Transportation has been the number one community concern according to our residents with Eagle Road being a source of that concern for many. I, along with many of you, have said that the speed limit is too fast along this road and have been asking the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) to help address this issue to make traveling Eagle Road safer. Well, after working with them for several years, they have developed a pilot project for the corridor, and they are ready to hear from you about their plan.

First, I want to share some information with you. Eagle Road is roughly 6.5 miles of major roadway in Meridian that provides limited access to businesses and residential homes. Nearly 60,000 vehicles drive this road every day, a number that has doubled since 2000. We have gone to three lanes both north and south of Interstate 84 to River Valley Road. Working with ITD, we supported and have center turn medians along this road. While these changes have occurred, there are roughly 400 vehicle crashes every year resulting on average one fatality a year over the last four years. Every crash is a cost and impact to our residents that can impact those involved emotionally, mentally and financially, and also with just time and frustration for those not involved who are trying to get from point a to b. It is also an impact to our public safety personnel who respond to these accidents, taking large amounts of resources to keep people safe and keep traffic moving. This is unacceptable and our community deserves to feel safe while driving.

ITD has proposed a pilot program, that impacts the speeds along the corridor. During congestion times the variable speed will be posted at 45 mph vs the current 55mph. This would be Monday-Friday from 7-9 am and 4-6 pm. All the electronic speed limit signs would change simultaneously, so drivers are aware of the change. Additional signage will be posted, to inform residents of the variable speed limit area. In addition, the Ada County Highway District will regularly evaluate the time progressions of all traffic signals. This would be the first use of this technology nationwide on an urban corridor which is why it is a pilot program. The pilot program is planned to go into effect in 2025 for two years, and then ITD will evaluate the data for an additional year to see if it improves any of the challenges we are facing on Eagle Road.

In addition to the variable speed pilot project, ITD evaluated the left turns located in the center of Eagle Road and determined that four of those locations need to be restricted to improve sight distance for drivers. These locations include southbound at Meadowdale and U-turns near Ustick, and northbound at Baldcypress and Lanark. We have seen drivers involved in accidents as they attempt to cross Eagle Road at these locations due to limited visibility along the multiple lanes. These changes will cause commuters to drive a bit further on Eagle Road to ultimately make it to their east or west locations, however, the goal is to lessen the vehicle crashes we are experiencing as a community.

You can read more about this project on ITD’s website, HERE, and ITD is meeting with local businesses, residents, and partners in law enforcement. As residents, you can learn more about this project and share your feedback online or at two open houses hosted by ITD:

1. August 28, 5-7 pm at Community Planning Association of Southwest ID (700 NE 2^nd Street, Meridian 83642)
2. August 29, 5-7 pm at Hilton Garden Inn (Riverside Drive, Eagle 83616)

Vehicle crashes are tragic; for the drivers in the crash and everyone who passes the wreck while still commuting. It also causes a lot of additional congestion for commuters. There are layers of impact and Eagle Road needs to be addressed for our residents. Although I would have liked to see the speed limits drop to 45 all the time, this is a good step in that direction and took many conversations and brainstorming sessions to get here. For that, I want to thank ITD for listening to our concerns and proposing a first step in addressing the challenges we are experiencing, and I look forward to hearing what our residents have to say about this proposal.