and CEO of Idaho Trust Bank which is located immediately adjacent to JUMP across 9 th Street. From my window I can see the entire 7.48 project site and I hope JUMP will be my neighbor very soon. JUMP as proposed in the voluminous application documents is simply an outstanding project! In my opinion JUMP will benefit the neighborhood, increase property values and provide a valuable resource for the benefit of downtown and all the citizens of the City of Boise. It has the potential to make a huge contribution towards the Mayor s goal of making Boise the most livable city in America. JUMP is a project that could prove to be as significant in the early 21 st century as The Grove was last century. Recommendation to Improve Project I do have a strong recommendation to improve the project which relates solely to public safety, specifically that the Committee enhance the required pedestrian activated crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety. My recommendation is to require as a written condition of approval that the required pedestrian crosswalk be enhanced as follows: (1) the pedestrian activated crosswalk have a red light to stop traffic; (2) the crosswalk to be at least 16 feet wide to accommodate large crowds and for increased visibility; and (3) the crosswalk to have strobe lights embedded in the street on the north side of the crosswalk for increased visibility. Current Crosswalk Issues Issues with the current crosswalks are relevant to consider because the project proposes a new single crosswalk as its primary pedestrian access located just north of the existing double crosswalks. There are currently standard width double crosswalks for 9 th Street on the north and south sides of Broad Street which are extremely dangerous to use. I know because I use them
nearly every day. Traffic on 9 th Street rarely yields to pedestrians in these crosswalks. A number of my employees and employees of other businesses in BoDo have reported nearly being hit while trying to cross 9 th Street over the past several years. I have personally had cars travelling 35 to 40 MPH on 9 th Street fail to yield and miss me by less than 3 feet while using this crossing. This crosswalk is 4-lanes long and takes the average person 10 to 12 steps or more to cross. A pedestrian is walking 2 to 3 MPH across 9 th Street while traffic is travelling 35 to 40 MPH down 9 th Street. Even if traffic stops in the east lane or east two lanes, traffic does not always stop in all 4 lanes. A cautious pedestrian in the crosswalk can be walking across the east two lanes in front of stopped traffic and still be blocked by the stopped traffic from the vision of drivers in the west two lanes travelling 35 to 40 MPH down 9 th Street. The same is true crossing from west to east. This crosswalk is so dangerous we give new employees a warning to exercise extreme caution using it, and to be even more cautious during rush hour. I have personally observed many people trying to use the crosswalk over the past several years since the BoDo development opened and it is more common than not to see cars ignore pedestrians and drive through the crosswalk while it is occupied. It is a miracle no one has been killed or seriously injured. Hundreds of pedestrians use this crosswalk every day, from early in the morning to late at night. Once JUMP is open, pedestrian traffic using the new 9 th Street and Broad crosswalk will sometimes increase to thousands of pedestrians a day for events held at JUMP and it will be the primary pedestrian access to and from JUMP. The problem is not with pedestrians. To the contrary, pedestrians normally wait for cars to completely clear the street from Front Street to Broad Street before even attempting to cross 9 th Street. Rare is the pedestrian brave enough to step into the crosswalk and attempt to stop traffic. The problem is with drivers. The traffic lights on 9 th Street are synchronized from State Street to Front to Myrtle to University to Rose Hill and up Vista Avenue to the Boise Airport during much of the day. Based on my observations, traffic on 9 th Street at Broad Street is travelling at an average of 35 to 40 MPH versus the posted speed limit of 30 MPH. The obvious speeders are going 45 MPH or more. Drivers on 4-lane arterials in Boise like 9 th Street are simply not focused on pedestrians; they are focused on making the next light. All of you are Boise residents. All of you know how you drive on 9 th Street, Front, Myrtle, Capitol and the other 4-lane and 5-lane arterials we have in town. Even if you drive safely, you know traffic flow on our 4-lane and 5-lane arterials is normally 5 to 10 MPH over the posted speed limit and some speeders drive even faster than the traffic flow. That is why crosswalks on 4-lane and 5-lane arterials in Boise are almost always located only at traffic lights that can stop the traffic with a red light to allow pedestrians to safely cross. The current 9 th and Broad double crosswalks are a notable exception. The traffic speed on 9 th Street is aggravated by four other factors during rush hour. First, during rush hour the traffic going south on 9 th Street from downtown is stopped by the light on Front Street for up to several minutes at a time, as Front Street is the on-ramp for
