There are several ways to get from "points east" into downtown Idaho Falls. One of the most effective and perhaps the safest (all things considered) is the Ash Street to "A" Street connector combination. As Idaho State law clearly states, its an obligation of the bicyclist to exercise "due care." Due care is very important on the Ash Street portion of this linkage.
I took some photos out of my cracked Suzuki windshield to show Ash Street from the vehicle driver's perspective. As valuable as the Ash Street linkage is, this route also comes with some significant dangers.
It's not too bad until you pass the funeral home. Keep an eye to your right as you approach the Ash & Placer intersection. A lot of drivers on Boulevard use Placer as a shortcut to Elm to avoid the congested stop light. Generally, these types of drivers are in a big hurry and will be tempted to run that stop sign or at least crowd out into Ash in their haste.
The next intersection at Ridge isn't too bad. It has pretty good visibility all around and traffic is generally lighter and slower on Ridge. Some of the Ash-kicking dangers begin just west of the funeral home's rear parking lot. The building on the left serves the developmentally disabled. Sometimes, people coming and going to that facility aren't paying any attention to their surroundings. Also, vehicles tend to be parked on both sides there and they generally are closer to the center of the street than the curb.
I generally hit the north sidewalk here as a pro-active precaution. The entire sidewalk was redone in May 2008 so there are no cracks and it's in tip top shape.
If somebody was in a real hurry on Ash and you happened to be in front of that treatment center when both sides were crowded with parked vehicles, you could be in for a world of hurt!
From Water to Eastern isn't too bad but beware the Bennett's Glass parking lot. I've seen some people blow out of that parking lot without even a cursory glance left or right.
The worst offender on this stretch is the intersection of Eastern & Ash. This is a potential Killer Intersection. I have had four extraordinarily close calls here-two on a bike and two in my vehicle. It's a miracle I survived at least two of those close calls. For some reason, people do not see the stop signs on Eastern. Who knows why? But they don't. I've seen numerous drivers not even slow down on Eastern and just blow right through the intersection with even thinking about stopping for the stop sign.
I've adopted the attitude that both east and westbound Ash here has an imaginary Yield sign. So, I either stop or slow to an almost stop prior to entering that intersection. I would strongly urge riders using Ash to get to "A" to pay extra special attention to this intersection. It's a classic "due care" spot!
Once you're off Ash, you're pretty much home free again. Now, let's turn the tables and reverse this route. When the city repealed the prohibition on riding on sidewalks, I was overjoyed. Why? Because it meant that I could legally ride the wrong way on Ash without endangering myself. The north sidewalk on Ash is, by and large, a clean route. There's a few dangerous sidewalk cracks, but really very few. Most of the sidewalk is in great shape and the curb cuts are pretty good as well. (You can click on any small photo to see a larger version.)
When you get out to Boulevard, there's a nice vinyl fence to grab and hang out while waiting for the Boulevard traffic to clear.
I took some photos out of my cracked Suzuki windshield to show Ash Street from the vehicle driver's perspective. As valuable as the Ash Street linkage is, this route also comes with some significant dangers.
It's not too bad until you pass the funeral home. Keep an eye to your right as you approach the Ash & Placer intersection. A lot of drivers on Boulevard use Placer as a shortcut to Elm to avoid the congested stop light. Generally, these types of drivers are in a big hurry and will be tempted to run that stop sign or at least crowd out into Ash in their haste.
The next intersection at Ridge isn't too bad. It has pretty good visibility all around and traffic is generally lighter and slower on Ridge. Some of the Ash-kicking dangers begin just west of the funeral home's rear parking lot. The building on the left serves the developmentally disabled. Sometimes, people coming and going to that facility aren't paying any attention to their surroundings. Also, vehicles tend to be parked on both sides there and they generally are closer to the center of the street than the curb.
I generally hit the north sidewalk here as a pro-active precaution. The entire sidewalk was redone in May 2008 so there are no cracks and it's in tip top shape.
If somebody was in a real hurry on Ash and you happened to be in front of that treatment center when both sides were crowded with parked vehicles, you could be in for a world of hurt!
From Water to Eastern isn't too bad but beware the Bennett's Glass parking lot. I've seen some people blow out of that parking lot without even a cursory glance left or right.The worst offender on this stretch is the intersection of Eastern & Ash. This is a potential Killer Intersection. I have had four extraordinarily close calls here-two on a bike and two in my vehicle. It's a miracle I survived at least two of those close calls. For some reason, people do not see the stop signs on Eastern. Who knows why? But they don't. I've seen numerous drivers not even slow down on Eastern and just blow right through the intersection with even thinking about stopping for the stop sign.
I've adopted the attitude that both east and westbound Ash here has an imaginary Yield sign. So, I either stop or slow to an almost stop prior to entering that intersection. I would strongly urge riders using Ash to get to "A" to pay extra special attention to this intersection. It's a classic "due care" spot!
Once you're off Ash, you're pretty much home free again. Now, let's turn the tables and reverse this route. When the city repealed the prohibition on riding on sidewalks, I was overjoyed. Why? Because it meant that I could legally ride the wrong way on Ash without endangering myself. The north sidewalk on Ash is, by and large, a clean route. There's a few dangerous sidewalk cracks, but really very few. Most of the sidewalk is in great shape and the curb cuts are pretty good as well. (You can click on any small photo to see a larger version.)When you get out to Boulevard, there's a nice vinyl fence to grab and hang out while waiting for the Boulevard traffic to clear.
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