BOISE, Idaho — Security footage from Bobby Peterson, the owner of Fairly Reliable Bob's Car Dealership, shows two vehicles driving over the curb of a new bus stop design in downtown Boise.
The city is upgrading six bus stops on Fairview Avenue and Main Street to this new design, according to Valley Regional Transit (VRT) Public Information Officer, Mark Carnopis.
Not all think this new design is an improvement.
The new bus stop design separates the bike lane from the traffic lane. The bus stop design is intended to, "allow buses to safely stop for passengers without crossing lanes and disrupting the flow of bike traffic," according to Carnopis.
It's a good idea on paper, according to Boise cyclist Rob Hanson. However, Hanson fears drivers turning right won't see the biker that is emerging from behind the bus stop structure.
"I generally will try to stay away from roads that don't have space on the side," Hanson said. "People with those special lanes are looking at the cars to turn right. Often time they miss bicyclist because they're not in the lanes they're looking at. So, they pull out right in front of you."
It's a concern Hanson shares with Fair Reliable Bob's Owner, Bobby Peterson. Through the bus stop design phase, Petersen said his concerns fell on deaf ears.
"They built them too close to the lane of traffic. So, where the white line would normally be, that's where the curb is," Petersen said. "I don't care who you are, if you drive a car you've touched the white line or gone over the white line. We all do it. None of us are perfect. But in this case if you go over the white line you hit a 12-inch curb."
The project is managed by the Capital City Development Corporation. However, Valley Regional Transit spoke with KTVB on their behalf.
"Every step of this project has been designed based on transit street design guidelines and site specific studies with support and approval from [Ada County Highway District] and VRT… There is no encroachment into the travel lane," Carnopis wrote KTVB in an email. "We have seen a couple incidences that may have been inattentive driving, and we encourage drivers to continue to use safe driving methods, to stay aware on the road, etc."
In March, the design added reflective delineator sticks and stripped pavement leading into the front curb of the platform to alert drivers. Both safety measures were in place when two different drivers struck the curb in Fairly Reliable Bob's security footage.
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