Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
An all too familiar sight: a sign placed by a public agency blocking a marked bike lane to warn cars about upcoming road construction. Often they contain a “no parking” warning, as this one does… conveniently right next to a permanent “no parking, bike lane” sign. Send your photos of bike lane and sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.

Last Chance Grade Geotechnical Report Released
Caltrans has released a third-party review of the geotechnical feasibility of various alternate routes being considered to avoid the active landslide area of US 101 called Last Chance Grade. A stakeholder group convened by Congressman Huffman previously agreed that a re-route is necessary in order to avoid a complete failure of the highway at some point in the future but did not recommend a specific route. The new report finds that the longest alternate routes – which would require clearing the most forest but would avoid old-growth redwoods – would be nearly certain to fail within 50 years, while the shortest and most expensive proposed route – a tunnel which would require clearcutting several acres of old growth – would be by far the most geotechnically stable. The findings set up some difficult decisions for Caltrans and local environmental advocates.

Great Redwood Trail Act Clears Another Hurdle
Senator McGuire’s bill passed the Assembly Transportation Committee unanimously and now heads to the Appropriations Committee, likely its final stop before a vote by the full Assembly (and then the governor’s desk). The one sticking point – and it’s a big one – remains securing funding to buy out the North Coast Railroad Authority’s debt and ensure the new Great Redwood Trail Agency starts out on good footing.

Man on Bicycle Killed By Truck, Blamed
A man riding a bicycle was hit by a log truck on Broadway in Eureka and later died of his injuries. Predictably, the Highway Patrol and subsequent news reports prominently highlighted that the victim was not wearing a helmet and implied that he was to blame for the accident. The unsafe design of that road for bicyclists and pedestrians was not mentioned in news reports, nor was the inherent safety risk posed by extremely heavy trucks traveling on public roads. Our condolences go to the victim’s family and friends.

Local Projects at the CTC: UPDATE
Since our report last week on a number of local projects being considered for funding by the California Transportation Commission, we’ve received more information from Caltrans staff about two of the most interesting. We’ve been told that the tide gate project along US 101, scheduled for construction in 2020, would replace nine existing tide gates built in 1954. Meanwhile, the proposed 101 improvements in North Arcata are scheduled for 2022 and would include a Class 1 Bike Trail connecting Wymore and Heindon Roads under US 101. This would allow a much more direct connection between popular bike routes through the Arcata Bottoms (connecting to the Hammond Trail) and the bike/ped crossing of the Mad River on the highway bridge.

Safe Route to School Considered in Del Norte
The Del Norte Local Transportation Commission’s Technical Advisory Committee considered a request this week for more than $80,000 for the Bess Maxwell Safe Routes to School project.

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.

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
OK, maybe horse manure is more of a nuisance than an obstruction…but it still shouldn’t be in a bike lane! Thanks to an early-morning bike-commuting reader of The Collector for sending this in. You can submit photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org

SB 1029 Action Alert
CRTP joined almost every other local group concerned with bike and pedestrian infrastructure this week in issuing an action alert about SB 1029, Senator McGuire’s Great Redwood Trail Act. The bill isn’t encountering any organized opposition in the legislature, but for it to be meaningful it must be funded! If you haven’t already, call Governor Brown’s office at 916-445-2841 and ask him to fully SB 1029’s transition between the North Coast Railroad Authority and the new Great Redwood Trail Agency.

Plaza Improvement Task Force Vacancies
The City of Arcata’s newly formed Plaza Improvement Task Force has three at-large slots for interested and engaged community members, but they have not received enough applications to fill them. If you live or work in Arcata and want to advocate for transportation (and other) improvements to the Plaza, click the link above and fill out an application!

Another Two Meetings on The Village
First Humboldt State University hosted a public meeting to discuss its previously-denied involvement with the project, then the Arcata City Council toured the site and heard more public testimony.

HCAOG Monthly Meeting – More Exciting Than it Sounds!
Among the items on yesterday’s agenda was adopting the new Humboldt County Regional Bike Plan.

CTC, CARB to Hold First Joint Meeting
The California Transportation Commission and California Air Resources Board are scheduled to hold their first joint meeting next week to discuss issues of air quality, climate change and transportation. Joint meetings of the two agencies to coordinate their goals will become a regular occurrence as a result of a state law passed last year.

