The Collector
February 9, 2024
Eureka Bike Plan Workshop Next Week
Next Thursday at 5:30 pm, the city will hold its second public workshop to get input on the development of the citywide bike plan. If you bike in Eureka – or if you’d like to bike but don’t feel comfortable under current conditions – please attend the meeting and encourage the city to plan a complete network of safe, low-stress routes for riders of all ages and abilities. While you’re at it, you can also thank the City Council for committing funds this week to move ahead with the long-awaited Bay to Zoo Trail. Click here for more information about the bike plan and the workshop, or click here to join the virtual workshop on Thursday night.
The day before the bike plan workshop, on Wednesday evening, the Eureka Planning Commission will also be considering a couple of bike-related projects. One involves the rehabilitation and improvement of the Waterfront Trail east of the Adorni Center (where it is currently a mess of cracked and buckling pavement), making it much more bike-friendly. The other is a new mixed use building in Old Town near the future EaRTH Center transit hub, which may be the first local development proposed with bike parking but no car parking. We’re excited by all the progress, and we continue to advocate to ensure that both bike paths and the bike parking are well designed for a wide variety of users.
In other Eureka news, Rob Arkley continues to pump huge sums of money into his campaign to confuse and bully Eurekans into blocking walkable, affordable, downtown housing. Thankfully, some in the local media are pushing back and defending the importance of providing voters with objective facts (your initiative isn’t “prohousing” just because you said it is).
New Humboldt County Planning Commissioner
Supervisor Natalie Arroyo this week appointed Jerome Qiriazi to fill an empty seat on the county’s Planning Commission. Here at CRTP, we’re excited about this pick because – among his many other qualifications – Jerome currently serves as a transit planner at the Humboldt Transit Authority. A Planning Commissioner with such a deep understanding of public transit signals a new and positive direction for Humboldt County planning. Congratulations, Jerome!
Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Up and Running in Humboldt
On its surface, guaranteed income might not seem like a transportation issue. But because our region is so car-dependent, and because cars are so expensive to own and operate, transportation costs are second only to housing in local household budgets. Experience with other programs shows that much of the money distributed to low-income residents is likely to be spent on car repairs and fuel. If we had more walkable, affordable housing and better public transit that made car ownership optional, people would have a lot more money to spend on other necessities.
Street Story Reports Make a Difference
Local planners, advocates, grant writers and committees review Street Story reports when making decisions about safety improvements. Your reports are important! Make a report every time you experience a near-miss, a crash, or a hazardous location – or report a place you feel safe. La versión de Street Story en español está disponible aquí.
News from Beyond the North Coast
More on the Caltrans Complete Streets Bill
Many of the main streets in North Coast communities are also state highways, so Caltrans policies about bike, pedestrian and transit infrastructure really matter.
State Transportation Commission Approves Big Highway Expansion
Despite generating some hope last month that they might reconsider, Commissioners this month rammed through the I-15 expansion approval and shut down the lone dissenter’s questions about the climate and air quality implications. Highway expansion projects like this one have been identified as one of the main reasons the state is not meeting its goals to reduce climate pollution.
Public Transit Systems Get Better When We Give Them More Money
This may seem obvious. But conventional wisdom in some circles has long held that subsidizing public transit leads to inefficiencies. A new study finds just the opposite: the most highly subsidized systems are the most efficient (presumably because they offer the best service).
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.