The Collector

March 28, 2025

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

The Collector

March 21, 2025

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Save the Date for Humboldt Bay Trail Grand Opening Celebration!

The time is almost upon us when there will be a complete bike and pedestrian trail along the shores of Humboldt Bay between Eureka and Arcata. We’ve been waiting a long time for this, and it’s time to celebrate! CRTP is working with many other local groups to organize a Grand Opening Celebration for the Humboldt Bay Trail on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at the Adorni Center in Eureka. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!

Even as this critical trail linkage nears completion, we’re also very excited that the regional commuter trail network is continuing to expand. Arcata’s Annie & Mary Trail project to extend the Bay Trail north through the city, past Valley West to the pump station on West End Road, is expected to begin construction this year. And planning is under way to extend the trail network south from Eureka to College of the Redwoods, too!

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Draft Long-Term Plan for State Route 255

Caltrans has released a draft Corridor Management Plan for State Route 255 in Humboldt. This road connects Arcata and Eureka via the Samoa peninsula, and is the only (land-based) connection between the peninsula communities of Fairhaven, Samoa and Manila and the rest of the North Coast. It is a high-speed roadway with no safe facilities for walking or biking, but is nevertheless well used by pedestrians and bicyclists – including some who have no other option.

Caltrans is accepting comments on the draft plan through May 23rd. CRTP’s priorities for this corridor include adding bike and pedestrian facilities between Arcata and Manila and on the Samoa Bridge to Eureka, as well as providing safer crossings in Manila. We encourage our supporters to provide feedback to Caltrans. And don’t forget to make your reports on Street Story too!

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Measure O Transit Funding Update

In February, CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske was selected by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to sit as an official transit advocate on a Measure O ad hoc committee. The committee was charged with recommending how much of the new voter-approved sales tax revenue should go to public transit, and how much to road work. Since the earliest discussions about a potential new tax measure, CRTP has worked hard to ensure that transit gets its fair share of the funding. This local revenue is especially crucial at a time when state transit funds are decreasing and federal funding is very much at risk.

The ad hoc committee met once and decided to recommend that 14% of Measure O funding be allocated to transit, and 86% to roads. This decision was made over CRTP’s objections, because 14% is not nearly enough funding to protect local transit service from federal and state funding cuts, let alone increase service to meet longstanding needs like late night and Sunday service – or to provide the even higher level of service needed to attract new riders and help meet our region’s climate goals. We expect the committee’s recommendation to come to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision in the coming weeks. We will continue to push for equitable and sustainable transit funding at every opportunity.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Parking Reform, Illustrated

CRTP has been advocating against costly, unscientific parking mandates for many years. Regular readers of The Collector know the importance of parking reforms, but sometimes the issue can seem pretty dry and abstract. So we’re grateful to the Parking Reform Network for sharing the graphic above, which provides a clear visual illustration of the negative impact of parking mandates on our communities.

CRTP Joins Allies in Objecting to State Bill

North Coast Assemblymember Chris Rogers has introduced a bill that would prioritize fire department response times over other safety considerations when new street improvements are proposed. While response times are important, this issue has unfortunately often been used by fire departments to block important street safety improvements, including things like bike lanes and speed humps. CRTP is joining with many other organizations statewide in requesting the bill be re-written to “take a more comprehensive view of public safety.” We can look to a recently updated City of Arcata General Plan policy as one example of this more comprehensive view. The policy, which CRTP advocated for, states that “when determining needed improvements, ease and speed of emergency vehicle access shall be weighed against safe design for all street users.”

Legislators Request More Money for Walking & Biking

Last year, $400 million was cut from the state’s primary funding program for bike and pedestrian infrastructure. This left many important projects – including several on the North Coast – unable to secure funding from the already underfunded Active Transportation Program. So we’re grateful that some state legislators are now advocating for restoring the lost funding in this year’s budget.

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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

The Collector

March 14, 2025

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Community Walk to Identify Transportation Improvements

The city of Eureka and the non-profit Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation are applying for a big grant that would help fund the Sunset Heights affordable housing project as well as bike, pedestrian and transit improvements nearby. Following up on a recent community meeting about the project, the city and RCHDC are hosting a community walk along streets in the area next Thursday at noon to get more input on needed transportation improvements. CRTP is helping plan the walk, and we encourage anyone who lives, works or plays in this area to participate. And as always, we also encourage everyone to make reports on Street Story about hazards, crashes, and near-misses you’ve experienced in the area.

