C O G -- Citizens for an Open Greenbelt

Is it feasible to return this path to the condition required for mixed, non-motorized use? 

 You bet it is!  In fact, we have been told that the Garden City Police are patrolling this path...  ON A BICYCLE!!!  Obviously, it is not in such bad condition as Garden City claims. 

U R Visitor #

• "Too Narrow & Unsafe?"
• Recent Photos
• GC's $23,000 Detour 

For the past 20 years bicycle riders travelling west from Glenwood on the north side of the river had to detour from the River to Riverside Drive, to Arney, out to 55mph State Street, back towards the River on Ulmer, through Lakeland Village to eventually, HOPEFULLY hook up to Eagle's Greenbelt sometime in 2008.  Due to pressure from COG, Mayor Evans finally concocted the infamous "Wakefield Detour" which does prevent the State Street portion of the route. 

Short-term Solution...  If you consider the relatively good condition of the path and the  contributions of time and money already on the table, it would have cost the city far less to return the original path along the river to bicycle-ready condition than to pave a $23,000 detour along an irrigation ditch in the middle of a subdivision and city streets.  At the same time, a path around the back side of the lake in Lakeland Village to the western city limit (which had been promised for many years, but never delivered) was also paved.  We were told that was a $100,000 project. 

So now we have a "greenbelt" path that surreptitiously snakes through two subdivisions on city streets and along newly paved utility easements.  There are places where these new paths are no more than six feet wide.  Finding the route is next to impossible!  All this to keep the peasants away from the lovely river area!  We doubt seriously that this paving would have happened this spring if there had not been pressure from COG to open the Riverside Village pathway.  It was done now so that the City Council could divert attention from the real issue - the RV path is supposed to be open to bicycles!!! 

Realistically, this route, if it is ever well-marked, might be the preference for the serious or commuting cyclist who prefers pavement and it will allow them higher speeds than a meandering gravel path by the river.  But, the recreational cyclist, the family with kids, or the senior who just wants a leisurely ride along the scenic river is not served by this piecemeal solution!

Long-term Solution...  Mayor Evans claims that the long term solution will be to build a pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the river so that bicycles can divert to the South side of the river to connect with the south side Garden City path (where they presumably will not disturb the good citizens of Riverside Village.)  It is still only in the planning stages - even the exact location has not yet been determined.  This will take years and many dollars that Garden City claims they do not have. 

* $23,0000 was the most recent Wakefield detour estimate given to us by Mayor Evans - it might have been significantly more!  Total pricetag for this patchwork solution was probably in the neighborhood of $150,000.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  You will find several broken "links" on these pages.  In most cases, we posted the link AND the original content that was found there as evidence of fact.  You can be sure that the content is correct, but as we post "evidence," Garden City and the Riverside Village HomeOwner's Association remove the content from their pages.  They have also pressured outside sources to change their pages.  For example, the BSU Biology Department page on the Boise River Greenbelt no longer references the blockages in Garden City at the Plantation and Riverside Village that prevent the vision of the Greenbelt extending along the river all the way from Lucky Peak to Eagle Island. 

In addition to removing content from public pages, we have been told by several supporters who posted comments or wrote to Garden City from their work e-mail addresses, that their companies were contacted by Garden City and asked if the comments were the official position of the company.  In other words, GC was bringing pressure upon the individuals via their employers. 

Can you say "damage control?"  None of this, of course, is outright illegal, but it is certainly evidence of questionable ethics and practices.  I must say, we ARE flattered that Garden City and the Riverside Village Homeowner's Association are so diligently reading our e-mails and our web pages!