CTC Considers North Coast Projects for Funding
At its own meeting next week, the CTC will consider a large number of funding requests from Caltrans and local agencies for local projects. Those include two bridge retrofits and an electric vehicle charging station on Route 96, upgrades to the Highway 101/299 interchange in Arcata and the 101/Ehler Road intersection in Klamath, some pedestrian improvements to Broadway in Eureka, fish passage barrier removal on Avenue of the Giants, the Martin Slough restoration project, stormwater drainage improvements on Route 36, several Safe Routes to School projects, and more. Perhaps most intriguing are a project which would include construction of a Class 1 bike path along Highway 101 in Arcata from the St. Louis Road overpass to north of Giuntoli Lane and one which would construction tide gates along the US 101 corridor between Arcata and Eureka.

AB 2363 Passes Assembly Committee
The bill, which would re-examine the state’s current policy on setting speed limits, passed the Transportation & Housing Committee and has been referred to the Appropriations Committee.

Caltrain Improves Rider Service & Intermodal Connectivity
The newly expanded “bikes board first” program seems to be working out quite well.

Koch Brothers Lead the Fight Against Public Transit Nationwide
Is anyone really surprised?

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.

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
This week’s obstruction is a parked utility truck completely blocking the lane. Also seen (but not photographed) this week: orange traffic cones, with “temporary no parking” signs taped to them, placed in a marked bike lane. “Temporary”?!?  Submit your photos of bike lane (or sidewalk) obstructions to colin@tranportationpriorities.org.

HSU Meeting on The Village, Council to Conduct Site Visit
After months of radio silence, Humboldt State administrators have finally admitted that they will be actively involved in operating the (newly housing-downsized, parking-upsized) student housing project called The Village. HSU will host a “town hall” meeting to answer questions about the project on Monday. Meanwhile, the Arcata City Council continues its consideration of the project with a planned meeting & site visit on Tuesday.

CRTP on the EcoNews Report
Executive Director Colin Fiske was interviewed this week for the KHSU show by EPIC Executive Director (and CRTP Board member) Tom Wheeler. Listen to the archived show for a discussion of interesting transportation planning topics and some CRTP projects.

California Utilities Move Forward with Big Plans for EV Charging Network
Thousands of new charging stations for cars as well as heavy-duty vehicles are planned for locations across the state.

E-Scooters Are the Hot New Transportation Thing – But What to Do About Them?
A bill in the state legislature seeks to define what they are, at least. Meanwhile, Los Angeles and San Francisco crack down on scooter-share programs, but Santa Monica refuses to do the same.

SB 827 is Dead (for Now), But the Debate Continues
Is upzoning around transit a racist gentrification policy or a socially and environmentally responsible way to address the housing crisis? Or maybe it depends on the context?

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.

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
This week: parked cars in Arcata (this is an almost daily obstruction at this particular location). Submit your photos of bike lane (or sidewalk) obstructions to colin@tranportationpriorities.org!

The Village Moves to City Council with Less Housing, More Parking
The Arcata City Council took up The Village student housing project this week after months of marathon Planning Commission hearings. But before they did, the project was once more revised to lower the number of proposed residents to 600 (from an original proposal of 800) and increase the parking spaces provided to 409 (from an original proposal of 366). In other words, its a much less effective infill project than originally proposed, and incentives to avoid car usage have been significantly reduced. This is a clear result of the constant drumbeat of complaints from local residents worried, among other things, about students driving and parking on their streets. Ironically, the changes will likely lead to more traffic impacts from the project rather than less.

Humboldt County Supes to Consider a Budget with More Road Funding
An increase of more than $4 million for road maintenance and repair is proposed. Probably necessary, but it’s a drop in the bucket.

Eureka’s Transportation Safety Commission Meeting Cancelled
Again. What’s going on here? No one would claim that Eureka has no transportation problems to tackle, but the Commission has repeatedly cancelled meetings for lack of agenda items.

Transportation Wins in Statewide Votes
Bike/ped/transit advocates were pretty happy with the results of Tuesday’s statewide voting.

Traffic Safety/Speed Limit Bill Heads to the Senate
After passing the Assembly, the so-called “Vision Zero Task Force” bill, which would create a committee to study the wacky way California sets speed limits among other factors influencing traffic injuries and fatalities, has been referred to the Senate Transportation & Housing Committee.

UCLA Study Shows State Transit Ridership is Declining
And recommends how to reverse the decline. Perhaps the most significant suggestion: make transit cheaper (or free) and make driving and parking more expensive, to better reflect the public costs and benefits of each mode of transportation.

Caltrans’ Internal Struggles to Address Bike & Pedestrian Safety
A revealing inside look at how things are changing (a little) in the massive agency.

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.