The Collector: Get Yer Bike Maps!!

New Humboldt Bay Area Bike Map
Get ’em while they are hot.

SB 1029 Vote Today
We reported last week on the how the Great Redwood Trail Act had been placed in the California Senate appropriations suspense file. A quick call to Senator McGuire’s office confirmed its path going forward. Today (May 25), the appropriations committee is voting on the suspense file — it’s literally live or die for all bills placed there. The representative I spoke to said that they were “hopeful” it would pass, but that nobody could ever be sure of bills in suspense. If it survives it will have a full Senate floor vote next week (where passage appears likely), and then head over to the assembly. The major political concerns appear to be cost.

Right on Red: A Bad Deal for Everyone Not in a Car
Automotive primacy means that many aspects of driving culture go unexamined — even when they are inherently dangerous to others. For example, take the familiar right turn on red. What is bad about that? Well apparently, allowing rights on red “increases pedestrian crashes by 60 percent and bike crashes by 100 percent”. Maybe it’s time for a change?

#GivePedsTheGreen
A Seattle campaign from last year would have automatically given pedestrians the right to cross intersections in the same direction as vehicular traffic when the light was green instead relying on “beg-buttons”. Unfortunately, but predictably, the local Department of Transportation came out against the move.

“Crossbikes”
Here is a new thing…

Transit Oriented Developement or Development Oriented Transit
In California, much of the recent political discourse about affordable housing has centered on Transit Oriented Development (TOD). But what if we are seeing the situation backwards? To TOD or to DOT? That is the question!

 

The Collector: Induced Demand and SB 1029

Induced Demand Anthem
The concept of induced demand is a favorite here at CRTP, and one that we think policy makers avoid to everyone’s peril. Apparently, a 73 year old Portland man felt the same way. Like a modern day wobbly protest song, civil rights anthem, or political Pete Seeger tune he he wrote and performed “Induced Demand” at a recent Portland City Council meeting. Let’s all hope it tears up the Billboard Top 40. Go ahead watch the video — the song starts at the 8:30 mark.

Great Redwood Trail Act on Life Support
SB 1029 that would convert the North Coast Railroad Authority railroad into a top notch trail is perhaps the most exciting transportation policy affecting the North Coast to be proposed in a generation. And it appears to be dying in committee after appropriation placed it in in their suspense file. Hey local decision makers/leaders, its time to come-to-bat for a bill that would revolutionize the region.

Paris Looks To Fund Expansive Free Public Transportation Systems
Paris is looking into creating extensive free public transit system for the city. While the proposal would be expensive , “There’s also the possibility that free-transit-for-all would make Paris so pleasant and easy to live in that it becomes irresistible to investors.” Let’s hope Paris had good rent control! It seems like the entire county of Estonia is looking into a similar proposal.

Bike = Future of Transportation
Yep. Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Contrast with the dystopian Muskovite transportation future.

Arcata Energy Committee-TSC Joint Study Session Points to Big Changes
The city of Arcata hosted a joint study session between the Energy Committee and the Transportation Safety Committee that touched on two potentially relevant topics for fans of the Collector.

  • How to further ramp-up mode shift in Arcata. Arcata is considering replacing its goal of a 50% non-motorized modeshare (which council members found arbitrary and abstract) with more concrete policies like going trying to get Arcata upgraded to a “Gold” Bike city.
  • People’s Days on the Plaza. In conjunction with the Farmer’s Market and Arcata Mainstreet, Arcata is going to have several Peoples Days on the Plaza this Summer. The plaza will be closed to personal vehicles and music/activities will last from morning until evening. People’s days will probably commence in the next few months.

 

The Collector: Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week!

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
We’re debuting a new feature this week: photos of obstructions in local North Coast bike lanes that make it unsafe or impossible for a person riding a bike to use the lane as intended. Submit your photos of bike lane (or sidewalk) obstructions to colin@tranportationpriorities.org! First up (drumroll, please)… a recycling receptacle in Arcata!

Visitor Returning to Southern Humboldt Shocked by Road Conditions
Is it possible to maintain all rural roads in working condition, given the small number of users and low tax base?

Arcata Planning Commission Recommends Denial of The Village
With one vacancy, one member recused, and one member absent for personal reasons, a bare quorum of four Commissioners failed on a 2-2 vote to recommend approval of the project. According to Community Development Director David Loya, a tie vote in this situation is considered a recommendation for denial. If the City Council approves the project anyway, it will be the biggest private housing development in Arcata’s history, housing 700-800 mostly HSU students. If the project is denied, the city will have to work a lot harder to figure out how to approve new dense infill development, or it will not meet its ambitious goals for bicycle and pedestrian mode share.

