Public Notices & News

Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization (KMPO), ignite cda, Kootenai Health, the City of Coeur d’ Alene, and the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) are working collaboratively to identify the transportation changes needed to accommodate development in and around the Health Corridor Urban Renewal District. In July 2020, these five stakeholder entities contracted with DOWL for the Coeur d’ Alene Health Corridor District Transportation Planning and Traffic Analysis Study to further analyze the existing and future transportation needs and provide recommendations for changes to the transportation system to mitigate challenges.

UPDATE:
During our June outreach efforts, DOWL shared the draft results of the future conditions, transportation solutions developed to address congestion and safety over the next 20 years.  If you missed the open house held in June, the webinar recording and presentation can be found below (Virtual Open House #1).

Over the past two months, the estimated costs of the future transportation projects have been developed and an implementation plan has been drafted.  Recognizing that transportation projects are expensive and that the need for the improvements should be timed with increasing traffic in and around the district over many years, the implementation plan serves as a tool to inform decision makers and allow these projects to be incorporated as development occurs and coordinated with other planned projects.

The second virtual open house was held on August 19, 2021, and included a review of the study results and draft transportation implementation plan to support future growth in the Health Corridor. The webinar recording and presentation are available below (Virtual Open House #2).

A virtual open house was held on August 19, 2021, to review the study results and draft transportation implementation plan to support future growth in the Health Corridor. Participants were able to submit questions during the presentation.

DOCUMENTATION from Virtual Open House Webinar
Webinar Recording
PowerPoint Presentation

Note: This information is also currently posted on the Open for Public Comment page.

If you have any questions or comments about this project, please contact KMPO at
208-930-4164 or kmpo@kmpo.net.

A virtual open house was held June 17^th, 2021, to review the results of the existing conditions analysis and proposed changes that have been developed to support future growth in the Health Corridor.  Participants were able to submit questions during the presentation.

DOCUMENTATION from Virtual Open House Webinar
Webinar Recording
PowerPoint Presentation 

If you have any questions or comments about this project, please contact KMPO at
208-930-4164 or kmpo@kmpo.net.

The Coeur d’ Alene Health Corridor District Transportation Planning and Traffic Analysis Study builds upon the Health Corridor Master Plan that was completed by ignite cda (the urban renewal agency for the City of Coeur d’ Alene) in September 2019. The Plan was subsequently adopted by the Coeur d’ Alene City Council in November 2019, and the Health Corridor Urban Renewal District was formed.  The Master Plan provides a long-range vision for development within the Health Corridor Urban Renewal District. 

The Master Plan document can be viewed at https://www.ignitecda.org/districts/health-corridor/.

The Health Corridor centers around two main employers: Kootenai Health, the regional medical center serving North Idaho and surrounding region, and Kootenai Clinic, the physician office division. These entities are primarily housed at the intersection of US 95 and Ironwood Drive.

Kootenai Health has experienced significant growth over the past 10 years and has nearly doubled in size. A recently completed master facility plan added over 200,000 square feet to the facility, and an additional growth of 3-5% annually for the next 8 years is projected. Currently, the Kootenai Health campus experiences over 1 million site visits per year. This growth has presented traffic and congestion challenges, and future transportation changes within the health corridor are needed to enable further development of the health campus.

In addition to the Hospital, the corridor houses a variety of other businesses and sectors, as well. The east end of the corridor houses significant retail (former Shopko, Staples, Albertsons, Hallmark, etc.) hotels and restaurants. Along Ironwood Drive, there are numerous other health-related businesses, such as Ivy Court Skilled Nursing, Heritage Health Clinic, and independent pharmacies, dentists, chiropractors and other clinicians. There are senior centers, fitness facilities, and a variety of insurance, call centers and other businesses. Furthermore, the area is bordered to the south with residential neighborhoods. All these entities, together, are vital to the future success of the Health Corridor, and the Master Plan provides a framework and vision for the district to continue to grow.

The Master Plan identified four key initiatives that would act as the framework to guide development of the District. These include:

1. Mobility Improvements
2. Redevelopment/Development Nodes
3. Neighborhood Stabilization
4. Park and Open Space Amenity Nodes

While the Master Plan refers to the need for “Mobility Improvements” and identifies potential projects in the Corridor, it recommends further study to review and refine the transportation infrastructure needs. No formal evaluation was done during the planning process to determine the effect of growth and development in the Corridor on the transportation system and the resulting challenges. The purpose of the Coeur d’ Alene Health Corridor District Transportation Planning and Traffic Analysis Study is focused on evaluating the existing and future transportation needs and developing recommendations for solutions that address congestion and safety issues within and around the Health Corridor District. 

The project scope includes the following:

• Review the existing transportation system needs.
• Determine future transportation needs to accommodate the development proposed in the Master Plan.
• Review the needs and proposed solutions with project stakeholders and the public.
• Develop an implementation plan for construction of the proposed solutions that meet the future transportation needs.

The review of the existing transportation system includes an assessment of the transportation operations at the study intersections shown in the figure to assess levels of congestion during peak evening and morning commute periods, as well as a review of crash data.

With this analysis as the baseline, the next step has been to forecast traffic volumes 20 years into the future and evaluate how the transportation system performs.  Ideas for changes to the transportation system have been developed.