The Collector
March 28, 2025
The Safety and Efficiency of Eureka’s City Vehicles
At next Tuesday’s Eureka City Council meeting, the agenda includes a new “Telematics Policy” for city-owned vehicles. The proposal involves installing systems that collect data on how those vehicles are being operated. According to city staff: “This policy aims to enhance operational efficiency, promote safety, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect the privacy of employees and the public.”
These new telematics systems will be collecting many of the kinds of data needed for Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), which is a technology used to detect the local speed limit and prevent a vehicle from speeding. ISA is a cheap and effective way to improve safety on our streets (a version is already required on new vehicles sold in Europe). So while they’re investing in new technology for city vehicles, we’re encouraging the city to install systems capable of Intelligent Speed Assistance. Ensuring that city vehicles follow the speed limit will save lives and save dollars – and it will show that the city is willing to lead by example when it comes to street safety.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda, the Council will vote on whether to endorse the international Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty Initiative. Needless to say, fossil fuels are wreaking havoc on the global climate, and the bulk of local fossil fuel is burned in the engines of cars and trucks.
One Week Left to Comment on Climate Action Plan EIR
Nearly three quarters of local climate pollution comes from cars and trucks. The Humboldt County Regional Climate Action Plan, in development since 2018, seeks to address this and other sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Its adoption would be a significant milestone in the region’s efforts to fight climate change, although there are a lot of improvements we’d like to see to the draft plan before it’s finalized.
Before the Climate Action Plan can be adopted, it also has to undergo the same environmental review as any other state or local public project. The draft Environmental Impact Report for the plan is still available for public review and comment – but the deadline is April 5th, so don’t delay! Rest assured that CRTP and our allies have reviewed the report and will be submitting our comments as well.
Update on Wiyot Housing Projects on Parking Lots
At a community meeting this week, the Wiyot Tribe’s Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust presented updates on its plans to develop affordable senior and family housing on two downtown Eureka city-owned parking lots. Like similar projects on other city-owned parking lots, these developments will provide much-needed housing in a walkable area with the region’s highest concentration of jobs and government services, as well as the best transit service in the region.
CRTP supports these projects and has intervened in litigation to ensure they move forward. Put simply, we believe the need for permanent housing for people outweighs the need for temporary storage for cars. We also support plans to strengthen parking management and increase transit service to improve access to downtown. And we think these housing projects add even greater urgency to the need to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists in the notorious downtown 4th and 5th Street corridor.
News from Beyond the North Coast
Car-Free Community Thrives in the Middle of Arizona Sprawl
Culdesac Tempe is a development in the famously sprawling Phoenix area that provides residents with bus passes and has on-site restaurants, stores and e-bike services – but nowhere to park a car. We’ve been following this project for several years, and we’re excited to see that it seems to be thriving, with residents reporting many health, community and quality of life benefits from living in a car-free community. If car-free living is possible in car-dominated Phoenix, it’s possible almost anywhere!
Paris Will Pedestrianize 500 Streets
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has moved quickly in recent years to dramatically improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure in a city that has historically been very car-centric (at least by European standards). Paris voters recently gave their approval for the next phase of this effort, which involves pedestrianizing 500 streets in neighborhoods throughout the city.
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