HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-09-24 Justin Hamilton
Chris Johnson
From:Justin Hamilton <enigmarm@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, September 24, 2024 5:01 PM
To:Clerks Comment
Subject:Feedback for District at Ten Mile (H-2023-0071)
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
I live at 1225 N Saw Creek Pl, Meridian ID 83642.
Values
I moved to Meridian over 10 years ago because the city embodied values I sought as I was starting my family. I feel these
values are changing and I oppose adding additional high density housing. While I understand the City is trying to keep up
with housing demands, I believe it is at the detriment of those citizens that have helped make the city a great place to
live. The more dense the city becomes, the more liberal ideas it tends to espouse, pushing out the conservative ideals.
We lose the sense of small community. We see an increase in crime rates. We lose the value of family. It is a degradation
of the community. It furthers the urban/rural divide.
Safety
Safety is a big concern of mine. Ten Mile road puts residents at risk each day. Before the opening of Scheels and
other shops at Ten Mile Crossing, traffic came to a stand still each day on I-84 for people trying to exit the freeway in the
afternoons. Ten Mile is unable to expand due to buildings already built to the edge of the sidewalk. When school is in
session there is significant traffic increases beyond those going to work. Earlier this week, I was driving home from work.
I was stopped on the interstate with other cars waiting to merge onto I-84 at 4pm. A large pick-up truck pulling a trailer
narrowly avoided me not realizing traffic was stopped in the right-hand lane.
That traffic does not quit on the weekends. Individuals traveling between large stores like Costco and Scheels burden the
roads. It's often difficult for us to easily travel less than a mile on Ten Mile to get to Church on Sundays. Shortly after my
neighbor's daughter got her driver's license earlier this year, she was rear-ended waiting to get into our subdivision off
of Ten Mile.
The worst accident my family has witnessed to date was when 3 of my kids and their Grandmother were T-boned by an
uninsured driver from Canyon county. My wife received a call that they had been in an accident less than a mile from
home. She arrived on scene to see her screaming children and injured mother-in-law loaded into 2 separate ambulances
and followed them, with our infant child to the Trauma Center. We are now several years removed from that incident.
The other driver got off with minor infractions, while we spent years paying off medical bills and dealing with legal
issues. The trauma from that event still is fresh with my children.
I'm hopeful (but skeptical) the Hwy 16 bypass will alleviate traffic on Ten Mile, but I believe we need to hold off on
deviations from the City's master plan until this has come to fruition. The safety of residents needs to be a primary focus
of this council. Our infrastructure does not properly support our safety now.
Schools
3 of my 5 children are school-aged and attend public schools in Meridian. Class sizes have exceeded 30 students for
some of my children. One child of mine required help beyond what the classroom provided. The school was
accommodating and seeing progress, but eventually he was bumped out to make way for students that were further
behind than him. My daughter loves school, but noticed early in the year that her teacher did not seem to enjoy
teaching, and seemed to struggle with non-English speaking students being added mid-year. At the end of the year the
teacher said she would take a break from teaching for a while. I believe our schools need to be equipped with proper
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resources to handle the varying needs of the rapidly diversifying population before we add additional students to our
community.
The cost of expansion is real and hurts residents beyond tax burdens and declining school experiences. My family has
witnessed this first-hand.
Crime
One morning in March of 2024, I returned home from the gym shortly after 7am to help get my children ready for
school. My father-in-law and I heard gunshots coming from behind my home along the canal. I observed two teens
walking along the greenbelt firing a gun into the canal near Fuller Park. I called 911. It took 20 minutes for the first police
cruiser to come to the location I reported. The community didn't recognize these teens. The police were unable to locate
them. I'm not sure if these are children that live locally or were traveling through. Crime rates tend to go up as the urban
population rates increase.
I oppose the expansion of additional high density housing along Ten Mile and The District.
-Justin Hamilton
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