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Arcata Committee Considers Important Safety Upgrades

As we previously reported, the Arcata Transportation Safety Committee recently began a new annual process of using Street Story and official crash reports as the basis for proposing specific low-cost safety upgrades to the City Council for implementation in the next year. The committee’s meeting next Tuesday will be devoted entirely to a discussion of possible safety projects. Committee members have submitted some exciting ideas for consideration, from buffered bike lanes on Giuntoli Lane to a protected bike intersection at Foster and Alliance and stop signs at 11th and Q Streets. We’ll be encouraging the city to fund as many upgrades as possible, and to make sure that they are well designed to achieve the goal of safe, comfortable transportation for people walking, biking and rolling.

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Eureka’s Bay to Zoo Trail Project Reaches a New Phase

Eureka’s Bay to Zoo Trail project, which the city has been planning for years and has secured millions in grant funds for development, is moving into a new phase: buying right-of-way to allow trail construction along portions of the route that traverse private property. At next Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Councilmembers are slated to award a contract to an outside company to help with right-of-way acquisition.

CRTP remains excited for this much-needed new bike and pedestrian connection between the Eureka waterfront and areas to the south, including the medical district and Sequoia Park Zoo. However, we also remain concerned that the part of the “trail” south of St. Joseph Hospital (orange in the map at left) is actually not a trail but just paint on the street, which does not provide the kind of safety and comfort required for users of all ages and abilities. We will continue to advocate for improvements to this section of the route, and to make sure that trail crossings of major streets are safely designed as well.

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Regional Climate Action Plan Meeting on Tuesday

Next Tuesday evening at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka, Humboldt County will be hosting a public meeting about the Regional Climate Action Plan’s recently released Draft Environmental Impact Report. As we have reported previously, transportation accounts for about three quarters of the climate pollution covered by the plan, so improvements to walkability, bikeability and transit systems are critical parts of the plan.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Trump Administration Looks to Cancel All Bike Lane Funding

The US Department of Transportation has ordered officials to flag all federal grants for projects focused on bike infrastructure or other climate-focused or “green” transportation grants. According to the memo this week, bike lanes and related projects fall into the category of “climate, equity and other priorities counter to the Administration’s executive orders.” Experts expect any federally funded projects containing bike, pedestrian or zero-emission vehicle infrastructure to be canceled or forced to remove those elements.

Advocates Demand $2 Billion for Transit in State Budget

Transit agencies across California are still facing major funding shortfalls, and many of the state’s biggest transit systems could be forced to cut service next year without significant state funding.

When Driving is Less Convenient, More People Bike

American decision-makers have spent the last century overhauling communities and spending trillions of dollars to make it easy and convenient to drive – and inconvenient and unsafe to get around any other way. So while adding safer bike infrastructure is critically important, most people won’t choose to bike (or walk or ride the bus) unless we also address the historical inequities and make it a little less convenient to drive.

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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.

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The Collector

March 7, 2025

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The Urgent Need for Safety Improvements in Eureka

Check out CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske’s latest article in the EcoNews for an overview of the unsafe conditions on Eureka’s Broadway, 4th and 5th Streets – also known as state highway US-101. We’ve been fighting for safety improvements on Broadway for years, and have recently been focusing attention on 4th and 5th Streets as well. One way you can help is by making reports on Street Story about hazards, crashes, and near-misses you’ve experienced in this corridor.

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There’s a Lot Going on at the Humboldt Transit Authority

At the Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) Board of Directors meeting this week, the Board took a final vote to take over “all management, functions and assets” of the Arcata & Mad River Transit System, at the request of the City of Arcata. The city-owned Arcata Transit Center will stay largely the same for now.

At the same meeting, the Board also directed HTA staff to investigate bringing its Dial-a-Ride paratransit service in-house. Dial-a-Ride provides door-to-door transportation for people with disabilities that prevent them from using the public bus system, and has been operated by a private contractor for many years.

Neither of these changes will have an immediate impact on transit riders. Over the long term, however, we hope that HTA taking over Arcata transit service and operating the Dial-a-Ride system with its own employees will lead to cost savings, service improvements, and better coordination among transit services.

