The Collector
September 6, 2024
Public Meeting Next Week on Regional Climate Action Plan Draft
Next Tuesday, September 10th, at 6 pm, Humboldt County will be holding a public meeting at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka to discuss the recently published draft of the Regional Climate Action Plan (covering the county and all of its cities). According to the most recent estimate, nearly three quarters of regional climate pollution covered by the plan comes from transportation. Experts agree that avoiding the worst climate impacts requires us to significantly reduce the amount we drive – so come out on Tuesday and demand that the plan include meaningful actions to reduce driving and support more walking, biking, rolling and public transit!
Mark Your Calendar for Our Week Without Driving Walk Audits!
The second national Week Without Driving is coming up in just a few weeks, and you can still sign up to take the challenge! Whether or not you are challenging yourself not to drive for the week, you are also invited to join CRTP and our co-sponsors for two walk audits that week in Eureka’s 4th and 5th Street corridor. On Wednesday, October 2nd, from 12-1 pm we will be walking a loop starting at 5th and D Street, and on Saturday, October 5th, from 5-6 pm we will be walking a loop starting at 5th and O Street. Join us to help assess the walkability and pedestrian safety, accessibility and comfort of this key corridor.
Arcata City Council Delays Action on Making K Street Safer
Thanks to all of CRTP’s members and supporters who contacted Councilmembers to ask them to approve designs for a quick-build project that would significantly improve bike and pedestrian safety on K Street. Improvements like these were promised by the Council during their deliberations on the Gateway Plan last year, and are desperately needed to avoid a future tragedy on this dangerous street.
Unfortunately, despite strong support for the proposed changes throughout the planning process, the Council this week appeared reluctant to remove parking in order to provide space for safe bike lanes. (Several business representatives predicted they’d be negatively impacted by parking removal, despite studies showing that these kinds of projects usually help local businesses.) But the Council ultimately delayed making a final decision until a future meeting, so there is still an opportunity to get a good project. Rest assured that CRTP will continue to advocate for putting safety first on K Street.
Speaking of biking in Arcata, if you have ever used Arcata’s bike share system – or if you’d like to use it in the future – you should tell the city about your experiences! Click here to fill out the city’s bike share survey.
Measure F Would Be a Disaster for Eureka, Housing Advocates Warn
Measure F would effectively prohibit planned housing and transit center development in downtown Eureka by requiring the preservation of existing parking lots, plus the construction of costly parking structures for new residents. The California Housing Defense Fund recently sent a letter to city officials warning them that if Measure F passes, the city could be in major legal and financial trouble. Meanwhile, the former Jacobs school campus – which Measure F proponents claim would be developed with housing to offset the loss downtown – looks like it will instead be sold to the California Highway Patrol to build a local headquarters. And a new private parking lot is currently under development downtown, adding to the already huge amount of downtown parking, and making Measure F look even more ridiculous.
Cal Poly Humboldt Is Inaccessible
It has long been an open secret that getting around the university campus is nearly impossible for many people with disabilities. Amid advocacy by professors and students for improvements – efforts that advocates say have largely been ignored or rebuffed by the administration – a new map made by a Cal Poly Humboldt professor highlights just how inaccessible the campus really is. Unfortunately, dangerous and inequitable designs like those found on campus are common in our communities. CRTP advocates for universally safe and accessible designs for streets and other public spaces.
Help Encourage Your Friends & Neighbors to Use Street Story
We are looking for folks who want to film a short video with us about a location they want to highlight and make a report about on Street Story! These videos will be used on our social media to help promote Street Story reporting and give folks ideas for reports. Click here for an example!
We also have Street Story outreach materials we can provide, such as flyers and brochures for your business, workplace, or local bulletin board, or to share with friends, neighbors and co-workers.
If you’re interested in either of these opportunities, please email Kelsey@transportationpriorities.org.
News from Beyond the North Coast
Transportation Bills on the Governor’s Desk
It’s the time of year when Californians sit on the edge of their seats waiting to see if Governor Newsom will sign or veto the bills sent to him by the state legislature. This year’s important transportation bills awaiting action by the governor include SB 960, the Caltrans complete streets bill, and SB 961, which would require new cars to warn drivers when they go more than 10 mph over the speed limit. (The original bill would have actually prevented cars from excessive speeding, but it was significantly watered down by the legislature. Apparently breaking speed laws and endangering other road users is considered a sacred right by many legislators.)
Small Towns Lead the Way on Parking Reform
To hear some people tell it, you might think that getting rid of costly parking mandates for new development is a reform that only works in big cities. In reality, many more small towns than big cities have implemented this reform, and they’re doing just fine. Locally, we are excited to report that Arcata committed to citywide removal of parking mandates in its recent General Plan update.
Do Roads Help or Hurt Local Economies?
A new study finds that the economic costs of building new roads in urban areas far exceed the benefits – and that actually removing some existing roads would produce a huge economic benefit.
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.