Council Blocks The Village, Rail-Trail Bill Heads to Governor

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

August 31, 2018

With The Village in Limbo, Future Infill Development Uncertain
Nearly a year after it first came before the Arcata Planning Commission, The Village student housing project has been effectively denied by the City Council…probably. With 2 votes in favor, 2 abstentions, and one recusal, questions have been raised about whether the motion to move the project forward actually failed or not, but City Attorney Nancy Diamond insists that it did. If so, some readers of local tea leaves predict that HSU may now try to side-step city jurisdiction altogether by buying the property and proceeding with the project on its own. At the same time, opponents of The Village now insist that they plan to move forward with an alternative development of their own on the site, although it remains unclear who would finance or build it. Whatever comes next will have a major influence on future infill development patterns (and thus transportation patterns) in Arcata.

SB 1029 Heading to Governor in New Form
No longer known as the Great Redwood Trail Act (it’s now the “NCRA Closure and Transition to Trails Act”), McGuire’s bill passed the Assembly yesterday and as of this writing is heading for a final vote in the Senate before heading to Brown’s desk. While significantly scaled back from its original form, the bill still lays the groundwork for an eventual conversion of the North Coast Railroad Authority’s 300-mile-long right of way into a regional trail system.

Rancheria Hotel Plans Get Scrutiny
But the proposed new Highway 101 interchange connected to the development – which would be one of the biggest transportation infrastructure projects in the area in years – gets little press.

Local Church Incentivizes Walking, Biking, and Carpooling
It’s not just what you do at your chosen house of worship – how you get there counts, too!

Are Electric Scooters the Future of Urban Transportation?
The answer is a definite maybe.

Container Ship Emissions Reductions Slowing Down
An important progress report on efforts to clean up the global freight transportation system.

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.

$300,000 Parking Spaces and the Gutting of the Great Redwood Trail Act

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

August 24, 2018

“Great Redwood Trail Act” No Longer
The Great Redwood Trail Act has officially been gutted (and re-named) in the Assembly. After unanimously passing the State Senate and every other committee that considered it, the newly amended bill would no longer dissolve the North Coast Railroad Authority and create a mandate for the Great Redwood Trail. Instead, it simply calls for the NCRA to spend a couple of years exploring its options for dissolution and rail-banking. It appears to have been derailed by a recalcitrant governor’s office. But the fight isn’t over! If the political will is there, the bill can still be amended.

Supes Balk at $300,000 Parking Spaces
Parking spaces can be expensive. Really expensive. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors found that out this week when they were confronted with a jail expansion plan that would build a subterranean lot at a cost of $300,000 per space. Alternatives presented by county staff included other extremely expensive ways to build parking off-site. Apparently no one considered the idea of just not building that parking and instead using the money to provide bus or shuttle service to and from the jail. After all, $300,000 is more than an entire month’s budget for the regional Redwood Transit System.

Transportation Plays Important Role in Food Access
In an important exploration of hunger on the North Coast, the Times-Standard highlights the importance of transportation access – or the lack of it – in creating and perpetuating food deserts in our rural area. Local advocates suggest we may have to re-think the definition of “food desert” for our area. CRTP suggests that we may also want to re-think our development and transportation patterns.

Is Eureka’s Vision for Waterfront Drive Unrealistic?
The California Transportation Commission recently approved Eureka’s request for $2.3 million to help complete Waterfront Drive, and the City is now applying for almost $9 million more in federal funding for the project. In promoting this plan, the City seems to be touting a completed Waterfront Drive as the solution to practically all of its transportation problems. They say it will relieve congestion on Highway 101, improve bicycle and pedestrian safety, bring cars into Old Town, improve freight access to the harbor, complete the waterfront trail, and more. Unfortunately, some of these goals appear to be at odds with each other. Just one example: it’s pretty hard to see how a new busy boulevard carrying thousands of cars and trucks right through Old Town would improve bicycle and pedestrian safety.

CRTP Responds to Anti-Bicycling Polemic
Sometimes you just have to speak up.

Arcata City Council Schedules Special Meeting to Wrap Up Consideration of The Village
No more long evenings – this time it’s at 9 am!

The Collector: Op-Eds, Campaigns, Scholarships and More!

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Colin Fiske

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
Here’s a classic: construction in the bike lane, with a warning sign (presumably aimed at cars, and completely blocking the bike lane) calling it “shoulder work.” Attention public works professionals: bike lanes are lanes of traffic, not shoulders! Submit your photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org

LoCO Op-Ed: H & I Streets Project A Great Idea
H Street homeowner (and HSU professor) Erin Kelly writes a convincing piece in support of the traffic-calming, bike-accommodating project. This follows a not-so-convincing screed against the project (and against bicycling in general) in the Times-Standard earlier this week.

Candidate for Local Office to Host Ward Bike Tour
Biking as part of a local political campaign? Could it be that some people actually consider the bicycle to be a legitimate, responsible, even mainstream form of transportation?

