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! You can submit items for consideration, or just enjoy the news collection!
Who Likes Traffic Lights?
The Collector
November 16, 2018
Special Note: We’ll be taking next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, so your next edition of The Collector won’t arrive until November 30th.
Caltrans 4th Street Project Gets City Approval
As we reported a few weeks ago, the City of Eureka has been considering a Coastal Development Permit request from Caltrans for a project which would add an extra lane to part of 4th Street. Although there are some genuine pedestrian safety improvements included in the project, including traffic-calming bulb-outs and a new traffic signal at L Street, the problems associated with adding an extra lane caused us to oppose the project. Unfortunately, this Tuesday, the City approved the project’s permit. This is the last official opportunity for public input on the project, which is now slated to begin construction in 2020.
HCAOG Board Weighs Regional Housing Needs
At its Board meeting on Thursday, the Humboldt County Association of Governments took public comment on its proposed methodology for allocating new housing requirements among all of its member jurisdictions (a state-mandated process). HCAOG’s current proposal is to divide the total amount according to a combination of the number of residents and the number of jobs each jurisdiction holds, weighted equally. CRTP delivered the only public comment at the hearing and urged the Board to weight jobs more heavily in the formula. As we explained, putting homes next to jobs is one of the best ways to reduce vehicle miles traveled! Thanks to a request from HCAOG Board member (and Eureka City Councilmember) Natalie Arroyo, the Board will consider a formula that weights jobs more heavily at their next meeting on December 20th.
Eureka City Council Approves $450,000 Stop Light
At a special meeting on Wednesday, the Council unanimously approved paying for the expensive traffic signal on Broadway in order to allow a proposed fast food development to proceed.
Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week: Open House, Closed Lane
Apparently some local realtors don’t realize that you can’t block a bike lane. Send your pictures of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.
Detectable Warning Surfaces
Ever wonder about those bumpy yellow things often found on sidewalk ramps? Here’s your chance to find out more.
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 Gas Tax Lives On
The Collector
November 9, 2018
Proposition 6 Fails
Tuesday’s election results included a resounding defeat for Prop 6, which would have repealed the recent state gas tax increase funding infrastructure improvement, and would have made it much harder to fund non-vehicular improvements in the future. In other transportation-related results, Humboldt County voters approved Measure O to make permanent the sales tax increase which has funded a number of road repair projects in the last few years, while Eureka’s Measure I gained a solid majority for the proposed road-repair tax but fell short of the two-thirds needed. Meanwhile, all of the Eureka City Council candidates who backed a plan for a road diet on H & I Streets retained their seats in the face of concerted attacks from opponents focused on this issue.
Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
Surprise, surprise – it’s another parked vehicle blocking the lane. Send your pictures of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org, and you might just be featured in The Collector!
Eureka City Council Sets Special Meeting for $450,000 Stop Light
The traffic signal is seen by many as a subsidy for a big out-of-town fast food corporation. (We know we don’t need to remind our readers that fast food, the industry that brought us the drive-thru window, is the pinnacle of car-centric culture and commerce.) Attend the meeting Wednesday to have your voice heard.
New Report Agrees: Eucalyptus Must Go
A second arborist’s report commissioned by Humboldt County agrees with the first report, finding that many of the eucalyptus trees along the route of the proposed final section of the Humboldt Bay Trail must be removed for the safety of trail users.
Huffman Has Transportation Priorities
Two of the three top priorities listed by the North Coast’s Congressman in a post-election interview with the Times-Standard were transportation-related: “critical transportation projects” (we assume he has Last Chance Grade in mind) and harbor dredging. Actually, all three were transportation-related if you count Klamath dam removal, which would affect transportation by boat on the river!
More Evidence that Uber & Lyft Are Taking Rides Away from Transit
In Seattle, they carry more riders than light rail – and mostly in parts of the city well-served by transit.
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.
