BOISE, Idaho — Anyone taking a stroll down 8th Street in downtown Boise has seen big, bulky barricades.
But those barricades are now gone, as city leaders celebrated improvements to make it easier to walk around one of the busiest streets in the City of Trees.
The push for improvements centered around making that busy section of the street more accessible for everyone.
As part of the project, the city removed bike lanes and pavement markings, installed yellow tactile wayfinding strips, made street crossings ADA-compliant, and relocated the pedestrian ramps and signals.
If you've ever walked around downtown Boise, you know 8th Street is a core part of Boise.
It's part of the heart of the City of Trees where many bars, restaurants, and shops are - and many people.
Mayor Lauren McLean said the improvements open the streets for all people, no matter how the public gets around.
"This truly opens up the street for all people," Mayor Lauren McLean said. "I really appreciate the work of our Cross Disability Taskforce that helped us make sure that this street works for everyone in Boise, no matter how you get around."
The improvements wrap up the first phase of 8th Street upgrades, which were about making 8th Street for people.
Next up, there's phase two, which will make 8th Street about people.
The City of Boise will have the initiative to talk with residents and local businesses about how they would like 8th Street to look - and how to add aesthetic touches to shape the street's identity.
A number of groups will be part of the process, including the Downtown Boise Association.
"The next phase that will be coming is truly what this is going look like in the future and for long term," Downtown Boise Association Executive Director Jennifer Hensley said. "So now we've got it up to par for use, but now we've got to look at what should it look like, and really how this should function. So we're really excited to work on that with the downtown business owners and the city, and all of the other parties. And maintain that this accessible street now has its next phase of looking cool and functioning really well."
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