More public transit, less sprawl proposed for Pocatello

City and regional planners in the Pocatello area have come up with a new plan to make the region more friendly to pedestrians and offer more public transportation options by 2040.

The plan, developed by the Bannock Transportation Planning Organization, would reverse the current trend of urban sprawl and bring more development closer to the heart of Pocatello.

Planners also want to connect downtown, the warehouse district and Idaho State University with buses and other forms of public transit.

“If we look at just how we can grow, it’s getting very expensive and you can’t widen a lot. We’re in a really tight valley. So this gives us the option of still living in this community without degrading it any more,” said Mori Byington, planning director of the Bannock Transportation Planning Organization.

The plan also calls for expanding Hiline Road to five lanes between Alameda Road and Pearl Street as well as a $20 million redesign of the Interstate 15/5th Avenue interchange to allow for more development.

“As we open the South Valley connector, that’s gonna bring a lot more people through. We need to get that in a way that people can walk to activities, they can also bicycle safely through that area, and the way it’s designed now it just doesn’t work for that kind of development,” said Byington.

The plan is still in its public comment phase and has not been formally adopted.