Beyond the Bike Lane: How YOU can impact what happens IN the bike lane!

It’s been a bit since my last Beyond the Bike Lane blog. For those who aren’t familiar, Beyond the Bike Lane is a subsection of our blog that discusses important meetings, elections, projects, etc., that impact our bicycling community—and our bike lanes (or lack there of).

Most of my posts revolve around Ada County Highway District (ACHD), and that is because they own 98% of our roads. This makes us one of the very few metropolitan areas that does not own, maintain, and plan our streets (I’ll let you determine if it’s a good or bad uniqueness).

ACHD has an elected board of commissioners who determine the funding priorities of the agency. They act very similar to city council in that they vote on a budget, host public hearings for projects from the City of Boise, developers, and ACHD Staff, and ultimately vote yay or nay to projects and developments that happen in all of Ada County, from Boise to Meridian to Kuna.

So why the h#*% am I writing about them, again?!

Because they have 3 of the 5 seats up for election this year. The majority of the commission. Some might say it is a transformative election year for ACHD too, and those who are saying that include me, Jimmy, and the nonprofits that work for bicycle and pedestrian safety. And because it is such a transformative election, we want to help you learn more about the candidates this year!

Find out what district you live in with this interactive map.

On September 28 at the Botanical Garden, from 5-7:30pm, we are hosting a Candidates Forum on Walking & Biking in Ada County. All candidates are invited and will be answering questions formatted by a committee of bicycle and pedestrian advocates. The event will be outdoors with enough space to practice COVID protocols, and masks will be required. We also ask that you bring your own chair or other sitting device (think a Great Garden Escape event but with a candidates forum instead of music).

You can reserve your ticket here!