Meanwhile, HTA also announced that it will be getting its first hydrogen-powered bus by the end of this month. The shift to hydrogen has been planned for many years in response to the state mandate to transition to zero-emission transit vehicles. CRTP continues to advocate for the prioritization of green hydrogen fuel, to ensure these vehicles aren’t just displacing emissions to other communities.

And don’t let the new grant-funded buses fool you – HTA is still in desperate need of long-term operating funds. In fact, if you’re looking for a job, they need drivers too! Because while new buses are nice, it’s the service they provide that’s most important. Or as CRTP Board Member Peggy Martinez puts it, “transit is as useful as it is available.”

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Take Humboldt County’s Economic Development Survey

Humboldt County is currently looking for public input on its economic development strategies. If you believe, like we do, that high-quality public transit, comfortable sidewalks and bike lanes, and a good commuter trail network are important for economic development, take the county survey and let them know!

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Sunday: Bike Film Screening & Community Event

This Sunday from 1-3 pm at Eureka’s Jefferson Community Center, KEET PBS will be screening the documentary “Bike Vessel,” about “a father and son’s inspiring cycling journey to reclaim their health.” After the film, there will be a community event with bike safety tips, an introduction to the Eureka Bike Kitchen, and more. Click here to RSVP.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Overwhelming Demand for State E-Bike Vouchers

When the first round of e-bike vouchers was released in December, almost 100,000 people logged onto the state website in the first hour hoping to get one. But only the first 1,500 people succeeded. Fortunately, there will be more rounds of vouchers released in the future, and the state is hoping to make the process fairer and more accessible.

Car and Truck Safety Rules at Risk

The Trump administration is taking aim at rules meant to keep motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians safe. Despite having a huge mandate and relatively few employees, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is among the many agencies being directed to cut staff, and its new rule requiring automatic emergency braking on new vehicles was frozen shortly after Trump took office. Reporters have also gained access to leaked documents suggesting the administration will end a rule requiring automakers to report crashes involving their experimental autonomous vehicles.

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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.

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The Collector

February 28, 2025

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What Are Humboldt County’s Unmet Transit Needs?

Every year, the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) leads an official process to gather public input on unmet transit needs in the county. That process was recently completed, and next Wednesday at 1:30 pm HCAOG’s Social Services Transportation Advisory Council will meet to discuss a draft of the official Unmet Transit Needs Report of Findings.

This will be one of the last chances for the public weigh in on the official unmet transit needs this year. Here’s a brief summary of the proposed findings, based on needs reported by the public:

• Late night service on Redwood Transit System will not be considered an unmet need, because two later runs – with final stops between 8:30 and 10 pm for most locations – were already added last year.
• Increased bus frequency between McKinleyville and Cal Poly Humboldt will not be considered an unmet need, because a pilot on-demand transit service for McKinleyville will soon be implemented and increase service options in this area.
• Increased Dial-a-Ride service for people with disabilities will not be considered an unmet need, because it involves specialized services provided by other agencies.
• All of the following will be considered unmet needs, but they can’t be met due to a lack of funding and/or ridership: Arcata & Mad River Transit System expansion, late night Saturday service on Redwood Transit System, Sunday service on Redwood Transit System, Eureka Transit System expansion, better service in Blue Lake, service to Bayside, and later Southern Humboldt Intercity service.

Do you agree with these findings? Does the new Redwood Transit System schedule operate late enough to meet your needs? Will on-demand transit in McKinleyville meet the need for more frequent service to Arcata? You can provide your feedback in person or on Zoom next Wednesday, or email HCAOG staff at amy.eberwein@hcaog.net ahead of the meeting.

This continues to be a critical time to document transit needs in Humboldt County, since the Board of Supervisors will soon decide how much Measure O money will be allocated to transit – and some people are demanding that all of that money go to paving projects instead.

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Step Up to Lead CRTP’s Bike Valet Program!

Each year, CRTP provides bike valet services for about 7-10 local events, often including large annual happenings like the Oyster Festival and the North Country Fair.

If you’ve never experienced our bike valet, it’s a simple but important service. People check in their bikes (and accessories like helmets and trailers) while they’re at the event, and we watch over them and make sure they’re safe and secure – all for no charge! Bike valet provides both encouragement and appreciation for biking to events instead of driving.