Transportation on the Ballot
The Collector
November 2, 2018
Transportation Issues Headline State & Local Elections
Tuesday’s California ballot includes Proposition 6, which would repeal the recent gas tax increase and make it much harder to fund bike, pedestrian and transit improvements in the future. CRTP doesn’t take an official position on many ballot measures, but we have joined many local governments and non-profits in opposing Prop 6. In Humboldt County, voters will also weigh in on Measure O, which would continue the half-cent sales tax previously known as Measure Z – which has funded, among other things, local road repair over the last few years. And Eureka residents will vote on Measure I, another proposed sales tax for road repair. Not only that, but transportation issues have played a central role in local city council and Harbor District races, too. For more information about many of these topics, be sure to check out previous issues of The Collector. And don’t forget to vote on Tuesday!
Sidewalk Obstruction of the Week
We’ve seen plenty of cars and trucks blocking bike lanes in The Collector, but this is the first vehicle blocking a sidewalk we’ve featured. Thanks to an avid reader of The Collector for submitting this one. Send your pictures of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.
Eureka Hearing on 4th Street Widening Postponed
As we reported in last week’s Collector, the City of Eureka was scheduled to hold a hearing on Monday on Caltrans’ request for a Coastal Development Permit to allow changes to parts of 4th Street, including adding an extra lane. The hearing ended up being postponed – apparently due to several comments received in opposition (including from CRTP), along with the failure of Caltrans to consult with HCAOG. We’ll keep you informed as this story develops.
Expensive New Stop Light for In-N-Out Development?
We’re not necessarily against new stop lights on Broadway. But the fact that the City says one is needed because of all the new traffic the fast food joint will generate, and the fact that the developer refuses to pay for it – well, these things aren’t exactly surprising, but they should be cause for reflection.
New Bike/Ped Counting Technology Considered at HCAOG
At the Humboldt County Association of Governments’ Technical Advisory Committee meeting yesterday, the group talked about technological advancements in the field of bicycle and pedestrian traffic counting. Measuring is the first step toward understanding!
Justification for CAFE Standards Rollback Badly Flawed
The primary reason given by the Trump administration for allowing automakers to sell less fuel-efficient vehicles is that doing so will save lives. Unsurprisingly, that assertion turns out to be based on a pretty shaky analysis – including lots of basic math errors.
Advice on Creating a Local Bike Advocacy Group
OK, so maybe our weekly sidewalk/bike lane obstruction feature isn’t the best organizing tool. But we still like it.
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.
Changes Coming to Bus Service in Humboldt
The Collector
October 26, 2018
Changes Coming to Bus Service in Humboldt
At its meeting this week, the Humboldt Transit Authority got an update on new transit service coming to Old Arcata Road. The service is set to begin as a pilot program on November 5, and will be a reservation-based system like Dial-a-Ride. The HTA Board also received a report on the feasibility of the Eureka Transit Service switching from a loop-based to a line-based system. A line-based system would be able to offer more frequent service (which studies show is needed to increase ridership), but would have a slightly smaller coverage area.
Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
This week’s obstruction is a truck and trailer completely blocking a bike lane in Eureka. The photo was submitted by Collector reader Gail Popham. Thanks, Gail! Send your pictures of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org – you might get your picture in The Collector.
Eureka to Hold Hearing on 4th Street Widening
On Monday, the City of Eureka will hold a hearing on Caltrans’ request for a Coastal Development Permit to allow changes to parts of 4th Street. The primary change is to add an extra lane in the northern part of the city. That would make an already dangerous street much more dangerous, especially for pedestrians. Incredibly, though, Caltrans is billing this project as a pedestrian safety improvement – because at the same time they plan to upgrade some crosswalks and add a few bulb-outs. We’re not fooled.
Plaza Task Force Holds First Meeting
You may recall that the Arcata City Council voted to set up a Plaza Improvement Task Force back in April to consider and recommend specific changes to the Plaza. This week, the Task Force finally had its first meeting. It’s comprised of representatives of several official City committees, as well as members from the Arcata Chamber of Commerce, Arcata Main Street, and three at-large members. CRTP Arcata Mode Shift coordinator Ryan Campbell is a member of the Task Force, representing the City’s Transportation Safety Committee (which he also chairs). We’ll keep you updated as the Task Force begins to dig into its work.
