The Collector
September 13, 2024
Two More Climate Action Plan Meetings Next Week
Next Tuesday at 3:30 pm, the Humboldt County Planning & Building Department will hold a scoping meeting to get public input on what should be considered in the environmental review of the draft Regional Climate Action Plan. The meeting can be attended in person at the Humboldt County Agricultural Center or remotely by Zoom. Click here for more information. Later that day, the Eureka City Council will hold a special 5:00 meeting at City Hall to discuss the draft plan.
Nearly three quarters of regional climate pollution covered by the draft plan comes from transportation. CRTP is asking for the Climate Action Plan’s transportation measures to align with the adopted Regional Transportation Plan, which would mean including more ambitious, effective and binding measures to reduce driving and support walking, biking and public transit. We are also asking for the plan to define “rural” and “urban” areas using the 2020 US Census definition of urban areas, rather than pretending that places like McKinleyville and Myrtletown are “rural” and therefore can’t be expected to have decent transit service or bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Finally, we are joining with our environmental allies to ask that the task of coordinating implementation of the Climate Action Plan be assigned to a new committee and staff at the Humboldt County Association of Governments, which already conducts regional transportation planning.
You can expect to see more detailed comments from CRTP and our allies in the coming days.
Eureka City Council to Consider Adopting Bike Plan
The City of Eureka has been developing a citywide bike plan for over a year. Next Tuesday (just after the special Climate Action Plan meeting), the City Council will consider adopting a final plan. The proposed plan focuses mainly on developing a network of Bike Boulevards on low-traffic streets. CRTP believes that Bike Boulevards can be an element of a safe and functional bike system, but other measures must also be also taken, including: (1) Establish minimum design criteria for the Bike Boulevards to ensure they are actually safe and low-stress for bicyclists (and not just painted sharrows); (2) Make bike improvements on major streets, too, since most bicyclists will be forced to use them at some point to get to their destinations; (3) Commit to a quick-build program that rapidly establishes a safe bike network, rather than taking decades to build every bike lane.
We are pleased to see that, at the same Tuesday meeting, the City Council will also be approving an annual street paving project that includes bike and pedestrian safety improvements in alignment with the city’s Complete Streets Policy. The improvements include buffered bike lanes on parts of H and Harris Streets, some bike upgrades on Myrtle Avenue, and some pedestrian accessibility improvements.
Report Your Local Tripping Hazard on Street Story!
A bumpy or uneven sidewalk is often a tripping hazard. While tripping on the sidewalk may be no big deal for many people, tripping hazards can cause major hurdles for some members of our our community, including those with mobility issues, such as people who use wheelchairs, the elderly, or even those who are pregnant. In some cases there is the added risk of tripping and falling into traffic.
Sidewalks need to be safe and accessible for all who walk, bike, and roll. Next time you’re out and about, be mindful of the sidewalk conditions and report what you see on Street Story! Haga clic aquí para hacer un informe en español.
News from Beyond the North Coast
More About the Transportation Bills on Governor Newsom’s Desk
Check out the helpful summary from CalBike, and contact the governor to ask him to sign these bills!
Parking Reform Is Climate Action
The Parking Reform Network lists some of the ways that parking reform is an important climate strategy. If you didn’t know, now you do!
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.