The Collector

April 2, 2021

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Have You Experienced a Personal Loss from a Traffic Collision?
Humboldt County is currently ranked as the most dangerous county in the state for pedestrians by the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. In Eureka alone, more than 130 deaths and serious injuries of pedestrians and bicyclists occurred in the last decade. CRTP is in the early stages of planning a memorial event to honor those whose lives have been lost.

We ask your help in contacting the families and friends of those victims who are willing to tell their stories, to bring the real people into focus beyond the statistics. Our approach is grounded in compassion for their suffering and loss. We seek not to reopen wounds but to provide an avenue for their voices and those lost to speak out and make a difference. Please join us is getting this message out as widely as possible. Those who wish to participate may contact Executive Director Colin Fiske at colin@transportationpriorities.org.

Eureka Awarded Major Funding for Bike & Pedestrian Improvements
In a move that gave us hope this week, Caltrans announced that the city would receive nearly $4 million to implement the long-awaited North-South Multimodal Corridor Plan on H & I Streets and to build 18 improved pedestrian crossings on 6th and 7th Streets.

CRTP and Friends Discuss Humboldt’s Regional Transportation Plan Update
Check out the latest EcoNews Report.

Trees Slow Traffic and Improve Safety
That’s why we’re excited about the new street tree program along part of the Highway 101 corridor in Eureka. You can even sign up to adopt a tree!

The Infrastructure Bill’s Potential Impact on Humboldt County
Local officials speculate. We remind decision-makers: (1) There is a climate crisis and a safety crisis, and those should be prioritized in spending. (2) It’s not popular to admit it, but we will never overcome our long-term road maintenance deficits, because rural and suburban roads just don’t pay for themselves in new tax revenues.

A Hit-and-Run Conviction
The story is noteworthy because in the US, it is extremely rare for a driver to face serious consequences for hitting a pedestrian.

Huffman Grills Secretary Pete on Last Chance Grade
The perennially failing highway segment got a brief national spotlight last week.

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Make your Street Story reports!
Local residents have reported 745 reports (and counting) on Street Story. La versión en español está disponible aquí. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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The “Freedom to Walk Act”
This week we highlight a state bill that if enacted would revolutionize transportation law by essentially eliminating the crime of “jaywalking.” Jaywalking laws (and the term itself) were invented by the auto industry a century ago to institutionalize auto dominance by removing people from the traditional public space of the street. Enforcement has always been arbitrary and generally perpetuates racial and class inequities.

Single Family Zoning Is Racist
A general overview of its historical context and its ongoing perpetuation of inequity – and one woman’s crusade to eliminate the practice in Berkeley.

Huffman to USPS: Where Are the EVs?
Our North Coast Congressman calls out the Postal Service’s new long-term delivery vehicle contract for failure to provide a substantial increase in electric vehicles.

Housing, Transportation and Pollution Agencies to Hold Joint Meeting
The (legally mandated) semi-annual joint meetings of the California Transportation Commission, Air Resources Board and Department of Housing and Community Development are always interesting.

Study Shows That More Bike Infrastructure Led to More Biking in the Pandemic
In the immortal words of Billie Eilish: “Duh.”

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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.

The Collector

March 26, 2021

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Wanted: Bigfoot Costume
CRTP is looking for a Bigfoot/Sasquatch costume. We can’t reveal its use yet, but we think you’ll like it. If you have a costume you’d like to donate or buy for us, get in touch: colin@transportationpriorities.org.

Another Pedestrian Hit-and-Run in Eureka
The horrifying crash was captured on a security camera. Thankfully, the victim was not severely injured.

McKinleyville Residents Want a Walkable Town Center
Once again, that was the dominant theme to emerge from this week’s special McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee meeting.

Arcata Council Not So Transportation-Focused?
At its goal-setting meeting this week, the City Council prioritized many worthy objectives and projects. But transportation issues were barely mentioned, except to say that they should be considered when approving new development projects.

Bay-to-Zoo Trail Environmental Documents Released
Comments are being accepted through April 28th.

Out-of-Area Group Objects to Great Redwood Trail Railbanking
Um, who are these people, and why are they trying to get in the way of our trails?

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Make your Street Story reports!
Local residents have reported 745 reports (and counting) on Street Story. La versión en español está disponible aquí. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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California’s Getting $900 Million More for Transportation
The money comes from the federal COVID relief bill, and this week the California Transportation Commission (CTC) voted on how to divide the money among existing programs. Now the real decisions will be made: what exactly will get built with this money?