Board of Supes Opposes Prop 6
Add Humboldt County to the long list of local governments, non-profits and businesses opposing the ballot measure.
Electric Cars Aren’t Enough
We also need to drive less. This important look at how California can meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals focuses on transportation, using the Sacramento-Davis area as a case study.
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.
Eureka’s Still Dangerous for Pedestrians
The Collector
October 19, 2018
Eureka’s Still Dangerous for Pedestrians
You’ll notice our headline differs from the one in the Times-Standard, which focused instead on a minor reduction in overall collisions. Unfortunately, the fact that Eureka’s pedestrian collision rate is still one of the highest in the state got only a passing mention in the article. On the other hand, the police officer interviewed for the story spent quite a bit of time trying to make the seeming irrelevant point that most bike and pedestrian collisions involve “transients.” Word to the wise: The fact that a person injured or killed in a collision isn’t part of your social group doesn’t make the injury or death any less of a tragedy. In related news, more auto-oriented fast food restaurants are coming to Broadway.
Sidewalk Obstruction of the Week
Obstructions like this mailbox leave barely enough room for one person to pass. They certainly don’t allow two people to walk side by side, or pass each other, which can lead to pedestrians stepping out into the street. And there’s clearly not enough room for a wheelchair. Let’s widen the sidewalks! Send your pictures of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org – you might get your picture in The Collector.
Are Hydrogen Vehicles Making a Comeback?
You might be forgiven for thinking that hydrogen-fueled vehicles were a pipe dream abandoned sometime during the second Bush administration. But now the Redwood Coast Energy Authority is teaming up with Schatz Energy Research Center to look into so-called Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) for the North Coast. Could this be part of the zero-carbon transportation solution for rural areas like ours?
Eureka City Council Approves New General Plan
It’s a significant improvement over the last one from the perspective of responsible land use and transportation planning. Unfortunately, it still uses the outdated metric of vehicular level of service (LOS) as a transportation management tool.
Stagecoach Road Gets “Temporary” Fix…
…three years after it failed. The struggle to maintain our extensive and expensive road system continues.
New York Times Op-Ed Highlights the Potential Catastrophe of Prop 6
As you probably know by now, not only would the state ballot initiative remove billions in funding for road repair, it would also take away hundreds of millions for transit, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and make it much harder to raise gas taxes again. Translation: it would become much, much harder to meet California’s climate goals. The fact that the op-ed was published in the New York Times highlights the importance people across the nation are placing on the issue.
Cargo Bikes Take Off in Budapest
Urban delivery by bike is possible!
Sydney’s Car-Sharing Program Is a Smashing Success
If they can do it in Australia, we should be able to do it here. Right?
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.
Could Transportation Issues Swing Local Elections?
The Collector
October 12, 2018
Transportation Issues Playing a Prominent Role in Local Elections
At a recent forum, Harbor District candidates clashed on East-West rail proposals, while Eureka City Council candidates sparred over plans to make bicycle and pedestrian improvements to H & I Streets. It’s just the latest example of these and other transportation issues playing an unusually large role in local politics. In fact, transportation issues are among the most talked-about in Humboldt County elections this cycle.
Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
This week, another parked car in a bike lane – at night, when it’s even more dangerous! Send your photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.
Eureka City Council to Consider General Plan Overhaul on Monday
The Council will consider approving the new General Plan at a special meeting at 5 pm on Monday. You can read some of our thoughts about the plan here and here. Then on Tuesday, the Council will consider requesting an investigation of the new East-West rail scheme and a proposal to augment law enforcement patrols on the Highway 101 safety corridor.
California Transportation Commission to Consider Bay Trail
At its meeting next week, the Commission will consider accepting the “Bay Trail South” environmental documentation and declaring the project eligible for state funding. This is the next step toward filling in the final missing segment of the long-awaited Humboldt Bay Trail. In other business, the Commission will also consider allocating funding for filling in the gap in Eureka’s Waterfront Drive, and an additional $2 million allocation for the Highway 101 safety corridor “improvement project.”
