Boise, the Downtown of our Dreams

Boise: In Many Ways, We Have The Downtown Of Our Dreams

by David H. Bieter, Mayor of Boise

Imagine a Downtown where people come from all around to shop, dine and take in entertainment.  A Downtown where business thrives and great new projects are always in the works.  A Downtown where people don't just work and play, but live.  That's the Downtown of Boise's future. The really good news is that it's also the downtown of Boise's present. Every healthy community in the world is built around the vibrant urban heart, and ours is well on its way to becoming one.  As we work to make Boise the most livable city in the country, our Downtown is a tremendous asset---and a positive portent of what's to come.

Growing up in Boise, I remember a couple of blocks from our house the old Carnegie Library, watching matinees at the old Pinney Theatre. and getting lectured by a stern police officer (I think his name badge said "Bisterfeldt") because I'd thought about riding my bike through a red light.  In general, though, the 1960's and 1970's were not happy times for Downtown Boise, thanks to some overly aggressive urban renewel efforts that yielded several surface parking lots and not much reason to use them.  Thhrough the energy and ideas of a partnership that includes the city of Boise, Capital City Development Corporation, Downtown Boise Association, Greater Boise Auditorium District and countless dedicated businesspeople, the asphalt desert of 25 years ago has blossomed into a dynamic, thriving city center.

Our citizens tell us we're on the right track.  Visit Downtown any day or evening of the week, and you'll find people enjoying a great urban experience.  The city of Boise's recently completed citizen survey showed that 93% of our residents visit Downtown on a regular basis and almost three-quarters give Downtown positive marks as a place to visit.

The best news of all: 80 % of Boiseans say they feel safe walking alone Downtown after dark, up from 68 percent just two years ago.  For that, we should thank our Boise Police Department, as well as the Downtown Task Force we assembled to help us address issues before they become problems.  Cooperation between law enforcement, businesses and citizens will become even more important as residential activity increases in the Downtown area. Such residential development---having people and families of all ages and income levels living downtown---is critical to creating a livable Downtown.  We can't bring back the old Pinney or the Carnegie Library, but Downtown deserves to go back to the future in other ways:  With a wide range of performance spaces to accomodate arts, athletics and conventions, not to mention more parades (and starting this summer, the return of the Fourth of July fireworks); with a new Downtown library anchoring a prosperous cultural district; and with an efficient, cost-effective streetcar system that will allow residents and visitors to move around downtown without getting into their cars and hunting down a parking space.  And of course, lots of kids and adults on bikes---all of them obeying traffic laws.

That's a future worth working toward.  I am proud to say we're on our way.