2/14/2014
Public provides comments on Karcher/Middleton improvement project
NAMPA – Comments gathered at a public meeting in Nampa Thursday night (Feb. 13) ranged from support for more widening of Karcher and Middleton roads to limiting the amount of sidewalks.
The meeting, held at the Karcher Church of the Nazarene, was designed to give residents the opportunity to view plans to improve the intersection of Karcher and Middleton roads. More than 100 people attended the meeting.
The project, starting this fall, is designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety. Planned improvements to the intersection include adding lanes, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and a new traffic signal.
“I think overall it’s good to see they’re widening the roads,” Bill Hamilton, of Nampa, said. “I think we’d all like to see more widening of Karcher, and more widening of Middleton. I’d like to see Karcher widened to the (Nampa/Caldwell) Boulevard.”
Carol Meek, who lives in the area, said she would like to see open space preserved.
“My issue is with the sidewalks,” Meek said. “We have to stop paving over everything.”
Ham Hamilton said he supports a full closure of the interchange during construction.
“Build it fast,” he said. “I prefer a detour to get the project done more quickly.”
Those who were unable to attend Thursday’s meeting can still learn about the project and provide input at an online public meeting that begins Friday (Feb. 14), at www.itd.idaho.gov and continues for two weeks. Participants can view displays online and listen to a presentation.
In addition, live online chat sessions will be offered on ITD’s website on Tuesday, (Feb. 18), from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursday (Feb. 27), from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Project managers from ITD and the city of Nampa will host the sessions.
To register for an online chat session, please visit http://itd.idaho.gov/projects/d3/IntersectionKarcherMiddleton/.
News Editors/Directors:
For still photos and video clips illustrating Thursday night’s meeting, please visit: ftp1.idaho.gov. In the User Name field, enter itdcommu. The password is W39gy7D2. Still photos are in the karcher_Middleton interchg pix folder. The video footage is at Karcher:Middleton Public Meeting.mp4.