Dirty Tricks Surface in the Yes on Prop 6 Campaign
Robocalls to local (and apparently statewide) voters by Prop 6 proponents have sown confusion by implying that their absentee ballots are incorrect. Spoiler alert: the ballots are fine.
The Heavy Burden of Bicycle Tickets for Low-Income Riders
This important article highlights the plight of low-income commuters in California who ride a bike to work because they can’t afford a car, and are often forced to make a choice between riding legally but in an unsafe manner and getting a ticket they can’t afford to pay.
Large Truck Fatalities on the Rise
These collisions continued to increase in 2017 even as overall motor vehicle deaths dipped slightly.
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 Transportation Issue We Should All Be Talking About
The Collector
October 5, 2018
Could This Obscure Showdown Shape Eureka’s Future?
Don’t miss this important new post from CRTP about the transportation issue we should all be talking about – but almost no one is!
Sidewalk & Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
This week, we encountered trash and recycling bins blocking a sidewalk, only feet away from bins blocking the bike lane! But wait, you say – where should people put their bins if not on the sidewalk or in the bike lane? Therein lies the problem of local governments declaring shoulders to be bike lanes, but still treating them like shoulders. It’s a perfect example of the need for infrastructure that is actually designed for bikes and pedestrians, rather than accommodating them as an afterthought. (It’s also worth pointing out that no one would ever stand for trash and recycling bins being left blocking the car lanes.) Send your photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.
Great Redwood Trail Bill Signed by Governor
Trail advocates have something to celebrate this week. But now the real work begins – figuring out how to turn more than 300 miles of deteriorating railroad right-of-way into a world-class trail system.
Arcata City Council Comes Out Against Prop 6
Add Arcata to the long list of local governments and public-interest organizations (including CRTP) opposing the onerous Prop 6.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Incentive Program Coming to Humboldt
Although it’s not yet listed on their website, the “CALeVIP” program will move into Humboldt County in April 2019, providing rebates of up to 75% for businesses and local agencies installing EV charging stations. California Energy Commission staff held a workshop in Eureka this Monday to review the program and answer questions. In other local EV news, HSU’s Sustainable Futures Speaker Series will host a panel discussion on Zero Emission Vehicles in California next Thursday.
“Bike the Vote”
The California Bicycle Coalition releases its general election endorsements.
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.
Could This Obscure Showdown Shape Eureka’s Future?
For the past few years, there’s been an obscure, complicated, slow-moving showdown happening in the world of transportation planning. It’s a story that’s gotten little public attention, but could have huge impacts on the future of our communities. Now, that showdown is playing out in Eureka – although you almost certainly haven’t heard about it. Here’s what you need to know.
The Backstory
For decades, American transportation planning has been dominated by a singular obsession with the concept of vehicular level of service, or simply “LOS.” Under the LOS system, each intersection and street or road segment gets a letter grade, A through F. An “A” indicates the free flow of traffic, where each car is completely unaffected by any other cars on the road. An “F” indicates gridlock. The LOS system has been the driving force behind many if not most transportation planning decisions in the US for a long time. Transportation engineers and planners took the unencumbered movement of cars and trucks as their prime mandate, and when a street or intersection slipped below what they considered an acceptable grade, it would be targeted for increased capacity – usually adding lanes, but sometimes thing like traffic signals or roundabouts to improve the flow of traffic.
Over time, planners have come to realize that LOS A is not usually desirable from a public policy perspective, because it indicates that a lot of taxpayer dollars have been spent on infrastructure that’s not used by very many people. So most cities, counties and states have adopted a lower target – often LOS C. But although these lower targets recognize in theory that LOS A or B might not be the best idea, in practice engineers and planners never object to higher grades, only lower ones. Intersections and roads with grades below the target are often said to be “failing,” while those with higher grades are simply considered “acceptable.”
There have long been alternative ways to measure traffic. One of the most important and well-established is the number of vehicle miles traveled, or “VMT.” Unlike LOS, VMT measures the total amount of driving in a given area, rather than the speed of traffic. Because American engineers and planners have long been focused on congestion relief, and haven’t really cared about the actual amount of driving people do, VMT has been largely ignored. But that’s starting to change.
