What's the Worst Intersection in Nampa, Idaho?
Hey, Dave Edwards, Treasure Valley Dave here in Nampa, Idaho. I’m going through my emails and seeing this new story: “Idaho’s Worst Intersection Is a Nightmare, and It’s in Nampa.”Is that the case for real?
The Full Picture
Well, you can see the picture shown in the article. It’s right downtown. But let’s check the map so we can look at it better.
So here’s the entire Treasure Valley. And here’s Nampa. Let’s do a little zooming in. So if you’re familiar with the farmers market here, the Old Town Nampa is right there. And the place we’re talking about is this intersection right here. So if you look at that picture, it’s that parking garage. The worst intersection they’re talking about in this article is this business highway.
The Intersection in Question
It’s a business loop for 84, a truck route that comes right through here. It turns into 12th Avenue Road South as you go south of town, towards Melba or something. And this is where big trucks come through. You can also see the library nearby, which you may have seen in my previous videos when I’m walking around downtown.
This is a one-way scheme that goes around this block. It goes counterclockwise, so everybody going on that road has to go this way. Other routes have to go specific directions as well.
Is This Intersection Inconvenient?
Yeah, it’s inconvenient. So if you’re coming down 11th and want to continue going through 11th to get up to Garrity, Lakeview Park, or something like that, you can’t just go straight because it is a one-way block. Instead, you must go through other blocks before reaching your destination.
Is it the worst intersection, though? No, I wouldn’t say it’s the worst by a long shot, but there isn’t a whole lot of article to this.
Parking Garage Issues Highlighted
One of the commenters, Kathy, says, “The intersection on the 11th by the parking garage library is ridiculous.” The mayor at the time (Tom Dale, remember him?) built it. He even apologized for it. He should have fixed it right then, but it needed to make sense of how it worked.
In truth, we were here when it was a dirt lot out there. And then we wondered if Tom Dale had buddies who built parking garages because it made no sense to the ordinary layperson. So why would you put a parking garage there?
You go over there and see no cars past the second floor, and the first floor is hardly even full. So, was it graft? Was it political payback? I have no idea. Please leave a comment below if you know, but I know it was expensive and unnecessary, and one person was behind making sure it got in there. That was Mayor Tom Dale. (Yay. Thanks, Tom.)
Intersection Dangers
Another person says, “Somebody will get seriously hurt or killed at the intersection. What were they thinking? With the growth in Nampa, you’d think they would plan better for safer roads.” Very true.
It makes no sense that it was here, but it’s like two different things. First, how the road goes is unrelated to the parking garage here. Look, nobody is parked up there, so okay, the parking garage is entirely unnecessary. It doesn’t impact the traffic that goes around here. This is where you come in and out, and you can come out over here too, but it’s stupid that traffic has to go around like this. And so it needs some planning.
Not the Worst Traffic Intersection
It’s a state highway; it’s a truck route. You do see the Sugar Beet trucks coming through there, but as far as the headline goes, “Idaho’s worst intersection” — not at all. So like 11th here, it’s not that well-traveled of a road, particularly towards the north. So coming to the south, there’s a little more traffic because it’s a nice shortcut.
Alternative Traffic Routes in Nampa
That’s one of the things when you get up here. You’ll learn places you can avoid by taking shortcuts or alternative routes. And this is one of them.
You can go straight on through instead of coming down one way and waiting for the light. It’s a friendly 30-mile-an-hour zone. There’s like one stoplight, and you keep cruising right along.
So when would you need to know that? If you’re coming over to Brick 29 for a nice lunch with someone special, that’s when I would do it. Also, while I’m here, check out Old Country Sausage. That’s where I get all my jerky. Craig, you know what I’m talking about.
What's the Worst Intersection?
One of the worst intersections is this intersection by Fred Meyer, especially at about quitting time because traffic can get backed up on this Northside Boulevard. But here’s a little tip, so if you are coming down Northside and can get to this road, there’s no intersection. You can turn here and take this street; it just comes down, and you get out of this big morass of traffic in Idaho. I always end up taking this route. There’s nothing over here, and I can drive down and get on to 16th. I’ve never had a problem with traffic on that, so that’s an excellent little shortcut.
Karcher Road and Boulevard Intersection
Another candidate for the worst intersection will be at Karcher Road and the Boulevard. There’s WinCo, the old Kmart, the mall, and the Home Depot, so you know where we’re at. So yeah, traffic does get backed up here. Some of it is because the freeway’s right here, and people are getting onto or off that.
So what do I do? Yes, that’s right. I take a shortcut.
Shortcut from Karcher Road
If I come off of Karcher Road, I might turn down Middleton. If I screw up and forget to do that, I take Cassia over here, which goes down by Red Robin and Home Depot, and then it comes down on Flamingo. So you can get around that intersection by going that way.
Shortcut from Boulevard
Another great thing to do if you’re coming down the Boulevard from downtown Caldwell is to turn on Middleton Road. Yeah, there’s a stoplight here, but it’s a lot faster stoplight than the other one. And then get back on Middleton again.
Are you trying to get to the shopping area where Costco is and things like that? If you’re coming down from here and going out on Northside, that’s fine. I would not go up the Boulevard and cross over these lights going over the freeway. Instead, I’d come over here on Northside, buzz up here. This is a straight shot.
You can also make a turn by the Sugar Beet Factory. Then you can come into Target, Kohl’s, Cracker Barrel, etc. So that’s another shortcut.
Shortcut from Treasure Valley Dave's Office
While talking about shortcuts, if I’m coming from the office, I’ll take Birch, come over here, and somehow get up to Cherry. I’ll take Cherry across, and there are a couple of four-way stops, no big deal. This is also a great way to return to Costco and all those areas.
You can go north if you’re going up to Middleton or even Caldwell, but you can come back down this way on Middleton Road. It can get backed up, but it’s still much better than the morass on the other side. And then from there, you can get on the Boulevard and go up that way easy-peasy.
Shortcut from Fort Idaho Center
While talking about shortcuts, if I’m coming from the office, I’ll take Birch, come over here, and somehow get up to Cherry. I’ll take Cherry across, and there are a couple of four-way stops, no big deal. This is also a great way to return to Costco and all those areas.
You can go north if you’re going up to Middleton or even Caldwell, but you can come back down this way on Middleton Road. It can get backed up, but it’s still much better than the morass on the other side. And then from there, you can get on the Boulevard and go up that way easy-peasy.
Wrapping Up
The worst intersection in Nampa, Idaho is not the worst by a long shot. But if you have some nominees for worst intersections, please leave those comments below.
If you like this video, please subscribe to the channel and hit that Like button — I appreciate that so much. You can also contact us on our website if you want to buy or sell a home in Nampa, Idaho or Treasure Valley. And as always, Treasure Valley Dave here, looking forward to helping you get home.