Transportation Advocate Appointed to State Transportation Commission
Speaking of the CTC, Governor Newsom just appointed Darnell Grisby to the Commission. Grisby is Executive Director of TransForm, a progressive Bay Area transportation advocacy group. This marks a major shift in appointments to the CTC, which has traditionally been dominated by conservative highway-loving developers and builders. But don’t get too excited – at the same time, Newsom also reappointed Joe Tavaglione, a conservative highway-loving developer.

Bike “Safety Stop” Bill Approved by Transportation Committee
There are many more votes ahead.

California’s Diesel Rules Are Saving Lives
A lot of them.

But Where Will All the Lithium Come From?
Electric vehicles need batteries. Those batteries need lithium. And lithium mining – like most mining – is not a pretty business.

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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.

The Collector

March 19, 2021

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Bold New Regional Transportation Plan Moves Forward
At its meeting on Thursday, the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) Board of Directors gave the go-ahead to incorporate ambitious greenhouse gas and vehicle miles traveled reduction targets into the upcoming Regional Transportation Plan update, and to reorganize the plan around the issues of climate, safety and equity. CRTP helped develop the draft targets and strongly supports the plan’s new direction. A number of you, dear readers, responded to our Action Alert this week and provided comments to HCAOG, which helped ensure broad support on the Board. Thank you!

“How to Save Lives by Improving News Coverage”
If you missed this week’s talk by Dr. Kelcie Ralph, check out (and share) this 8-minute video explaining her team’s research on pitfalls and best practices in media coverage of vehicle-pedestrian crashes.

Save the Date: Talk on Electric Vehicle Charging in Humboldt
On April 5, CRTP is co-sponsoring a talk by three EV researchers (and HSU alumni) about how to ensure full and equitable access to charging infrastructure.

State Transportation Commission to Vote on Key North Coast Projects
Next week, Commissioners will vote on funding for the Arcata section of the Annie & Mary Trail and a complete streets project in Happy Camp, an emergency project to repair “a large void” recently discovered underneath 4th Street asphalt and sidewalk in Eureka, leases between the North Coast Railroad Authority and Humboldt County and the City of Eureka to allow future trail construction, and a number of other local projects.

Humboldt Supervisors Declare Support for US Bike Route 95
Never heard of it? That’s probably because it currently only exists in Alaska. But it’s envisioned to stretch all the way down the coast to San Diego, incorporating much of the existing Pacific Coast Bike Route.

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La versión en línea de Street Story ahora está disponible en inglés y español.
Local residents have reported 744 reports (and counting) on Street Story. And if you are more comfortable filling out a form in Spanish or know people who are, there’s a new Spanish-language version of Street Story for you! Of course, the English-language version is still available here. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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State Releases Draft Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure
The plan covers both climate adaptation and climate mitigation. Comments are due by May 4th.

Great Redwood Trail Bill Advances to Committee
State Senator McGuire’s bill to fully dissolve the North Coast Railroad Authority and replace it with a new Great Redwood Trail Agency will be heard by the Senate Transportation Committee on April 13th.

Why We Should All Love Traffic Congestion
It’s probably the only thing standing in the way of an even higher death toll on our streets. That means that it’s imperative to change our street designs to slow traffic in conjunction with reducing vehicle miles traveled to fight climate change.

Buttigieg Focusing on Racial Equity
It’s a welcome change at the top of the US Department of Transportation.

Farhad Manjoo Does It Again
The New York Times opinion columnist explains how buses have the potential to solve so many of our transportation problems.

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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.

The Collector

March 12, 2021

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Monday: Vehicle-Pedestrian Crashes and the Media
CRTP is sponsoring a talk and Q&A session on Monday by Dr. Kelcie Ralph of Rutgers University. Dr. Ralph talk on Vehicle-Pedestrian Crashes and the Media is targeted at people working in the media, law enforcement, and related fields. If you or someone you know is a reporter, editor or law enforcement official interested in this event, use the link above to register.

Board Will Weigh in on Humboldt Regional Transportation Plan Update
The Humboldt County Association of Governments will get an update next Thursday and weigh in on draft greenhouse gas and driving reduction goals developed by an ad hoc committee. CRTP participated in developing the goals, which are appropriately ambitious!