We’re currently looking for a new volunteer to coordinate our bike valet program. The Bike Valet Coordinator is a volunteer position whose duties typically include:

• Coordinating with event organizers on bike valet location, timing, signage, etc.
• Recruiting and training volunteers to staff the bike valet service
• Transporting, setting up and breaking down bike racks, fencing, pop-up tent, table and chairs
• Covering bike valet shifts at events as needed

If you’re interested in helping provide this service to the local community, please email colin@transportationpriorities.org for more information.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Anti-Transit, Anti-Pedestrian, Anti-Climate Lawyer to Help Lead USDOT

Steven Bradbury, a lawyer who works with the conservative Heritage Foundation, has been nominated to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation in the Trump administration. Bradbury has a history of advocating for eliminating transit funding, prioritizing high traffic speeds over safety, and attacking fuel efficiency and zero-emission vehicles. And of course he supports building more highways.

More Jobs, More Mobility, Less Mining

A new report finds that investing more in transit, walkability, and smaller vehicles – instead of just swapping out all our current enormous cars and trucks for electric equivalents – would not only improve Americans’ mobility and reduce the need for destructive mining for battery components, it could also create more and better jobs.

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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.

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The Collector

February 21, 2025

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Speak Up on Transportation Upgrades in Eureka

The non-profit Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation is planning to build affordable housing on the Sunset Heights property overlooking Broadway between Henderson and Harris Streets. This is a good location for housing. It’s close to bus stops, schools, jobs, shopping and services. But there’s also no denying that many streets in the area are dangerous for walking, biking and rolling.

So we’re grateful that RCHDC, the City of Eureka, and the Humboldt Transit Authority, are applying for a state grant that would not only help fund housing construction but also nearby transportation improvements. This is the same grant program that is funding major bike, pedestrian and transit upgrades associated with Eureka’s Linc Housing project and Arcata’s Sorrel Place project.

Next Monday at 6:30 pm at Alice Birney Elementary School, there will be a community meeting to hear input from members of the public about what kinds of improvements they’d like to see. If you can’t make it to that meeting, you can register for a virtual version of the same meeting on Wednesday at noon instead. And don’t forget to make Street Story reports about your experiences in the area!

At CRTP, we hope this project will include new designs for Harris and Henderson Streets to slow down traffic and provide a safer ride for bicyclists, as well as accessibility and crossing upgrades for pedestrians, and improved transit service. We also hope that the project will provide more momentum for planned safety upgrades to Broadway that we’ve long been fighting for.

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Arcata Reviews Street Story to Identify Needed Improvements

The Arcata Transportation Safety Committee has begun reviewing Street Story and official crash reports in the city on a quarterly basis to identify persistent safety problems and propose solutions. At this week’s meeting, committee members began a new annual process of using those reports to propose specific low-cost safety upgrades to the City Council for implementation in the next year. Keep making those Street Story reports – they’re having an impact!

At the same meeting, an official subcommittee was also formed to make plans for reducing speed limits to 20 mph in many parts of the city. While reduced speed limits are not as effective as well-designed infrastructure at actually lowering driving speeds, research shows that they do make a difference.

In related news, the Arcata Planning Commission will meet next week to refine the Community Benefits Program that goes along with the recently adopted Gateway Plan and zoning code. The idea is to incentivize new housing projects to provide community amenities, which could include things like bike-share or car-share programs, better bike storage, free bus passes for residents, or funding for citywide bike and pedestrian upgrades. You can attend the meeting or email the commissioners to provide feedback on the proposed community benefits.

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Humboldt Ranks High for Bike and Pedestrian Fatalities

A new report calculates the per capita rate of people killed and seriously injured while walking and biking in all of California’s counties during the five year period from 2019 to 2023. While Humboldt did not have the highest rates among all counties, it was close to the top, continuing the tragic trend we’ve seen in previous years. In fact, with 34 people killed while walking or biking in just five years, Humboldt’s numbers are a tragedy and a disgrace. Every death and serious injury on a street or highway is preventable; we just have to choose to live up to the slogans and actually put safety first.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Federal Highway Administration Removes Complete Streets Webpage

In the latest sign that, under Trump, the US Department of Transportation will not be prioritizing safety, the Federal Highway Administration has removed from its website the main page containing information and best practices for complete streets. It should be hard to imagine how the idea of safe streets for everyone could be controversial, but somehow transportation safety is part of our nation’s escalating culture wars.

Trump Attacks “Progressive” Transportation Policies from Coast to Coast

This week, Trump’s newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy – a person with no transportation policy experience – attempted to cancel New York’s recently implemented congestion pricing program, then launched an attack on California’s under-construction high speed rail project.

