Community Workshop on Public Transit Next Week

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

January 27, 2023

Community Workshop on Public Transit Next Week
Every five years, local agencies develop a Transit Development Plan that analyzes the current state of the local transit system and proposes improvements. This process is currently under way in Humboldt County. Next Wednesday at 2 pm there will be a workshop to get public input on the plan’s development. You can find out more and read a lengthy memo about the current transit system by clicking here. Getting more people to ride the bus in the next five years will be critically important for local efforts to fight climate change and improve public health and safety, so this plan is really important!

Change is Coming to Arcata…
…and this time we’re not even talking about the Gateway Plan. Cal Poly Humboldt just announced that it will break ground soon on a 964-bed student housing project at the old Craftsman Mall site. The new buildings, which will reach 7 stories at their tallest point, will provide much-needed housing in a location that is walkable to both the university and downtown. CRTP supports the project, and we’re happy to note that our comments resulted in a commitment to build an additional bike connection to the project on St. Louis Road.

Also this week, the Arcata City Council approved tentative plans for the redesign of a few blocks of 8th and 9th Streets, which will result in significantly more street space being allocated to people walking, biking, and rolling. Hopefully this is a sign of bigger things to come!

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Latest McKinleyville Town Center Plans
This Wednesday, the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee continued its years-long review of plans to develop a town center in the traditionally sprawl-dominated community. A town center ordinance seems to be nearing completion, with a goal set to begin the environmental review process by the end of February. The draft ordinance explicitly prioritizes walkability and promotes denser, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development – all of which represents real progress when compared to McKinleyville’s current development patterns. But the plan still has some major weaknesses, including outdated and expensive car parking mandates that will hamstring anyone trying to actually create a walkable development, and a failure to commit to the desperately needed road diet on Central Avenue. If you want to weigh in, there’s still time. You can find instructions for submitting comments on the County website.

Humboldt Bay Trail One Step Closer to Completion
County supervisors approved construction plans for the final 4 miles connecting Arcata and Eureka, and officials expect construction to begin in May. When completed, the long-planned trail will finally provide a safe and comfortable connection for walking, biking and rolling between our region’s two largest population centers.

In another major sign of progress this week, the supervisors finally removed support for the Richardson Grove highway expansion project from their official legislative platform. CRTP has opposed this project since our founding in 2015. It represents an outdated commitment to designing roads for the largest fossil-powered vehicles at a time when we should be spending our limited transportation dollars on designing roads for safe, low-carbon modes of transportation. We have asked the supervisors to remove the project from their legislative platform many times over the years, and we are pleased they finally did.

Make reporting on Street Story part of your routine.
If you’re out walking, biking, or rolling on local streets, you see hazards and experience near-misses pretty regularly, maybe even every day. Make it a habit to report those things on Street Story. Your reports help us advocate for safer streets, and help government agencies get funding for improvements. La versión de Street Story en español está disponible aquí.

News from Beyond the North Coast

How Do We Prevent Lithium from Becoming the New Oil?
New research makes clear that if we rely solely on electric vehicles to reduce transportation emissions, there will be massive environmental and public health impacts from a hugely expanded lithium battery industry. But the research also shows we can avoid most of these impacts by instead promoting denser development and improving public transit, walkability and bikeability.

Fight Continues Over Transportation Priorities in Washington
Republicans are mad about the Biden administration’s attempts to prioritize spending federal transportation dollars on maintenance and multimodal projects instead of building new highways. The results of this fight could have a huge impact on the country’s future transportation system.

“Sharrows Are Bulls**t”
California bike advocates officially disavow “share the road” markings, which do nothing to increase safety and are generally ignored by drivers.

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.

Tragic Crashes in Arcata and Eureka

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

January 20, 2023

Tragic Crashes in Arcata and Eureka
We grieve the loss of community member and Cal Poly Humboldt student Camile Nauta, and we hope for a full and speedy recovery for the other student injured in this week’s crash on Alliance Street in Arcata, as well as the person seriously injured on Broadway in Eureka Thursday night. Sometimes crashes like these can seem random and unavoidable. But they’re not. The steady drumbeat of injuries and deaths makes it abundantly clear that these are not “accidents.” They are the result of choices made by traffic engineers, planners, elected officials, automakers, and drivers.