Last Chance for Our Survey
We extended the deadline to give everyone extra time to fill out CRTP’s survey on local transportation attitudes. But the survey officially closes on Monday, so if you haven’t filled it out, do it now! Spanish-language version here.

Committee Established to Update Eureka Safety Plan
Responding to comments from CRTP and members of the public, Eureka’s Transportation Safety Commission on Tuesday established a subcommittee to update and strengthen the city’s anemic Transportation Safety Action Plan.

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La versión en línea de Street Story ahora está disponible en inglés y español.
Local residents have reported 742 reports (and counting) on Street Story. And if you are more comfortable filling out a form in Spanish or know people who are, there’s a new Spanish-language version of Street Story for you! Of course, the English-language version is still available here. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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Dangerous by Design 2021
The biannual report on pedestrian safety was released this week. Tragically, the last decade’s trend of increasing pedestrian deaths is continuing, and in many cases getting worse. There has also been little progress addressing inequities based on race, income and age. It is worth quoting part of the report at length: “Why is this happening? In a word, because state and local transportation agencies place a higher value on speed (and avoiding delay) than they do on safety. It’s simply not possible to prioritize both. When faced with decisions that would elevate and prioritize safety for people walking but increase delay for vehicles, the decision-makers’ true priorities are laid bare….Many states and localities have spent the last ten years focusing on enforcement, running ineffectual education campaigns, or blaming the victims of these crashes, while ignoring or actively distracting people from the role of roadway design in these deaths. States and localities must stop deploying the same playbook and expecting this trend to change—they need a fundamentally different approach to the problem. They need to acknowledge that their approach to building and operating streets and roads contributes to these deaths.”

Transportation and Land Use Bills in the State Legislature
Bills CRTP is tracking include AB 122, which would legalize the “safety stop” (i.e., rolling stop) for bikes at stop signs; SB 9, which would basically end single-family zoning by allowing increased density in single-family zoned areas; AB 1401, which would prohibit local governments from enforcing minimum parking requirements in walkable areas and near transit; AB 43, which would make it a little easier to keep speed limits low; and AB 117, which would provide a subsidy for e-bikes.

Huffman Reintroduces Postal Service Electric Vehicle Bill
Our North Coast Congressman has been working toward electrifying the postal service’s national vehicle fleet for some time.

$30 Billion for Transit Stayed in COVID Relief Bill
Much needed operational support, and some capital support, will be coming soon to the nation’s transit agencies. Or at least most of them.

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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.

The Collector

March 5, 2021

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The Bay Trail and the Sea
Humboldt County Public Works Deputy Director Hank Seemann recently gave an informative presentation about the impact of sea level rise on the transportation corridor between Arcata and Eureka, including the yet-to-be-built final four miles of the Bay Trail.

Grieving the Lives Lost to Cars
CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske explores the role of public grief in the transportation advocacy movement.

Still Time to Take Our Survey!
The deadline was extended to March 15. And don’t forget to share it with your Spanish-speaking friends and neighbors, too.

Eureka City Council Approves Pedestrian Crossing Improvements
Many are in the vicinity of Henderson Center.

Del Norte Approves New Regional Transportation Plan
Despite the plan’s regional significance, it seems to have flown under the radar. CRTP was the only commenter at the public hearing.

How Bikes and Cars Can Share a Steep Rural Road
At Mt. Diablo, California State Parks installed bicycle turnouts to reduce car-bike conflict on the steep, winding road up the mountain. And it worked.

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La versión en línea de Street Story ahora está disponible en inglés y español.
Local residents have reported 742 reports (and counting) on Street Story. And if you are more comfortable filling out a form in Spanish or know people who are, there’s a new Spanish-language version of Street Story for you! Of course, the English-language version is still available here. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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Petaluma Bans New Gas Stations
It’s the first city in the country to do so, but it won’t be the last.

Want to Make Your City a Place for People, Not Cars?
Heidelberg, Germany is a pretty good place to look for inspiration.

Electric Vehicle Rebates Mostly Help Rich People
And charging stations tend to be in high-income neighborhoods, too. If future transportation electrification work doesn’t focus heavily on equity, it will just exacerbate existing social and economic problems.

Transportation Innovations Often Don’t Serve Older Americans
But there are ways to address that problem. On a related note, scooter company Lime has started introducing a variety of accessible scooter designs that could change the micro-mobility game.

