BOISE, Idaho — St. Luke’s is partnering with the City of Boise to fund a new recreation trail.
The new trail will be three-quarters of a mile long and connect the Boise VA Medical Center to existing trails in the Military Reserve area, near Boise's North and East End neighborhoods.
“We are thrilled to partner with the City of Boise to provide this new trail connection as a way to give back and celebrate the completion of this phase of enhancements to the Boise hospital,” said Sandee Gehrke, St. Luke’s vice president of system operations. “This trail will improve access to outdoor recreation, and is something our employees, families, neighbors and the community can enjoy.”
This spring, St. Luke’s is wrapping up completion on a new central utility plant, patient parking garage and shipping and receiving facility at the Boise hospital. The improvements are part of St. Luke’s Boise Master Plan, which was approved by the City of Boise in 2015.
The new recreation trail was requested by community members in the area and highlighted in the North End Neighborhood Association neighborhood plan as a desired amenity, according to city officials.
“We are grateful to have a partner like St. Luke’s that values health and outdoor recreation as much as we do,” said Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway. “This new trail connection will increase access to one of the city’s most popular reserves and trail users who responded to our most recent Ridge to Rivers survey strongly support its construction.”
The trail will be designed as a neighborhood access point, near W. Union Street, without a formal trailhead or additional parking.
This trail will be a multi-use, dog on-leash connection. Dogs must be on-leash on the VA campus when accessing the trail connection.
The Ridge to Rivers trail crew plans to build the connection this year. The construction cost is an estimated $12,000, which will be covered by St. Luke’s.
