Boise’s New Planning Director Warns Against 'Dysfunctional Highways'

On the heels of his stint as Atlanta’s planning director, Tim Keane says Boise should avoid following in the path of American cities that have let highway expansion and sprawl go unchecked for decades.

2 minute read

May 27, 2022, 8:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Boise Idaho

Pinpals / Pixabay

George Prentice interviews Tim Keane, the new director of Planning and Development Services for the City of Boise, for Boise State Public Radio. When it comes to land use and transportation planning, Keane says planners must “Let go of those flawed ideas that shaped cities for the last generation. Just let them go.” 

Pouring money and resources into “dysfunctional highways,” says Keane, doesn’t work. “I can say with great confidence, since I just came from Atlanta, which has the most beautifully designed interchanges you've ever seen that are choked in traffic, that a concentration on designing the most dysfunctional highway that you can is time that's misplaced, because it hasn't worked in any city anywhere in the world.”

When asked about his decision to move from Atlanta to Boise, Keane tells Prentice, “If you look at American cities in the way they've grown over the past 50 or 60 years, the pattern is very similar. The scale is different. But in Boise, the question that intrigues me is, ‘Can we in Boise address these very challenging issues in ways that are better than any American city?’” 

According to Keane, “This is a city where we should be concentrating on designing it such that many, many more people can drive less.” Keane goes on, “The only way to do that, however, is if you build beautiful streets that are vibrant and safe for people.” Keane wants Boise to avoid mistakes made by other cities, saying, “let's take up a new collection of ideas around how we address this differently, such that we're building a city that is in the spirit of what the city is today versus becoming something that's utterly different and much like every other city in America.”

Monday, May 23, 2022 in Boise State Public Radio

Large historic homes and white picket fences line a street.

The End of Single-Family Zoning in Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County is the latest jurisdiction in the country to effectively end single-family zoning.

March 23, 2023 - The Washington Post

Dilapidated vacant wood slat house painted white in Louisiana

The Quiet Housing Crisis in Rural America

While housing shortages in major cities are grabbing headlines, rural communities are seeing higher rates of growth in housing prices and a silently spreading homelessness crisis.

March 20, 2023 - The Daily Yonder

A view of the Boise skyline, across tress int he foreground. The state capitol is visible amongst other office buildings.

Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise

A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

March 20, 2023 - Boise Dev

South of Market

11,000 Housing Units Possible with S.F. Office Conversions, Study Says

A new study by SPUR and the Urban Land Institute’s San Francisco chapter estimates a specific number of apartment units that could be built from vacant office units in the city.

4 hours ago - The San Francisco Chronicle

Two people riding bikes with helmets on paved park trail

‘Arrested Mobility:’ How Transportation-Related Laws Impact Black Americans

A far-reaching new study highlights the disproportionate effect of biking and walking laws on the mobility of Black Americans.

5 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

California

California Attorney General Wants to Get Serious About Housing

A bill sponsored by the AG’s office would give the state’s top attorney more power to intervene in lawsuits related to the state’s housing laws.

6 hours ago - San Francisco Chronicle

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

HUD’s 2023 Innovative Housing Showcase

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.