Taft St, Sunset

West Taft Street extends eastward from the Collister Fire Station, crosses N 36th Street and ends at 28th Street. The largest thoroughfare is W State Street just to the south, while Hill Road to the north is only a two lane through road, but very busy during "drive times." Traffic all along Taft Street is very bearable, and between midnight and 5:30 a.m. almost non-existent. This is a residential street all the way, and is populated mostly by lower middle class homes. The area used to be farm & pasture lands before the mid 1960s, and gradually the farm plots were sold off to accommodate residential homes. A small irrigation canal still flows nearby, and the are is heavily wooded with such trees as ash and sycamores.

Crime rates are really pretty low, but there have been intermittent vandalism problems (teenagers) from time to time. Racial composition is almost entirely Caucasian, with a smattering of Hispanic, oriental and former Yugoslavian Republic emigrants. I know of no serious racial or cultural problems between residents. Some homes are a bit run down, wile others are well maintained.

Access to public schools is very good, with two grade schools (Taft and Collister) and a junior high school (Hillside) within walking distance from the western end of Taft. Access to public parks is also excellent, with a small neighborhood park located right on 39th Street, Collister Park to the north just a couple of blocks, Sunset Park nearby and Veteran's Park and Boise River Walk access within walking distance just across State Street to the South. All have picnic and restroom facilities (except 39th Street). In addition, Collister, Taft and Hillside schools all have spacious public areas, including a few tennis courts, and there is a baseball complex adjacent to Hillside Jr. High. Owned by the city and operated by the North Boise Little League, the complex has a 60 foot baseball diamond, a 90-foot diamond and a softball diamond. The 90 foot diamond is lighted.

There is an Albertson's (groceries & etc) within walking distance (from the western half of Taft) on the corner of 36th & States Streets, with three nearby fast food stops. There is a city bus stop on the corner of Taft and 36th Streets.

There is a Collister Neighborhood organization that almost nobody belongs to, and in truth neighborly friendliness is not a strong point here, though there seems to be little animosity anywhere as well. There is a community church located on W. Taft Street just before the fire station that has been here many years. Several churches are located within a mile of Taft Street, including an LDS (Mormon) chapel.