Boise now Northwest”s third-largest city at 208,000

BOISE — With a population eclipsing 208,000, Boise now appears to be the Northwest’s third-largest city, behind Seattle and Portland.

Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of perspective.

“It’s good for business; there’s more opportunity for work,” Josh Culley said while waiting for breakfast at the packed Capri Restaurant downtown.

“But it’s definitely getting crowded,” he told The Idaho Statesman. “In some neighborhoods, people’s houses are almost touching their neighbors’ houses. Traffic has outgrown the city, and parking is getting harder and harder.”

As of April 1, Boise’s population was 208,219, according to an estimate by the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho. That’s more than last year’s U.S. Census Bureau estimate of 196,800 for Tacoma or the March estimate of 199,100 for Spokane, the two other contenders for the rank of third-largest city in the Pacific Northwest.

Census bureau projections released last week suggest Idaho will continue to be among the fastest-growing states, with a population increase of 52 percent between 2000 and 2030.

Longtime Boisean Tiffany Dailey is concerned about “too many people on the road. There are tons of accidents every day.”

But to Paul Conroy, who moved from Los Angeles six months ago for a job here as an auto mechanic, “The traffic is nothing. Boise for its size is a really nice town. If you aren’t growing, you’re moving backwards.”

The Community Planning Association’s latest estimates show the Boise suburb of Meridian posted the largest gain in the state, increasing by about 8,400 residents — 17.6 percent — to more than 56,000. Nampa, already Idaho’s second-largest city, topped 72,000 for a 7 percent jump, while Eagle and Caldwell each added about 2,000 residents.

“I think that with all the growth, we’ll get more pollution,” said Trudy Gonzales of Nampa. “That bothers me. I think it’s getting too big.”

Josh Green, an Idaho State Police officer who transferred to Boise from Pocatello four years ago, said people who are worried about the city’s growth ought to consider the alternative.

“I’d rather wait in line at a good restaurant than live in a place that only has McDonald’s and Burger King,” Green said. “If you don’t think growth is a good thing, try living in a place where there isn’t enough of it.”