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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.

The Collector

February 26, 2021

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Del Norte Regional Transportation Plan Up for Tuesday Adoption
Several significant improvements were made to the draft plan in response to comments from CRTP and allies. However, the plan still assumes zero funding for active transportation, projects increasing levels of driving, and calls for wider roads for trucks. So you might say we have concerns.

Active Transportation Emerges as a Theme in Arcata Visioning Session
Thursday’s public meeting, the second in a series meant to develop a community vision in advance of a General Plan update and other changes, included lots of calls for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure to go along with denser development. Another important theme was ensuring that these kinds of improvements benefit Valley West, not just the wealthier areas closer to downtown. You can provide your input on the City’s vision through this survey.

New Traffic Signal and Pedestrian Improvements in Eureka
Pedestrian safety advocates have been asking for a signal at 4th and L Streets for years. On Monday, the lights will finally go on. Then on Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to approve a plan for improving 35 crosswalk locations throughout the city.

Most Humboldt Households Can’t Afford to Buy a Home
The urgency of well-designed, affordable infill development increases as home prices rise.

Don’t Forget to Take Our Survey
Join the 110+ people who have taken our 2021 Transportation Attitudes survey, and help spread the word! The Spanish-language version is here.

Committee to Consider Bike & Pedestrian Projects, Transportation Goals
Next Thursday, the Humboldt County Association of Governments Technical Advisory Committee will weigh in on funding requests for bike and pedestrian projects in Fortuna, Arcata and the unincorporated county. The committee will also discuss changing the region’s overall transportation goal in the upcoming Regional Transportation Plan update.

Another Car-Culture Restaurant Opens on Broadway
It’s hard to square this kind of development with the multimodal vision for the corridor that local residents and officials say they want.

Emergency Funding Approved for Last Chance Grade
The money is needed, to be sure. We just wish Caltrans would act with this kind of speed to approve funding for other urgent needs, like addressing the safety crisis on Broadway.

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La versión en línea de Street Story ahora está disponible en inglés y español.
If you are more comfortable filling out a form in Spanish or know people who are, there’s a new Spanish-language version of Street Story for you! Of course, the English-language version is still available here. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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“Black Voices in Urbanism, Mobility and the Walkable Community Movement”
Still wondering what racism has to do with transportation planning? Check out this video from America Walks.

The Reason You’re Not Getting That Stop Sign
Or traffic light, or crosswalk, or… The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices tells transportation engineers when they should implement improvements and how. It’s notoriously car-centric, and it’s finally getting an upgrade. Will it be enough?

Two New Pieces of Transportation Legislation to Watch
At the state level, CalBike is sponsoring a bill to provide grants for purchasing e-bikes. At the federal level, the Complete Streets Act has been reintroduced.

Is California Miscounting Emissions Reductions from Transportation Programs?
An audit of the California Air Resources Board suggests that we might be seriously overestimating emissions reductions from programs like clean car rebates.

Federal Stimulus Bill Includes $30 Billion for Transit Operations
And a bunch more for big transit capital projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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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.

The Collector

February 19, 2021

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Don’t Forget to Take Our Survey
And ask your friends and family to take it too! The Spanish-language version is here.

Another Tragedy on Highway 101 in Eureka
After issuing an initial statement (seemingly based solely on the driver’s account) that suggested the victim was to blame, the Eureka Police Department later reviewed surveillance camera footage that revealed the pedestrian was actually in the middle of a marked crosswalk when the driver hit him. As of the latest report, the victim is in critical condition.

Eureka Broadway Corridor Plan Approved
The Humboldt County Association of Governments approved the plan on Thursday. See CRTP’s latest comments here, several of which were addressed in the final Plan. Our primary focus continues to be on significant near-term improvements to address the bike and pedestrian safety crisis on Broadway.

Housing Project Approved in Eureka
The final portion of the affordable-housing-on-parking-lots project was approved by the city’s Design Review Committee this morning. CRTP strongly supports the project and is working with Linc Housing to ensure that it includes strong pedestrian, biking and transit amenities.

Railroad Authority Approves Railbanking for Great Redwood Trail
It’s a significant step toward the vision of an immense trail system stretching from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay.