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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.

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The Collector

February 14, 2025

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Climate Action Plan Environmental Impact Report Published

Last week, we reported that a new draft of the Humboldt County Regional Climate Action Plan had been published, and the plan’s draft Environmental Impact Report was expected next month.

Apparently the environmental review was ahead of schedule, because the Environmental Impact Report was published this week! The document is available for public review and comment from now through April 5th.

With almost three-quarters of local climate pollution coming from transportation, you can be sure that CRTP will be reviewing the environmental documents and the revised plan itself very closely. Keep an eye out for more information after we’ve had a chance to analyze the 728-page document.

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Humboldt Supervisors Argue Over Transit and Road Funding

Regular readers of The Collector may recall that CRTP has been advocating for a long time for a substantial amount of the revenue from the new Measure O sales tax to go toward public transit. In fact, we pledged to oppose any new tax that didn’t include transit funding way back in April 2023, when Measure O was just a gleam in the county’s eye. That advocacy led to bus service being included in the Measure O ballot language, and to county supervisors promising when they put it on the ballot that some of the funding would support transit.

This week, the supervisors decided who would sit on the committee that recommends how much money will go to roads and how much to transit. A CRTP representative was appointed to that committee, along with two of the supervisors and several other stakeholders. During the discussion, several supervisors proposed hypothetical amounts that might go to transit, ranging from less than 2% all the way up to 30% of Measure O revenue.

Supervisor Rex Bohn unfortunately took up much of the time arguing that no money should go to transit and falsely claiming that transit funding wasn’t part of the public discussion that led to the development and passage of Measure O. Other supervisors appeared to have better memories and expressed more support for transit. The discussion was so lively that the Lost Coast Outpost set up a community poll asking how much of the funding should go to roads vs. transit. CRTP will keep working to ensure that our transit systems get enough funding to meet some of the longstanding local needs – like more frequent buses and transit service on Sundays – and that the money spent on roads includes safety upgrades for people walking, biking, and rolling.

In other local transit news, Joann Fabrics has announced the impending closure of its Eureka location. What does that have to do with transit? Every Eureka Transit route stops at the corner of F & Harris Streets, which also happens to be the Joann Fabrics location, making it one of two de facto transit hubs in the city. An empty building there would likely create challenges for maintaining a comfortable environment for riders – but a new tenant willing to cooperate with the Humboldt Transit Authority could generate opportunities for improvement.

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The Fight to Protect Richardson Grove Continues

Local environmental organizations are continuing the decades-long legal battle against the Richardson Grove highway expansion project, appealing a recent judge’s ruling that dismissed one of their lawsuits. CRTP has always opposed the Richardson Grove project. We believe that the state should be spending its limited transportation dollars on desperately needed safety upgrades and low-carbon transportation improvements, not widening highways in state parks to accommodate the biggest interstate trucks.

CRTP tracks many Caltrans projects and often advocates for changes or improvements. If you’re wondering what other projects Caltrans is planning in our region, most of them can be found on this interactive map produced by the agency, including projects planned 5 years or more in the future.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Take Action to Save Federal Safety Funding

As we previously reported, the Trump administration has frozen many major transportation funding programs, including critical safety, equity, and climate programs. Local agencies on the North Coast are recipients of some of this funding – or were, before it was frozen. Now, the US Department of Transportation is threatening to end the programs altogether. Our friends at America Walks have a convenient tool for you to contact federal and state representatives and ask them to fight to restore these important programs.

The Founding Father of the Parking Reform Movement Dies at 86

UCLA professor and world-renowned parking expert Donald Shoup died last week. His 2005 book The High Cost of Free Parking sparked a movement to reform parking rules and practices across the globe, and his many other academic papers and public appearances described the financial and environmental costs of overabundant parking and promoted practical reforms. He will be greatly missed.

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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.

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The Collector

February 7, 2025

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Latest Draft of Regional Climate Action Plan Published

The Humboldt County Regional Climate Action Plan is currently undergoing environmental review. According to county staff, the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the plan is expected to be released for public comment next month.

Meanwhile, the county recently uploaded a new draft of the plan to its website. It’s unusual for a plan to be updated in the middle of its environmental review. We’re still reviewing the changes, but we expect that they will be relatively minor and focused on comments submitted last fall.