More Bike Month Events!
Coming up this week: Ride to the Mad River Grange for a pancake breakfast on Sunday, Arcata Transportation Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, and Eureka bike-to-work day on Thursday.

California Transportation Commission to Decide on Some Local Issues
A number of Humboldt County projects are scheduled to come before the state body at its meeting next Wednesday and Thursday in San Diego. Topics of note include: transferring money not spent on the Eureka waterfront trail to the Waterfront Drive connection project; funds for adding car and bike lanes to 4th Street in Eureka; about half a million each for realigning the ramp curve at the Highway 101/299 interchange in Arcata and for non-infrastructure Safe Routes to School projects in Fortuna and McKinleyville; and more money for fixing storm-damaged rural roads.

Advocates Ask Gubernatorial Candidates About Transportation Issues
Early and absentee voting has already started for the June primary.

Bike-to-Work Day Brings Out Political Heavy Hitters in San Francisco
How do North Coast elected officials and candidates measure up in their commitment to non-motorized transportation?

Bigger Cars, Not Distracted Walking, Causing Rise in Pedestrian Fatalities
Enough blaming the victims!

Global Tourism Emissions Soaring
A new study shows that air travel has pushed global greenhouse gas emissions from tourism to 8% of total emissions, a much higher fraction than previously thought. We wonder what contribution cruise ships make to global tourism emissions.

The Collector is CRTP’s weekly transportation news roundup, published every Friday. We focus on North Coast news, but we also include relevant state, national and international transportation news – plus other items that we just find kind of interesting! To submit items for consideration, email colin@transportationpriorities.org.

The Collector: Bike Month Continues, Railroad Saga May Be Nearing Its End

Bike Law Fact of the Week
E-bikes are getting much more popular, and rightly so. They’re a great way to get a little farther than you might on a regular bike with carbon emissions that are almost as low (even considering the energy used to make the battery). In California, electric bicycles are divided into three categories. Class 1 e-bikes only provide power when the user is pedaling (pedal-assist) and only go up to 20 mph. Class 2 e-bikes can provide power whether or not the pedals are moving, but are still limited to 20 mph. Class 3 e-bikes are pedal-assist, but can go up to 28 mph. Class 1 & 2 e-bikes are allowed by state law anywhere any other bike is allowed. Class 3 e-bikes are only allowed on roadways and bike lanes/trails/paths adjacent to roadways, and users must be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet.

Humboldt County Proposes a Bunch of Culvert Replacements with SB 1 Money
But they admit they probably won’t get enough money to do them all.

Bike Month Activities Continue
Events in the coming week include a bike tour of historic Eureka properties tomorrow (Saturday), a film screening on Tuesday, Bike to School Day on Wednesday and Bike to Work Day in Arcata on Thursday.

Great Redwood Trail Act Amended Again; NCRA Loses in Court
The new amendments to Senator McGuire’s bill are mostly minor clarifying edits, although a clause specifically addressing the CEQA litigation between environmental groups and the North Coast Railroad Authority (see above) has also been removed for reasons which are not clear. Meanwhile, the environmental groups scored a major victory in that litigation this week as the US Supreme Court refused to take up the NCRA’s appeal of previous rulings. McGuire’s bill is set to be heard next by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Drive Less on the North Coast by Redesigning Our Communities
The North Coast Journal publishes a letter from CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske.

California Sues Trump Administration Over CAFE Standards Rollback
17 other states are joining in, too. Meanwhile, trucking industry executives say they’d rather keep the Obama-era standards anyway.

The Third Rail of Transportation is Car Supremacy
A New York Times op-ed powerfully addresses the seemingly untouchable dominance of automobiles in our cities.

How to Do Transit-Oriented Development Without Gentrification
A case study from Oakland.

Freight Transportation Technology is Changing Fast
The industry is developing electric trucks, drones and pedal-powered vehicles for “last-mile” delivery and other links in the supply chain.

The Collector is CRTP’s weekly transportation news roundup, published every Friday. We focus on North Coast news, but we also include relevant state, national and international transportation news – plus other items that we just find kind of interesting! To submit items for consideration, email colin@transportationpriorities.org.