The Collector
February 28, 2025
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.
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.
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.
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.