We are keeping our eye on the big picture: almost three-quarters of the climate pollution covered by the plan comes from on-road transportation, mostly private cars and trucks. Transitioning to electric vehicles will be necessary but not sufficient to meet climate goals, and local governments have limited influence over private vehicle purchases. Which means there is no way the plan can achieve significant emissions reductions without major infrastructure, land use, and transit improvements to support more walking, biking and bus riding.

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Federal Funding Uncertainty Hangs Over Local Plans

Some important local transportation planning efforts may be directly affected by the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to freeze previously approved federal funding – including from two of the biggest transportation programs – and dismantle programs that don’t meet right-wing ideological purity tests. The Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) has received federal funding from at least two programs that appear to be targeted by Trump. One is a grant from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program to develop a regional Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The other is an allocation from the Carbon Reduction Program, which local agencies intend to use to develop a plan for transitioning local fleets to zero-emission vehicles. Funds from both programs were awarded during the Biden administration, but the projects have not yet started.

Both of these federal funding programs are part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (a.k.a. the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), one of the programs specifically frozen by a Trump executive order. Furthermore, the new administration’s hostility toward climate action and electric vehicle infrastructure is well established, and even seemingly uncontroversial transportation safety programs are now being targeted by the administration. Given this political environment and the unprecedented attempts to interfere with federal funding that’s already been already allocated, local officials and advocates are extremely concerned that crucial safety, environmental and equity programs like those pursued by HCAOG will be de-funded or otherwise undermined.

Adding to the anxiety are concerns about what restrictions may be placed on future federal funding – especially with the new federal leadership making odd and unprecedented announcements about things like tying transportation funding amounts to local birth and marriage rates.

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News from Beyond the North Coast

Right Turns on Red Are Dangerous

Right-turn-on-red laws were introduced during the oil crisis of the 1970s under the somewhat absurd premise that the US would save a significant amount fuel by allowing drivers to spend less time idling at intersections. A new study adds to years of evidence that drivers rarely come to a complete stop when making a right on red, and pedestrians and bicyclists are paying the price for this behavior.

Driving an Enormous Vehicles Won’t Make You Safer

It is well established that bigger and taller SUVs and pickup trucks are much more dangerous for people outside the vehicle, especially pedestrians and bicyclists. But Americans keep buying bigger and bigger vehicles anyway, in part because of concerns for their own safety in the escalating “arms race” on our streets. New research challenges the assumption that bigger is safer for vehicle occupants, finding that drivers and passengers in today’s enormous vehicles are no safer than they would be in a smaller car.

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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.

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The Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP) has named the Humboldt Transit Authority’s drivers, vehicle service workers, mechanics and equipment technicians as the 2023 North Coast Responsible Transportation Champions. The annual award is given to locals who further CRTP’s mission of “promoting transportation solutions that protect and support a healthy environment, healthy people, healthy communities and a healthy economy on the North Coast.”

The Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) workers are being recognized for their consistent, hard work providing crucial public transit services to our region under sometimes challenging conditions. This marks the first time that the award has been given to a group of people, rather than to specific individuals.

“HTA’s drivers, vehicle service workers, mechanics and equipment technicians are the people who literally keep the buses running every day,” said CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske. “Our public transit system helps meet the mobility needs of the many local residents who can’t drive, including kids, seniors, people with disabilities, and people who can’t afford a car. And because private vehicles are the biggest source of local climate pollution, public transit is also a critical climate solution, providing low-carbon mobility throughout the region. None of this would be possible without the daily efforts of transit workers. HTA’s bus drivers, vehicle service workers, mechanics and equipment technicians are truly Responsible Transportation Champions.”

“All of us at HTA are committed to providing safe and effective service to our community, and we are honored to receive this recognition,” said Cody Ferreira, an HTA equipment technician and AFSCME union steward. “Our union drivers, mechanics, equipment technicians, and vehicle service workers take pride in offering an ever-expanding array of safe and environmentally-friendly transportation options across the region, and we hope to see everyone out on the route soon.”

Past recipients of the Responsible Transportation Champion award include: State Senator Mike McGuire, former McKinleyville Community Services District Director Mary Burke, former Humboldt County Association of Governments Executive Director Marcella May, Humboldt Transit Authority General Manager Greg Pratt and Transit Planner Jerome Qiriazi, and Caltrans District 1 Complete Streets team members Alexis Kelso and Joseph Caminiti.