RCEA Issuing Scholarships for Local Fleet Managers
The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is offering to send local fleet managers to a clean-tech conference in October.

Great Redwood Trail Act Clears Another Hurdle
Senator McGuire’s SB 1029 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday with another unanimous vote. The bill was amended by the Committee, but it’s not clear yet what exactly those amendments were. Meanwhile, the biggest hurdle remains: securing the promise of funding from the governor. CRTP and other local groups continue to urge supporters to call Governor Brown’s office and tell him you want the bill fully funded.

Bike/Ped Safety in Valley West
A coalition of groups is holding a community training on August 29th.

HCAOG Considers Opposition to Prop 6
Also on this week’s agenda was a contract with a consultant to develop a local “mobility-on-demand strategic development plan.”

The Plight of the Truck Driver
Another striking piece highlights the underbelly of America’s freight transportation system.

The Collector: H & I Street Improvements Moving Ahead

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Colin Fiske

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
Low-hanging vegetation is often at just the right level to knock a rider off a bike – unless you swerve out into traffic. Send your photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.

H & I Street Improvements Get Go-Ahead from City Council
After certain conservative City Council candidates decided for some reason that opposing bike/ped improvements in the north-south corridor is good politics, the City Council heard a litany of testimony for and against the proposed improvements at its meeting this week. In the end, the Council voted 4-1 to move ahead with the project – specifically the buffered bike lane design option favored by CRTP, the Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association, and many local residents.

North Coast Projects on CTC Agenda
The state Transportation Commission will vote next week on the funding eligibility of a sidewalk and crosswalk project in Crescent City and the seismic retrofits of two bridges on Highway 101 in Del Norte. Also on the agenda are several Humboldt County projects, including funding for the long-awaited completion of Eureka’s waterfront drive (with bike lanes and sidewalks!); new rumble strips and guard rails on Highway 299 near Blue Lake; a South Fortuna Elementary School Safe Routes to School project; and changes to the Wabash/Broadway intersection in Eureka.

State Route 299 Partially Re-opened Near Redding
Another year, another closure of a major North Coast roadway.

Speed Limit Bill Passes Key Committee
Readers of The Collector may remember that AB 2363 originally proposed allowing somewhat more leeway for local governments and Caltrans to lower speed limits for safety reasons, a procedure that is currently nearly impossible. It’s been watered down so that it now proposes only the creation of a task force to explore that possibility (and others), but still could be an important step toward sanity in California’s speed limit laws. This week, the bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SoCal Real Estate Investors Turn to Pedestrianization to Save Retail
Banning cars + adding activities = a winning formula for local business. Arcata Plaza, anyone?

Are E-bikes the Breakthrough Bikeshare Programs Need?
And if so, what does it mean for the way we design our towns and cities?

Uber & Lyft Users Are Rich
The new finding throws another wrench into the already difficult discussions about how cities can responsibly deal with on-demand mobility companies and programs.

The Collector: H & I Street Redesign on the Agenda, California Fuel Economy Standards on the Chopping Block

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Colin Fiske

Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
Regular readers of The Collector should be getting the idea by this point that trash and recycling receptacles in bike lanes are a systemic problem in our area. Submit your photos to colin@transportationpriorities.org.

Board of Supervisors Certifies Bay Trail EIR, Addresses Eucalyptus Concerns
The Humboldt County Supervisors approved the environmental review for the last remaining segment of the Humboldt Bay Trail on Tuesday, clearing the way for additional design work, right-of-way negotiation, and (eventually) construction. At a later date, they’ll reconsider the issue of removing eucalyptus trees for the trail when they get the opinions of some outside arborists.

Eureka City Council to Take On H & I Street Redesign
Next Tuesday, the Council will continue its discussion of design alternatives for the north-south corridor, with a view to vastly improving bike and pedestrian infrastructure. CRTP agrees with the Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association and others that the best option involves removing one vehicle lane in each direction and adding buffered bike lanes. If you bike or walk in Eureka, show up and let them know what you think!

(Temporary) Pedestrianization in Old Town
2nd Street in Old Town Eureka was closed to cars recently for an event, allowing people to enjoy the public space without fear for their lives. What a concept! Could there be a permanent pedestrianization in Old Town some day?

California CAFE Standards Waiver Really Is on the Chopping Block
Earlier this week, it appeared that Trump’s EPA might not rescind California’s ability to set stricter fuel economy standards for cars, based in part on legal analysis that showed they would likely lose that case in court. But, never an administration to let a losing legal proposition get in its way, they have now proposed to do just that as they attempt to roll back CAFE standards across the nation.

Gas Tax Repeal Supporters Hard at Work Against Transportation Funding
Not only would this November’s Proposition 6 repeal the recent gas tax increase and make it virtually impossible to fund public transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, its supporters are already planning a follow-up effort that would tie all state transportation funding in knots for decades to come. More commentary on Prop 6 from our friends at TransForm here.