More Slides at Last Chance Grade
The perennially challenging section of Highway 101 suffered multiple closures this week, and Highway 96 was closed by a slide at the end of the week as well.

Eureka Street Tree Planting Set for Saturday
Notably, from our perspective, street trees are a proven traffic-calming measure.

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Reminder: Make Your Street Story Reports
727 reports (and counting) have been made in Humboldt County so far. If you see or experience a hazard, near-miss or collision on the street, make your Street Story report here. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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Planners Routinely Underestimate New Driving from Road Expansions
The experts weighed in, and they’re not impressed.

More Women Die in Car Crashes
A new study says it’s because men tend to drive bigger, more dangerous, more “macho” vehicles. Planners often fail to account for gender differences in transportation, including the differences in comfort and safety felt by female bicyclists and pedestrians. Unfortunately, toxic masculinity is alive and well in the world of transportation.

New Federal Bills Would Support Bikes, E-Bikes
Will bike commuters get tax breaks the way car commuters do?

Electric Cars Are Still Cars
Another humdinger of a column by Farhad Manjoo points out the flaws in America’s dream of solving all our transportation problems with electric 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.

The Collector

February 12, 2021

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Take the 2021 Transportation Attitudes Survey!
If you haven’t yet taken CRTP’s new survey, please do it today. It takes less than 10 minutes and gives us good information that will really help with our future advocacy. Even better – forward this to your friends and family and encourage them to take it too! A Spanish-language version of the survey can be found here.

Arcata Committee to Discuss Converting G & H Streets to One Lane
Taking away a vehicle lane and using that extra space for a protected bike lane or wider sidewalks would be a major improvement in Arcata’s circulation system. Also on Tuesday’s agenda: pedestrian-scale lighting, implementation of CRTP’s “Elephants in the Road” report, and more.

Eureka Committee Struggles with Affordable-Housing-on-Parking-Lots Project
Neighbors and committee members worried about the size of the building at Sunny & Myrtle Avenue, and about “not enough” parking spaces at all the sites. CRTP pointed out that: (a) Eureka desperately needs affordable housing, and there aren’t many good places to put it; (b) Less parking encourages less driving and car ownership, so fewer parking spaces doesn’t necessarily mean cars spilling out onto the streets; (c) parking and building size aren’t even under the purview of the Design Review Committee. Nevertheless, the committee asked non-profit Linc Housing to come back with new plans for the Sunny & Myrtle building at a special meeting next Friday (2/19), while giving conditional approval to the buildings at 8th & G Streets and 6th & M Streets.

Arcata Annie & Mary Trail Project Recommended for State Funding
The project includes a separated multi-use trail from Sunset Avenue to Pump Station Park 1 on West End Road as well as some associated bike/pedestrian improvements. Unfortunately, other local projects – including Eureka’s Bay-to-Zoo Trail and C Street Bike Boulevard – were not recommended for funding through the state’s Active Transportation Program. Only about 11% of applications were recommended for funding statewide.

Rosewood Residents Call for Support for Measure Z Application
Humboldt County Public Works is applying for funding for a traffic signal at F & Oak Streets. CRTP supports the application. We think it’s important for the Measure Z committee to acknowledge that traffic safety is one of the most important components of local public safety, and therefore a legitimate use of Measure Z funds.

Great Redwood Trail Town Hall Next Week
State Senator Mike McGuire, who won CRTP’s 2018 Responsible Transportation Champion award for his work on the Great Redwood Trail, is holding a virtual town hall next Thursday to provide project updates to his constituents.

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Reminder: Make Your Street Story Reports
724 reports (and counting) have been made in Humboldt County so far. If you see or experience a hazard, near-miss or collision on the street, make your Street Story report here. CRTP uses reports to advocate for change, and local agencies use them to apply for grants and prioritize improvements. Your reports are important!

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Fuel Efficiency Improvements are Critical for Tackling Greenhouse Gas Emissions
While much of the focus is on vehicle electrification, improving fuel efficiency might be just as important in the short term. Somebody needs to tell GM.

People Aren’t Heading to the Suburbs in Large Numbers
They’re just moving to different cities, mostly because they’re priced out of housing in places like New York and San Francisco. The high prices for walkable neighborhoods, meanwhile, are artificially propped up by outdated zoning codes.

State May Regulate Toxic Tires
Another reminder that tailpipe emissions aren’t the only source of pollution from cars and trucks.

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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.