Treasure Valley High Capacity Transit Study

The Treasure Valley High Capacity Transit Study began in 2007 in conjunction with Valley Regional Transit and other member agencies and consists of three related planning projects: a multimodal transportation center, a downtown circulator, and an east-west high-capacity corridor.

• Multimodal transportation center - A multimodal center in downtown Boise will serve as a "hub" for various transportation services. In time, the center could house buses, streetcars, and regional high-capacity transit such as passenger rail or bus rapid transit. It will also include functions such as transit information, bicycle parking, public art, restrooms, and retail space. The study portion of this project is complete still in process, although the federal government has accepted the required “Environmental Assessment” to allow federal funding to be used for the project.

The center will be built on one of two candidate sites:

• a half city block on the east side of 11th Street between Bannock and Idaho streets in Boise. (Site H)
• a similar sized location on the east side of 12 th Street between Idaho and Main Streets in Boise. (Site D)

The multimodal center will be built using a combination of federal and local monies. Valley Regional Transit (www.valleyregionaltransit.org) is now in negotiations with the property owner in order to proceed with construction. Click here for additional information and materials.

• Downtown circulator - A circulator would be a service to improve mobility among primary destinations within and adjacent to downtown Boise. The COMPASS portion of this project is complete; responsibility for future work now belongs to the City of Boise and the Capital City Development Corporation. Visit (www.boisestreetcar.org) for more information.
  
• High-capacity corridor - A plan for high-capacity transit service for locations along I-84 within Ada and Canyon counties.

View Treasure Valley High Capacity Transit Study Briefing Book here.

HIGH PRIORITY CORRIDOR STUDY

A study to begin analysis of potential corridors (e.g., “paths” or “alignments”) and potential modes (e.g., types of vehicles) was initiated in 2009 to narrow down options to move forward for a more in-depth study. Results of this study and related documents are linked below.

• Treasure Valley High Capacity Transit Study Priority Corridor Phase 1 Alternatives Analysis (October 2009) (Filesize is 3.73MB)
  
  This draft summarizes the work reviewed by a Regional Transportation Advisory Committee between April and September 2009. This report recommends that up to six alignment and modal options be considered for a more in-depth evaluation under a future “Alternatives Analysis” study. The Alternatives Analysis is required by the Federal Transit Administration in order to consider a major transit project for federal funding.
  
• Executive Summary Treasure Valley High Capacity Transit Study Priority Corridor Phase 1 Alternatives Analysis (October 2009)
  
• Traffic Analysis Process (September 2009)
  
• Alignment and mode options for Phase 1 Study: Memo (July 2009)
  
• Recommended Stations for Preliminary Analysis (July 21, 2009)
  • Fairview
  • Franklin
  • Boise Cutoff
• I-84
• Overland
  
• Preliminary Information: Memo (February 2009)
  
• Maps and photos of segments of each of the five candidate corridors:
  • Fairview Alignment (10.13MB)
  • Franklin Alignment (8.31MB)
  • Boise Cutoff (9.03MB)
  • I84 (8.79)
  • Overland Alignment (10.05MB

The recommendations contained in these reports are subject to review by the COMPASS Board.

Project Administration

A subgroup of the Regional Technical Advisory Committee (RTAC) has been meeting to work on this issue. Meeting packets are below.

• September 29, 2009
• September 15, 2009
• August 25, 2009
• July 14, 2009
• June 2, 2009
• April 14, 2009

For More Information Contact:
Charles Trainor, COMPASS
475-2243
ctrainor@compassidaho.org