1. CPTED Assessment of the Cottonwood Suites
Located on Main Street near the I-84
Connector/Chinden Road Exit - Boise, ID
2. • Why I chose this location because it is near my work. I see it
everyday and know of some of it’s problems. It is not uncommon
for people to be seen loitering or using drugs on the property. It
is close to Quinn’s pond which is a popular family area during the
summer.
• Another reason I chose this location is that it is a hotel. Most
everyone uses hotels at some point. Doing a CPTED Assessment
of this area is helpful to note the unique problems a hotel
encounters.
• The Cottonwood Suites has a unique location in that it is set far
back from the main road. It is also backed by the greenbelt and
very close to freeway access. This area is also close to where
homeless individuals gather.
3. Access Control
The Access Control on the front is either through the main entrance
or an entrance just to the side of the main entrance. The main
entrance is well lit but does offer concealment. The side entrance is
protected with key access but has large trees that could be used to
conceal someone.
4. Access
Control
Continued
The rooms on the bottom floor at the back of the
Cottonwood Suites have sliding back doors that lead
directly to the rooms. This allows access to the hotel
from any of these rooms. They are hidden from view
(being at the back of the property) and back directly to
the greenbelt.
5. Natural Selection
• The Cottonwood Suites is located off Main Street. The front is not
easily seen from the main road. This leaves a lot of area for
concealment.
• The property has easy access to the freeway/Chinden road. This
allows for someone to leave quickly.
6. • The main entrance/check in area does not have
many windows. It is difficult to see in and observe
what is happening inside, night or day.
• The hotel faces fences and the side of a business
that brings in few customers. It backs up to the river
so it is easy to hide out in the parking lot without
drawing attention.
7. The back of the property goes directly from public access (greenbelt) to private
areas (rooms). There is no area that is obviously semi-public. There should be a
fence or some kind of barrier between public access and the hotel rooms. The
access directly to the rooms on the ground floor with no fence or barrier is
concerning.
Territorial Reinforcement
8. The side of the property faces Fairview. There is a lot of loitering
in this area. When I took this picture there were two individuals
hanging out on the back side of the shed. This would be unsafe
for customers. They are well concealed. The Cottonwood Suites
need to make this area more visible or put security measures
such as a roving guard, cameras, or lighting to make the area less
attractive to loitering.
Territorial
Reinforcement
9. In conclusion, I think that the Cottonwood Suites have several issues they could address.
While they can’t change their physical location they can help mitigate the problems:
• Put a fence or other barrier at the back of the property to protect the rooms on the
ground floor with the sliding glass doors OR replace the sliding doors with windows.
• Improve lighting, especially on the side of the property to help make the area less
attractive to loitering.
• Put windows in the front check out area to help make that area safer for guests.
• Overall, I would not want to stay at the Cottonwood Suites. I would not feel
particularly safe nor feel that my property was safe.