the Connector and has synchronized lights from Broadway to 13 th Streets. So drivers are stopped for a long period of time, get tired of waiting and quickly accelerate down 9 th Street out of frustration. Second, the lights on Myrtle Street are also synchronized from 13 th Street to Broadway as the off-ramp from the Connector. So drivers on 9 th Street are speeding trying to make the light at Myrtle to avoid being stopped again for another long red light in only two blocks; they are not focused on pedestrians using the crosswalk at Broad Street. Third, a large volume of traffic turns from Front onto 9 th Street and immediately accelerates to try and make the light at Myrtle. Fourth, cars exiting the Front Street garage onto 9 th Street between Front and Broad have to immediately accelerate to 35 to 40 MPH to get into the traffic flow and in some cases are turning across 3 lanes to get into the far west lane [and note the garage exit is less than 100 feet north of the existing north crosswalk]. Requirement for New Crosswalk The primary pedestrian access to JUMP will be from a new, single 9 th Street crosswalk to be relocated to approximately 20 feet north of Broad Street. The existing crosswalk on the south side of Broad Street will be eliminated. The applicant will be required to install a pedestrian activated crosswalk at this new location; however, the requirement does not expressly require the pedestrian activated crosswalk to actually stop traffic on 9 th Street with a red light and it does not require a wide crosswalk to accommodate large crowds and for increased visibility or the use of strobe lights embedded in the pavement for increased visibility. Staff Recommendations to Improve Project I support the staff recommendations l, m and n relating to reducing and relocating vehicular access on the west side of 9 th Street because this will eliminate potential conflicts with pedestrians and potential traffic conflicts between traffic entering and exiting JUMP from 9 th Street. I also understand from discussions with staff that the applicant agrees with these recommendations. These will clearly make the project safer for pedestrians accessing JUMP from the BoDo development and vice versa. My Recommendation to Improve Project I strongly recommend that the Design Review Committee work with staff and the applicant to further address pedestrian safety in approving the project. No one in Boise wants to see a pedestrian death or serious injury as a result of the increased pedestrian traffic that will be crossing 9 th Street at the new Broad Street crosswalk. My recommendation is for the Design Review Committee to require the following enhancements for the crosswalk as a written condition of approval: (1) a pedestrian activated traffic light that will stop traffic on 9 th Street with a red light, equivalent to the traffic light installed on Front Street at the corner of 8 th Street;
(2) the crosswalk be a minimum of 16 feet wide, equivalent to the crosswalk installed on Front Street at the corner of 8 th Street; and (3) strobe lights embedded in the pavement on the north side of the crosswalk, equivalent to the strobe lights embedded in the crosswalk on River Street at the corner of 8 th Street. If my recommendation were followed, it would treat this new pedestrian crosswalk the same as the crosswalks in the immediate vicinity located at Front and 8 th, Front and 9 th, Myrtle and 9 th, and Myrtle and 8 th, all of which have a red light to stop traffic, with the added safety feature of the strobe lights used in the crosswalk on River and 8 th. My belief is the crosswalk at Front and 8 th is the closest equivalent to the new crosswalk at 9 th and Broad and the most recent precedent. The crosswalk at Front and 8 th was installed as a condition of the BoDo development and governs pedestrian traffic from the BoDo development to The Grove and vice versa. Front is a 5-lane arterial with a