Why LOS Inevitably Results in More Driving (But VMT Doesn’t)
There’s a problem with using LOS as the basis for making decisions about the transportation system, and it’s a big one. That problem is called “induced demand.” In short, when you add more vehicular capacity to a road, more people will drive. This phenomenon has been recognized for nearly a century, but didn’t receive much attention from researchers or planners until toward the end of the twentieth century. Now, after a few decades of study, it’s widely accepted by experts that adding road capacity results in more driving – enough so that congestion relief projects of this sort are rarely successful.
This demand-inducing effect is no coincidence. In a seminal 2003 paper, Robert Cervero, a leading researcher on induced demand, showed that one of the main reasons more capacity results in more driving is that initially, increased capacity causes faster travel times. In other words, it’s not the capacity itself but the travel time that drivers are responding to. Because decreased congestion means faster travel, any method of increasing the LOS of a “failing” road or intersection back to an “acceptable” grade will inevitably induce more driving (and likely won’t relieve congestion in the long run). These problems, along with the completely car-centric nature of LOS, have resulted in long-running criticism of the system.
VMT has a major advantage over LOS as a management tool: VMT can be reduced by making alternative modes like walking, biking and transit more appealing, or by reducing the need for trips, but can’t be reduced by increasing the vehicular capacity of roads. For modern communities trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health by increasing physical activity and reducing toxic pollutants, and revitalize local businesses and public spaces, VMT is clearly superior to LOS.
In the battle of LOS vs. VMT, however, the first big victory for critics of LOS didn’t come until 2013, when the California state legislature passed (and the governor signed) SB 743. The new law required the state to stop using LOS as a measure of the transportation impacts of a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Five years later, the regulations implementing SB 743 still aren’t completely finalized. But it’s clear that the state is about to officially abandon LOS and replace it with VMT.
LOS vs. VMT: The Debate Comes to Eureka
Here’s the thing: SB 743 only applies to measuring environmental impacts under state law. It doesn’t prevent cities and counties from continuing to use LOS to make decisions about their local transportation systems. And many are continuing to do so.
The City of Eureka is currently overhauling its General Plan, a process that takes place only once every couple of decades. The new General Plan has been approved by the city’s Planning Commission and will soon be considered by the City Council. And despite a lot of improvements over the old plan, the new General Plan still relies on LOS for traffic management and largely ignores VMT. Specifically, the plan re-adopts the LOS system and establishes a target of LOS C, but contains only a tepid call to “consider the applicability” of VMT as a management tool.
CRTP has submitted comments on the new General Plan which, among other things, pointed out the problems with LOS and asked that it be replaced with VMT in the new plan. We’re continuing to ask City Council to make that change. And as a bonus, the needed edits to the plan are pretty simple. For those following along at home, here’s all that would be needed:
Goal M-2.2: Traffic Management. Address traffic operations, including congestion, intersection delays, and travel speeds, while balancing Prioritize neighborhood livability and safety concerns in traffic management. Address traffic congestion problems without increasing vehicular capacity.
Goal M-2.3: Level of Service Standard. Strive to manage streets and highways to maintain Level of Service (LOS) C operation on all roadway segments and signalized intersections, except for along any portion of US 101, where LOS D shall be acceptable. For evaluation purposes, service levels shall be determined using methodologies and thresholds as set forth in the most up-to-date version of the Highway Capacity Manual, Institute of Transportation Engineers. For purposes of evaluating development proposals, if an intersection is operating at LOS E or F without project-generated traffic added, the project’s impact shall be considered less-than-significant if it does not cause operation to fall from LOS E to LOS F and it increases
average delay for the intersection as a whole by 5 seconds or less.
Goal M-2.4: Vehicle Miles Traveled. Consider the applicability of using transportation performance metrics such as Use Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and associated thresholds for measuring transportation system impacts consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guideline and State law, as well as for making General Plan consistency determinations and developing transportation financing programs.
