Boise business (Star, Sun Valley, Hope: apartment complexes, neighborhood, to buy)

[maui08]

Are many shops/stores closing up around Boise? I know here in Maui we are seeing stores close their doors almost everyday!

-Also a little off topic....do the Boise winters get grey and depressing like the winters in some other states like Michigan and New York that we have visited? It would seem like weeks before the sun shined in those states during the winter which kind of freaked us out.

Thanks

[Torrie]

Yes, we have had some of our stores close, some have been big chains and some of the locally owned restaurants have not faired well during these tough economic times. I wouldn't say it's any worse than any other place. I would guess to say that we might see a few more close by next year....let's hope not.

I don't find the winter's to be grey and depressing. I lived in Portland-Metro(Oregon), before I moved to Boise and Boise definitely has more sunshine than it's Northwest counter part. Average days of sunshine are aprox. 232. I notice here, that typically the sun comes out in between storms, where-as when I lived in Portland, the storms seemed to come one after another. Storms seem to blow through quickly, and the saying you'll hear often is..."if you don't like the weather...wait 10 min. and it'll change."

[Jarndyce]

We have many empty strip malls here. I've seen many businesses and restaurants close locally since...August. It looks like a Depression, not a Recession.

Winter is...well...it's Sunny and warm right now. Teetering on 50. Snow is FINALLY melting from roads. Winter would be EASY here if Boise plowed. We just had 4-6 inches and it was made much more difficult because of lack or snow removal. Some places--store parking lots, local roads, apartment complexes became crusty ice layers because the snow turned to ice and thickened up.

Boise's population growth is going to necessitate the acquisition of municipal snow removal equipment....sooner rather than later, I hope.

[Torrie]

Originally Posted by Jarndyce

Winter would be EASY here if Boise plowed. We just had 4-6 inches and it was made much more difficult because of lack or snow removal. Some places--store parking lots, local roads, apartment complexes became crusty ice layers because the snow turned to ice and thickened up.

Boise's population growth is going to necessitate the acquisition of municipal snow removal equipment....sooner rather than later, I hope.

Really, you think it was that bad??? Boise doesn't get that much snow, average snow fall is 21.4 inches a year. Typically it'll snow and then melt within a couple of days, it's really not that bad. The side streets take longer to melt and yes, sometimes not too fun to drive on, but the main roads are well taken care of. I'm sure if they city went and purchased more snow plows people would be up in arms at the expense to buy and maintain such vehicles-your taxes would go up and everyone would complain about that.

We spent Christmas is Seattle, you want to talk about a snow problem; Seattle is the place. They have very few snow plows, won't use de-icer on the roads because of the environmentalists, so it's a mess. Boise is a cake walk if you had to compare the two. The recent storms that passed through Boise made it difficult for the transportation department to keep up. Depending on how the weather plays out- sometimes the de-icer gets washed away from rain(this happens when we get rain in between the snow) and the crews have to start all over again, or the sand gets buried in more snow and has to be re-applied. So until we get a more permanent consistent change in the weather, and more snow accumulations are being recorded, I don't see the city spending money on more snow plows. With a tight budget and slow economy you can be sure it won't even be considered.

A day or two of icy roads is nothing IMO compared to what other parts of the country experience. I welcome the snow as it will head us in the direction for high snowpack, which in turn means plenty of water for our summer months.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by Torrie

Really, you think it was that bad??? Boise doesn't get that much snow, average snow fall is 21.4 inches a year. Typically it'll snow and then melt within a couple of days, it's really not that bad. The side streets take longer to melt and yes, sometimes not too fun to drive on, but the main roads are well taken care of. I'm sure if they city went and purchased more snow plows people would be up in arms at the expense to buy and maintain such vehicles-your taxes would go up and everyone would complain about that.

