Commuter rail subject of further study in Treasure Valley by COMPASS

Cities throughout the Treasure Valley, from Caldwell to Boise, could have one mode of transportation as the “best option” to travel between municipalities, according to one agency.

The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho’s (COMPASS) board of directors on Aug. 18 selected commuter rail as future high-capacity transit after more than a year and a half.

The “Let’s Ride Treasure Valley” study began in January of 2024, going through three rounds of analysis and public feedback to narrow options for commuter transit from 10 routes to just one, which would use the existing rail corridor connecting Boise, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell south of the Boise River.

According to COMPASS, the main driver of the study was due to the forecasted population within Ada and Canyon counties totaling 1.1 million people by 2050.

“The ‘Let’s Ride’ study is a planning and environmental linkages study,” said Austin Miller, COMPASS Planning team lead and project manager. “It is a precursor to a larger study as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. By narrowing to one ‘preliminary’ preferred option now, a future NEPA study can be conducted faster and more efficiently.”

Commuter rail was “overwhelmingly” supported by the public as the best option for the Treasure Valley, COMPASS Executive Director Craig Raborn said. “That gives me a great deal of confidence that selecting commuter rail was the right thing to do. However, it is ‘preliminary’; we are not ‘locked in’ to that decision ― if something significant were to change, the COMPASS board certainly can, and will, consider that before final decisions are made.”

A final report which includes future steps of such a project is scheduled to be released by the board in February 2026. The board of directors will vote on it for official adoption at that time, COMPASS stated in a release.

A dedicated funding source will need to be determined before commuter rail could move forward, the agency said.

“Predictable funding for transit is something that COMPASS has advocated for over the past 20 years and we’ll continue to work with the Idaho Legislature to secure a dedicated funding source,” Raborn said. “Without funding, this project will not advance and our region will miss out on a proven way to accommodate the growth we know is coming.”