The Collector
January 14, 2022
Eureka City Council Approves Land Swap, Caving to Pressure Over Parking
The city is selling this deal as a way to develop more housing, but don’t be fooled: both the downtown parking lots and the lots near Winco can and should be developed with dense, walkable housing, producing far more homes than either one by itself. The land swap is really just the city’s way to appease downtown business owners who decided to prioritize the preservation of private vehicle storage (a.k.a. parking lots) over the need for affordable housing. CRTP is partnering with Legal Services of Northern California to review options for reversing this terrible decision.
Humboldt County Planning Commission Approves McKay Ranch Subdivision
Comments from the public, environmental advocates including CRTP, as well as government agencies like the Redwood Coast Energy Authority and the Humboldt County Association of Governments all highlighted that the massive suburban-style subdivision needs major changes to make it consistent with our urgent needs (and official plans) to reduce driving, reduce carbon emissions, and improve street safety. Disappointingly, Commissioners completely ignored all of these comments in the process of unanimously and unconditionally approving the project. In so doing, they demonstrated how out of touch they are with public sentiment, official policy and environmental reality. Check out George Clark’s letter to the Times-Standard here for another take on the approval.
CRTP Member Meeting Next Week
If you’re not a member yet, there’s still time to join so you can attend next Thursday’s meeting, where we’ll hear from City of Arcata staff about the Gateway Area Plan and talk about CRTP’s plans and recent accomplishments. (For more on the Gateway Plan, or to prepare for the Member Meeting, check out this recent EcoNews Report.)
Speaking of the Gateway Plan…
The Arcata Transportation Safety Committee will be considering the transportation elements of the plan at its meeting next Tuesday at 4:30 pm. As we’ve said before, this is the most bike- and pedestrian-friendly plan we’ve seen in our region yet, so come out and show your support! Another opportunity to learn more will come next Friday and Saturday, when the City plans to hold an open house at the Arcata Community Center.
RCCER Circulates Petition to Build Housing and Save the Planet
The new North Coast environmental political action group is calling for building more housing close to jobs, services, and retail, to address the housing crisis while reducing climate-harming emissions.
Don’t Forget to Make Your Reports on Street Story
Report the hazards, collisions and near-misses you’ve experienced on local streets, so we can use the data to make things safer in the future. Local residents have made 879 reports (and counting) on Street Story. La versión en español está disponible aquí.
Nordic Aquafarms Environmental Documents Out for Comment
We know that transportation isn’t the first thing you think of when you think about a fish farm. But the facility would have 150 employees and generate 95 truck trips a week, so the transportation issues are significant. That’s why we’re partnering with other local environmental groups to submit comprehensive comments on the project. And you can submit your own, too!
Caltrans Announces New Complete Streets Policy
The policy sounds good. But Caltrans has already had a complete streets policy in place for years, and has often failed to live up to it. The proof will be in the, um, asphalt?
US Climate-Harming Emissions Jumped in 2021
Transportation – especially freight from all that online ordering – was one of the main sources of the disturbing increase.
French Car Ads Will Have to Discourage Driving
OK, we know this won’t be enough to put much of a dent in car sales. But we still think it’s a great idea.
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.