We spent Christmas is Seattle, you want to talk about a snow problem; Seattle is the place. They have very few snow plows, won't use de-icer on the roads because of the environmentalists, so it's a mess. Boise is a cake walk if you had to compare the two. The recent storms that passed through Boise made it difficult for the transportation department to keep up. Depending on how the weather plays out- sometimes the de-icer gets washed away from rain(this happens when we get rain in between the snow) and the crews have to start all over again, or the sand gets buried in more snow and has to be re-applied. So until we get a more permanent consistent change in the weather, and more snow accumulations are being recorded, I don't see the city spending money on more snow plows. With a tight budget and slow economy you can be sure it won't even be considered.

A day or two of icy roads is nothing IMO compared to what other parts of the country experience. I welcome the snow as it will head us in the direction for high snowpack, which in turn means plenty of water for our summer months.

Torrie,

I have to totally back you on your post. Seattle is so ill-prepared for snow, it seems Las Vegas has more snow removal equipment than Seattle I've done the 3 hr. ride from downtown to SeaTac on 99, at 5 mph, as the cab driver didn't know how to drive in snow in Seattle. But, it isn't like King County/ Seattle or SeaTac had any snow removal equipment to help clear the roads.

I also agree with you that there will be other municiple items higher on the list of what needs to be addressed than more snow removal equipment for Boise this next year. I know individual streets or sometimes even a few blocks can be more challenging than others, but as a city, I think Boise does a good job managing snow removal.

It's such an odd year this year weather wise. I posted earlier this month in a different thread about looking at Intermountain West temperatures one night. St. George, UT was colder than Boise.

I guess anything is possible in a particular neighborhood. But, in general, I really have to say based on my own experiences, despite me not having visited every neighborhood in Boise when it snowed, ditto to what Torrie wrote.

MSR

P.S. Since I can't change it, I also think of the benefits the snowpack will bring in the hotter summer months.

[Jarndyce]

The city roads are treacherous during the snow. People take W I D E and S L O W turns. Not enough businesses on Fairview pay to have their lots plowed privately, from what I can tell.

This is not a problem akin to solving the mystery of the sphinx. Either outfitting existing equipment with plows or acquiring 10 new F150s is all that's required. I will read the Statesman reports on fenderbenders this winter (assuming they track this statistic)....

[Torrie]

Originally Posted by Jarndyce

The city roads are treacherous during the snow. People take W I D E and S L O W turns. Not enough businesses on Fairview pay to have their lots plowed privately, from what I can tell.

This is not a problem akin to solving the mystery of the sphinx. Either outfitting existing equipment with plows or acquiring 10 new F150s is all that's required. I will read the Statesman reports on fenderbenders this winter (assuming they track this statistic)....

Take to heart what this article has to say, sounds like they were trying to keep up, but the weather was making the job more difficult for them, they explain why:

Drivers complain about weekend plowing, de-icing efforts | KTVB.COM | Idaho News (http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-dec3008-road_maintenance.20560334.html - broken link)

[ds495]

I just came back from a 20 day trip there in Dec 08. It was very sunny mostly, cool, but warm midday. SUn was low due to latitude and month. Not gray except for 2 days.

Re: biz, there were many closures all over. At least 1, and sometimes 3 in min-malls. Surprising. In LA it has not been as visible in that way. I think larger cities can weather economy downturns better, but also are harder to live in due to the expense. Hope that hleps.

[jwest09]

Originally Posted by maui08

Are many shops/stores closing up around Boise? I know here in Maui we are seeing stores close their doors almost everyday!

-Also a little off topic....do the Boise winters get grey and depressing like the winters in some other states like Michigan and New York that we have visited? It would seem like weeks before the sun shined in those states during the winter which kind of freaked us out.

Thanks

Winters are mostly cloudy and the valley gets an inversion of polution that can stick around.
If you like sun go to Sun Valley. Absolutely beautiful with fresh air during the winter.

[Jarndyce]

I posted more of this article in another thread but it addresses the store closure aspect. I don't think it's very often that The Wall Street Journal puts Boise, Idaho, on the front page.

Hard-Hit Families Finally Start Saving, Aggravating Nation's Economic Woes - WSJ.com