Although seemingly minor, technical, even arcane, these changes could make the difference between a future Eureka with speeding traffic and empty sidewalks and one with less traffic, more active transportation, a better bus system, and thriving public streets.
Caveat: Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transit Level of Service
To its credit, Eureka’s proposed General Plan also calls for “considering” adoption of an LOS system for bikes, pedestrians and transit – not just cars. That’s actually a good idea, for one simple reason: while the city shouldn’t want more driving, it should want more people walking, biking, and riding the bus. Using LOS to manage these systems will likely have the same demand-inducing effects as when it’s used for cars, but in this case that’s a good thing!
Where the Sidewalk Ends
The Collector
September 28, 2018
Sidewalk Obstruction of the Week
Actually this one isn’t so much an obstruction as just an end to the sidewalk in downtown Arcata. This lot is a small mobile home park, and clearly substantial driveways are needed on this lot to allow mobile homes and RVs to enter and exit. But it’s just unacceptable to have no sidewalk whatsoever in a dense downtown area like this. Send your photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.
Eureka Planning Commission Recommends General Plan Approval
The Commission’s deliberations took place over the course of two meetings last week, but they eventually recommended that City Council adopt the new General Plan without very many substantial changes. CRTP generally supports the new General Plan, but has a few reservations. You can read our comments here.
RCEA Hosts Local EV Infrastructure Workshop
The meeting will be on Monday, October 1, at 11:30 am at RCEA’s Eureka offices. Or you can attend online via the link above.
Brown Signs Speed Limit Bill
AB 2363, substantially watered down from its original version, might still eventually result in some changes to California’s crazy and counterproductive method of setting speed limits.
Sacramento Bee Joins the Chorus Against Prop 6
They know everybody likes to pick on Caltrans – often with good reason – but argue that’s not a good enough justification to repeal the gas tax. We have to agree. On a related note, our friends over at TransForm have released their November 2018 voter guide (which of course also calls for a no vote on Prop 6).
Meanwhile, Prop 6 Backers Introduce Another Ballot Measure for 2020
Yup, they’re already looking for ways to even further cripple responsible transportation funding in the future. Oh, and kill high-speed rail, of course.
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.
Plaza Bike Racks, Eureka General Plan, Unmet Transit Needs and More!
The Collector
September 21, 2018
Bike Lane Obstruction of the Week
This week, a two-for-one obstruction: Low-hanging branches ready to knock an unsuspecting rider off a bike, right next to a row of cars blocking the lane! Send your photos of bike lane or sidewalk obstructions to colin@transportationpriorities.org.
Sign the Petition for a More Pedestrian-Friendly Plaza!
If you haven’t already signed it, that is.
Arcata Transportation Safety Committee Talks Plaza Bike Racks…
The Committee, chaired by CRTP’s own Ryan Campbell, discussed the need for additional racks around the Plaza. Here’s the situation on a recent farmers market day:
…and E-Bikes, Too!
The Arcata TSC talked e-bikes and speed limits at their meeting this week, too. CRTP’s Colin Fiske was also on KHUM to talk about it on Wednesday.
Eureka Planning Commission to Consider New General Plan
The Commission holds a special meeting on Monday (September 24) at 5:30 pm. You can read CRTP’s previously submitted comments here.
New Group to Sponsor Public Meeting on Trinidad Development
The newly formed Humboldt Alliance for Responsible Planning will hold a public informational meeting on Thursday, September 27, from 6-9 pm at the Trinidad Town Hall to discuss the Trinidad Rancheria’s plans to build a 100-room hotel… and a new interchange on Highway 101 less than a mile from the existing Trinidad exit. The just-released Environmental Assessment for the hotel project can be found at the link above.
Annual Unmet Transit Needs Hearing Start Next Week
Let local officials know what improvements the local bus system needs.
The Skunk Train and the Revitalization of Fort Bragg
Could extending and fixing the tourist train finally spur redevelopment of the town’s coastline?
Should Helmets Be Mandatory for Drivers?
After all, as the author of this article points out, many more people get head injuries in cars than on bikes.
A Spanish City Completely Removes Cars from the City Center
And people love it!
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.