NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
The city of Nampa took a focused look at the future of its downtown core at a workshop last Thursday, discussing the 2024 Downtown Implementation Plan.
Members of Nampa City Council, public works and the mayor were all in attendance.
A goal Mayor Debbie Kling highlighted was to have different departments and plans working together toward a unified vision.
“We’re doing the downtown implementation study because we’ve spent a lot of money on a lot of studies,” Kling said at the workshop. “The left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing.”
A presentation at Thursday’s meeting listed several downtown plans that went back as far as 2004, some that never came to fruition. This time around, the city hopes to follow through all the way.
“We’ve got to take all of this, once and for all, and pull it into something actionable so we can actually get it done,” Kling said.
Thursday’s workshop was a part of the beginning stages of planning as city leaders and employees heard back from concluded studies and established areas of focus. According to the timeline, the city will come to a final vision in the spring of 2025.
“We need some guidance on codes that really need to reflect what it is that the community wants to do,” Nampa Principal Planner Doug Critchfield said. “There’s been a lack of consensus about some of the plans and vision.”
Director of Transportation Crystal Craig outlined plans to improve crumbling sidewalks, access to crosswalks and areas without curb ramps.
“There’s deteriorated infrastructure, inequitable access, poor sidewalks, severe roadway crowning,” Craig said, listing concerns. “... This has been a long time coming.”
Another part of accessibility has been the consideration of parking downtown. Walker Consultants, a private engineering and planning business, analyzed Nampa’s parking.
In their findings, a need for future parking management was noted.
The group’s recommended plans also prioritized access to downtown businesses. Free parking spots could be converted to metered spots that charge more than the downtown parking garage. Currently, the first hour of parking in the garage is free and then $1 per hour after that, for a maximum of $6 per day.
In doing so, the city could see improved use of the parking garage and cars that use parking spots for shorter amounts of time.
Part of the improvement plans come back to the Raise Grant, a federal infrastructure and equity grant, that has been put toward pathways throughout the city. The city received its $5 million grant in August 2022.
RSM Design, a private design and branding company, was contracted by the city to analyze downtown Nampa. RSM Associate Principal Christy Montgomery offered points of improvement for wayfinding.
Wayfinding is the use of signs, design and more to help people navigate an area.
Montgomery found that Nampa’s signs were too small, pointing out “Downtown Nampa” signs on traffic lights.
“You can see, this little dot … is your wayfinding sign to downtown,” she said.
The study found a crowd of regulatory signs downtown that were confusing and could serve as deterrents to visitors.
“Our focus is to make it a welcoming and inviting space for the community,” Montgomery said.
Other community highlights were difficult to recognize. Montgomery recommended adding signage to identify Lloyd Square Park.
As they discussed possible plans, Councilmember Randy Haverfield noted they shouldn’t get ahead of themselves when planning for areas where the city hasn’t yet communicated with property owners.
“I just thought it was premature to dial in on an area that we own part of, but a lot of it’s still owned by others,” Haverfield said.
Kling reiterated the goal of being purposeful with the studies and planning.
“We’ve all seen great ideas go south, and we’ve seen what many would consider mistakes that we’ve made in the downtown area,” Kling said. “There were investments and money spent and prices paid — we don’t want to go there again. We all are here because we wouldn’t want to make unwise decisions as we move forward.”
The city’s data collection will wrap up by the end of the year. The next phase will be dedicated to developing the plan.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
