Looking Back on Barber Town, Idaho Statesmen 1953
Moving into the 1950’s the Barber area didn’t have a lot of action because it was still recovering from the mill and old town being there just 20 years prior. 1953 this area was vacant fields where a town thrived and industrial giant use to be. The Barber area was torn down when timber grew scarcer in Boise. “Residents of the former mill town of Barber, ID located NE of Boise near Barber Park have been meeting annually over the past couple decades after the sawmill shut down” (Idaho Statesmen, 1970). This is all the former residents of Barber Town had was their memories and stories of how life in this area used to be. Since then timber in this area was being harvested on a sustained yield basis and moved to places like Emmett, ID by truck (The Idaho Sunday Statesman, Sept 1953). Other than the small loads of timber that were being transported to different parts of the state, this area was introduced to a new method of transportation.
Barber Area Now, Idaho Statesmen 1953
The 1960’s is often known as the era of change. Not only did this era have significant changes within our federal government, but also in the way people started viewing the environment. This era brought people to seek out and to find nature in a different way. This is when citiess especially had to do some soul searching to find out how they were going to implement nature within their own cities.. Because of the scenic view of the river and the open space of land, the Barber area became significantly more interesting to the city of Boise. Going out of the city to find open space was a way for citizens to become more in tune with nature. Although the Barber area was still considered to be on the outskirts of the city, people were willing to travel the distance to attain that nature feel. The city of Boise had to figure out a way to make the best use of this newfound open scenic space. The 1960’s brought a new look on how the environment should be viewed. However this wasn’t until the 1970’s when the idea for a Boise Bike Plan was brought to the surface.
Beginning in 1971 the plan started being prepared by the plan started being prepared by the American Association of University Women’s Human Use Space Study Group and the Boise City Traffic Engineering Division. At this time the plan was a general overview working towards the long term goal. Nothing was written out or set in stone, because they didn’t know how much of this plan was going to be possible for the city of Boise (Urban Bicycle Route System). After this initial thought about Boise having a bicycle system, the committee of Boise Metropolitan Transportation Study (BMTS) developed a follow- up bicycle plan in 1973. This was a study that focused on striping of streets with in- park areas for bicycle use, providing bicycle ramps and curb cuts for cyclists. Through this study the BMTS hoped to gain a unique yet specific bicycle plan that was just the right fit for a city like Boise. The committee wanted to encourage the public to be encouraged to participate in planning and review of the bikeway. After all they were hoping to accomplish they didn’t want to fund such a huge project and it not fit the needs of the people living in the city. The study came to find that Boise was increasing in the number of bicyclists; therefore it would be a good investment for the city to have a place for bicyclists to ride away from traffic. The study also came to find that there was increasingly new push for environmentalism starting in the 1970’s. This trend started to be a new movement in the 60’s, however didn’t actually attain action until the 70’s. Through this action women latched onto the opportunity at drafting a bike plan for the city (Urban Bicycle Route System).
In 1975 the Boise Metropolitan Transportation Study committee drafted a major update of the old plan with the intention of creating a more specific plan that had different aspects for different areas. The important mandate this plan wanted to hit was to have continuous routes throughout the city. These routes would be designated where Boise Transportation Study indicated a need for a bikeway. An important factor of this plan was the separation of bicycles from vehicles. This separation allowed for a safer ride for the bicyclists making it more enjoyable. The bikeways in populated areas were located on streets with minimum traffic. This plan brought a new design for recreation and transportation uses. The main priorities determined to be in the new draft came from the public input of the study. Some of this input included a completion of the north side of the Boise River Greenbelt through the Barber area and Municipal Park (Boise Bikeway Plan 1975).
Although this plan was well drafted and thought out, there seem to be a huge roadblock that would push the plan back. Providing funds for the project was one of the biggest concerns the committee members had to accomplish. They were able to determine “alternative sources of funds will have to be developed to keep up with the needs of bicyclists. For the Greenbelt and park pathways the Boise City Park Department funded approximately $11,000 for bikeways to build two miles of bike paths in coordination with the Boise River Greenbelt” (Boise Bikeway Plan 1975). Federal funding also became available but no state was allowed more than $2,000,000 for projects in a year. Since there began to be more bike sales than cars, the committee thought about taxing bicyclists a 3% or 5% sales tax to gain more funds. That idea was stopped because it would require State Legislation to come into play for this change.
The Boise Bike Plan didn’t just pave the way for a new method of transportation; it also got the city’s attention for the need of more parks. The Parks and Recreation Board wanted to turn areas along the bikeway plan into public parks. In 1974 the battle for Barber Park begins. This started to be a major push to turn this area into a park because it was a great place to by the river and the location was perfect for recreational purposes. The park included the bike trails and hoped to even have an equestrian trail. The parking lot would be equipped with environmental paving.
Barber Park Layout, Idaho Statesmen 1974
The park began to be developed by the county with matching federal funds. It was important that the county to buy the park so it didn’t get in the hands of private buyers (Idaho Statesmen, July 2, 1974). In 1975 the Parks and Recreation Board finally approved $106,000 of federal funds to buy 22 acres near Barber Dam. The regional Director of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation stated, “the area should be chosen close to main highways or public transportation due to the energy shortage. This is why we chose our first project to be Barber Park” (Idaho Statesmen, July 25, 1975). Boise City Park Development was mainly in charge of the greenbelt paths, but the addition of Barber Park to their list turned the Barber area into an official park for the city of Boise.
Bibliography
“Looking Back Across the Years.” The Idaho Sunday Statesmen, September 4, 1953.
“People Here, People Now.” Idaho Statesman, January 1, 1970.
“Park Board Approves 22-Acre Purchase Near Barber Dam.” Idaho Statesman, July 25, 1975.
Sandeen, Rod. “County Bats 2 for 3 on Park Timetables.” Idaho Statesman, July 2, 1974.
“Urban Bicycle Route System : Master Plan.” Boise Metropolitan Transportation Study. Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee, 1976.
“Boise Bikeway Plan 1975.” Boise Metropolitan Transportation Study. Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee, 1975.
Urban Environmental Boise 