Portions of Eighth Street in downtown Boise have reopened after a summer of construction, offering more room for cyclists and pedestrians along the car-free corridor. WATCH: How the project is making downtown more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists Downtown Boise's Eighth Street reopens with expanded space for pedestrians, cyclistThe City of Boise says the project is focused on making Eighth Street more accessible while supporting local businesses and keeping the space free of motor vehicles.Sarah Poppino manages Fantastic Games on Eighth Street between Main and Idaho. After a summer of construction noise right outside her door, she said the new space is an improvement."It was annoying to put up with, but I'm really happy with the result," Poppino said.The improvements also made her daily commute easier."I could actually go through the corner on my normal route like normal and not have to figure out where I'm going around," Poppino said.Poppino is hoping the new look will bring more people back to the corridor and to her store."There's going to be people coming just to see what it looks like now that the construction's done. And then they'll see, oh hey, a game store and come in," Poppino said.The city first closed the stretch between Main and Bannock to motor vehicles in 2020, allowing businesses to expand their patios during the pandemic."You could definitely tell that it was still kind of, it, it had been just a, a road to drive on and they just kind of like painted over it a little bit. This looks a lot better," Poppino said.RELATED | Construction on downtown Boise's 8th Street running 3 weeks behind scheduleNeighbors who walk the corridor said they are noticing the difference."Overall it's just a general improvement," neighbor Diana Sauce said."Looks like more room, looks a little smoother. I think it'll be great for the bikers as well," neighbor Ryan Durham said.But, Sauce said there is still room to build on the progress."There's not as many like biking spots out here, um, that are dedicated for bikes when there's so much traffic," Sauce said. "It'd be nice to see a little bit more improvement in just biking routes so people can transition a little bit more safely."The work is not over yet. Construction is ongoing for the stretch between Idaho and Bannock streets and is expected to wrap up by the end of November.This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less