stop light at a major intersection 1 block before (Capitol) and 1 block after (9 th ) the crosswalk. The crosswalk at Front and 8 th is pedestrian activated from both sides of the street and stops traffic by a red light based on traffic conditions at the time on the arterial. It is a single crosswalk but is marked as approximately 16 feet wide. The extra width accommodates large crowds going to and from The Grove and provides enhanced safety by being more visible to drivers. I have recommended strobe lights be added as an enhancement to the equivalent Front and 8 th type crosswalk for several basic reasons. First, I have observed cars running the red light at Front and 8 th and going through an occupied crosswalk presumably because the drivers were focused on trying to make the light at Front and 9 th, looked through the crosswalk to the traffic lights ahead at the intersection at Front and 9 th and did not see the red light or the crosswalk. This scenario is likely to be repeated at the new 9 th and Broad crosswalk with drivers looking through the red light and crosswalk ahead to the green light at Myrtle and 9 th. It s time to recognize that crosswalks on 4-lane and 5-lane arterials pose increased risks to pedestrians and act accordingly to protect them with inexpensive enhanced safety features. Second, the new crosswalk at 9 th and Broad which will provide pedestrian access to and from JUMP will be 20 feet north of Broad Street. Assuming it is 16 feet wide as recommended to accommodate large crowds and for enhanced visibility, similar to the equivalent Front and 8 th crosswalk, the north side of the 9 th and Broad crosswalk will be less than 75 feet from the exit from the Front Street garage and only about 125 feet south of Front Street. These distances are significantly less than the distance from Capitol to the equivalent crosswalk at Front and 8 th ; this translates to shorter reaction times for drivers and decreased visibility. In addition, traffic will be turning onto 9 th from the Front Street garage and in some cases trying to cross 3 lanes of traffic before entering the crosswalk in less than 75 feet. With JUMP a new loading zone used for passenger drop-off and pick-up will be located on the west side of 9 th Street. It is reasonable to expect more drivers will attempt to exit the Front Street garage and cut across 3 lanes of traffic to drop-off or pick-up their children, family or
friends at JUMP. Again, let s recognize the location of the garage exit onto a 4-lane arterial poses increased risks to pedestrians using a crosswalk less than 75 feet away. It seems prudent to add the inexpensive additional requirement of simple, but effective strobe lights alerting drivers to be cautious and demarcating the crosswalk at ground level given the unique risks of this crosswalk location and the high level of anticipated pedestrian traffic. Pedestrian activated strobe lights are a reliable technology already in use in Boise (River and 8 th crosswalk). The intended purpose of JUMP is to create an urban meeting place. JUMP is an outstanding project and will be very successful in attracting pedestrian traffic. The primary pedestrian access will be the new crosswalk at 9 th and Broad. This crosswalk will provide pedestrian access to a new outdoor Boise event space that will be several times larger than The Grove and large new indoor event spaces. You can begin to imagine how many people will cross 9 th Street at this location from the many events to be held a JUMP for many years to come. A big part of having a livable city is making Boise as pedestrian friendly as possible. Think of all the times you have walked to and from The Grove. Now think of all the times you will walk to and from JUMP. It is in everyone s best interest to get it right the first time when it comes to the primary pedestrian crosswalk to JUMP. Please work with the applicant and take appropriate action to ensure pedestrians can safely cross 9 th Street walking to and from JUMP by requiring as a written condition of approval a pedestrian activated red light to stop traffic, a wide crosswalk to accommodate large crowds and increase visibility and strobe lights to increase visibility. The applicant is making a bold statement in building JUMP. I strongly encourage the Committee to recommend that staff work with the applicant to explore all City, CCDC and ACHD funding resources to mitigate the entire cost of enhancing the required crosswalk to make it as safe as possible for pedestrians going to and from JUMP. Daniel Prohaska P.O. Box 608 Boise, Idaho 83701 (208) 373-6500 (work)