Public transportation is something that is desperately needed in the United States, and especially here in Idaho.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has determined that 45% of Americans have no access to public transportation and that most existing systems are ageing and dilapidated. This is especially bad in places such as Idaho.
The Treasure Valley metro area has had a booming population in the last 20 years, yet the only public transit present there is an underfunded bus system.
As someone who is from the Treasure Valley area and drives there regularly, traffic has become noticeably worse in the last five years.
According to KTVB7 traffic has become a lot worse in the last couple of years and will continue to get worse until the area is overwhelmed. This is simply because of the amount of people that have been moving to Idaho.
There is a simple solution to this–instituting just one commuter rail from Caldwell to Boise would create a massive improvement to transportation inside the Treasure Valley. Other cities such as Salt Lake City and Seattle have commuter rails in their metro areas.
The FrontRunner commuter rail in the Salt Lake City metro area was shown to reduce traffic and emissions in the city. The Sounder commuter rail in Seattle was also shown to reduce traffic congestion in the Puget Sound Area.
Commuter rail projects worked at reducing traffic congestion in both of those major metro areas. It should work at reducing congestion in the Treasure Valley metro area.
There are already existing rail corridors that run from downtown Boise to Caldwell so building upon those would cost less than building up completely new infrastructure. This project is absolutely within reach.
Cameron King, a Nampa resident, said, “I think a train to Boise would be good because it would make commuting easier and quicker and allow more mobility in the valley.”
King is not alone: there is public support for commuter rail in the Treasure Valley. The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) is currently working on getting feedback about how to improve mass transit in Southwest ID.
The Transportation Association of Idaho is a lobbying group that advocates for developing better transit solutions.
There are many benefits to public transportation that are not talked about enough. For example, public transit is shown to make communities healthier by encouraging walking and reducing cars on the road. Fewer cars on the road reduces pollution and car accidents.
Also, according to HealthAffairs.org, more public transportation also allows people to access health services while also providing more options for the elderly and disabled.
Another benefit is the economic impact. By making it easier for people to get to a variety of services, those businesses generate more profit. Building public transportation also creates jobs.
Building a commuter rail in the Treasure Valley would be the start of improving public transportation in other areas of Idaho, potentially being followed by a light-rail in the Boise city center.
Public transportation overall would massively improve the lives of Idaho residents by expanding access to goods and services while also making Idaho healthier. If you are one of the many who support more public transportation in Idaho, reach out to your legislator and voice your support.
Chris Sprague can be reached at arg-opinion@uidaho.edu.