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why nobody on the streets during the day in the downtown area. Has to be one of the least vibrant daytime downtowns we've seen. Where do all the people in the region go than?
why nobody on the streets during the day in the downtown area. Has to be one of the least vibrant daytime downtowns we've seen. Where do all the people in the region go than?
It's cold and/or wet this time of year.
Downtown activity picks up toward the end of April, and really comes alive around June and will last until October.
last couple months even on sunny weekend days in downtown there is nothing going on. No street culture at all and really nothing except window shopping. Don't understand where the people at work go for lunch from those high rises in downtown.
last couple months even on sunny weekend days in downtown there is nothing going on. No street culture at all and really nothing except window shopping. Don't understand where the people at work go for lunch from those high rises in downtown.
Could have just been the days you were there. Downtown is often called one the most vibrant in the region. A few larger cities downtowns in the Mountain West don't compare. This time of the year, even on sunny days it is too cold to hang out on the streets, most people are in the shops and restaurants.
I was downtown Friday night and downtown was crazy, street musicians, drummers, pedestrians everywhere, but as said earlier wait until it warms up, the Saturday Market starts next month and downtown is packed on weekends with people hanging out. Downtown Boise is like the city's living room when it is warm.
Lunch is packed at most places, I was downtown today at lunch.
I don't know why but I've been down there a couple times, even in summer and it was dead. But also been a few times when it was completely packed and really fun. Can't tell you why.
Boise's downtown isn't as busy or packed as any of the larger cities in the west; Seattle, Portland, SF, LA, Vegas, Denver, SLC, and even Spokane and Eugene have much busier downtown areas.
Boise's downtown surely isn't so busy that you can't find on the street parking wherever you want whenever you want, even during the noon hour. It also doesn't have the consistent presence and foot traffic as the aforementioned cities, even when legislature is in session.
But it is still a vibrant downtown; it's just usually localized. Saturday mornings you'll find a great amount of people on 8th street and the Grove, or by Goldies and Addies. First Thursday nights people are walking amongst Main and Idaho. Wednesday nights the Grove is busy for Alive after Five. Special events always bring hundreds or thousands of people. Friday and Saturday nights the 6th and Main area is crawling with drunken college kids. And noon gets busier as it gets warmer.
But it will never be as busy or packed as the other cities mentioned, and there are a lot of reasons for that.
Obviously downtown Boise isn't as large and packed as Seattle, Portland, SF, LA, Vegas, Denver. I am very familier with Salt Lake, Spokane and Eugene and can say that downtown SLC is larger, busy during the day but dead at night and they have a few malls downtown which take away from street presence. When friends visit Boise from SLC they are always impressed and envious of the vibe and activeness of downtown Boise, the pedestrian feel to it which SLC doesn't have. Downtown Eugene is dead all of the time, nothing going on, not as much street presence or retail as downtown Boise. The only thing going on in downtown Eugene is someone trying to sell you weed. Downtown Spokane is very quiet, great historic architecture, but they do have a mall on the river which is usually busy thus spilling activeness into adjacent blocks, but overall downtown Spokane is not nearly as active or busy as downtown Boise, in fact Spokane often looks to Boise to gain ideas on how to make their downtown better and more vibrant. If downtown Boise seems quiet on the street then look inside the shops and restaurants, they are usually busy. Overall downtown is a relaxed place, it does not have the fast paced craziness of downtown Seattle or San Fran.
Many times it is difficult to find parking downtown Boise especially the closer you get to 8th Street, so finding a parking spot wherever and whenever you want isn't an easy feat, but there is usually parking the further you get from the main core, or of course there are several parking garages. It is rare I can find a place to park on the street between 5th and 11th Streets, and if I do I am totally stoked I use garages a lot.
I live right by downtown, go downtown on a daily basis unless I am out of town, and spend a lot of time there and it can get really busy especially on weekends and even week nights when we are in the warm months. Of course packed in Boise is relative to the size of the downtown which is small, quaint, and tight, comparing how many people are in downtown Boise on a given day to a large city like Seattle isn't a fair comparison.
Sunday mornings are busy too, hard to find a spot to park on the street because of all of the restaurants offering brunch.
Last edited by TohobitPeak; 03-08-2011 at 09:02 PM..
Reason: Spelling.
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Downtown Spokane is very quiet, great historic architecture, but they do have a mall on the river which is usually busy thus spilling activeness into adjacent blocks, but overall downtown Spokane is not nearly as active or busy as downtown Boise, in fact Spokane often looks to Boise to gain ideas on how to make their downtown better and more vibrant. If downtown Boise seems quiet on the street then look inside the shops and restaurants, they are usually busy. Overall downtown is a relaxed place, it does not have the fast paced craziness of downtown Seattle or San Fran. 
I use garages a lot. 