At the local level, almost every serious crash could be either avoided or ameliorated by road design that actually prioritized safety over driver speed and convenience. So why do we not have these designs already? Why do local officials not at least react to tragedies like these by immediately implementing measures to keep the same thing from happening again? (We can make it almost impossible to drive fast and, yes, even create barriers to protect sidewalks from drivers veering into them!) The sad answer is that we’re just doing things the way we’ve done them for several generations, and decision-makers haven’t yet felt the pressure required to change things. Applying that pressure is one of the reasons CRTP exists. And you can help. Contact your local officials today and insist that they take immediate action to improve safety on our streets – no matter what effect it has on the commute times or convenience of people driving.

This week, Eureka took a big step and adopted an official Complete Streets Policy that should improve street safety over time. But that didn’t stop the crash on Broadway, and Arcata’s Complete Streets Policy (adopted last year) didn’t prevent the crash on Alliance. This week’s events are a reminder that policies, while important, are not enough. We need to see change written in asphalt and concrete on the streets. And we need it now.

First Details of Gateway Area Zoning Code Released
This week, Arcata city staff published proposals for some of the requirements they’d like to include in the form-based zoning code meant to implement the Gateway Area Plan, focused on building appearance but also relating to some topics important to bike and pedestrian comfort and safety, like driveways and garages. The proposals were discussed at a public workshop Thursday night, and a new survey is now available to get broader public input. Click here to take the survey now. You can also attend next Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, where discussion of potential community benefits from the Gateway plan will continue. CRTP is a strong supporter of the draft Gateway plan, and your input is critical to ensure that the final plan and zoning code continue to fulfill the promise of bike and pedestrian-friendly infill development.

Arcata Projects on California Transportation Commission Agenda: Good, Bad and Ugly
At next week’s statewide meeting, Commissioners are slated to accept environmental documents and approve a funding allocation for the long-awaited trail connecting the Sunset neighborhood with Valley West and the Mad River pump station. That’s good! But they are also set to approve funding for adding an “auxiliary lane” to Highway 101 between Highway 299 and Giuntoli Lane, despite Arcata’s longstanding policy against adding auxiliary lanes to the highway. New lanes both create greater hazards for pedestrians – many of whom use the highway at great peril because they have no other option – and encourage more driving. That’s bad. And the Commission also will consider more funding to remove encampments of unhoused people sheltering under highway bridges in Arcata without providing anywhere else for them to go. That’s ugly and inhumane.

Also at next week’s meeting, local advocate and CRTP Board Member Peggy Martinez will make a presentation to the Commission on how to support public participation by people with vision impairments. We’re extremely proud of Peggy’s work and her membership on the new statewide Equity Advisory Committee for transportation.

News from Beyond the North Coast

$200 Million Less for Walking and Biking?
Last week we told you about Governor Newsom’s proposed budget cuts for transit and zero-emission vehicles. Well, he’s also proposing cuts for bike and pedestrian projects. These projects already get a pittance compared to highway funding, and the proposed cuts are proportionately much greater.

More Money Found for Statewide E-Bike Rebate
The details of the program are starting to take shape, and hopefully rebates will be available before too much longer.

No More Costly, Unscientific Parking Mandates!
The parking reform movement is picking up steam across the country.

A Pivotal Moment for Arcata’s Gateway Plan

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

January 13, 2023

A Pivotal Moment for Arcata’s Gateway Plan
The bike and pedestrian-friendly infill plan for the Gateway area has been stuck for over a year in the Arcata Planning Commission. But the City Council just appointed two new Commissioners who could change the dynamics and help move the plan forward. Matt Simmons is an environmental attorney and outspoken supporter of the Gateway Plan, and Peter Lehman is an advocate for transit and transit-oriented development.

Unfortunately, the new Commissioners’ first meeting this week was dominated by a presentation from the Arcata Fire District that argued the city shouldn’t allow any new building over 3 stories, because there isn’t enough capacity to fight fires in taller buildings. If the city followed that advice, it would eliminate the density that is key to the Gateway Plan’s walkability and bikeability.

What the Fire District’s presentation actually showed, however, is that they can’t meet the standards to fight fires in almost any buildings, including those already built – buildings many of us are living and working in right now. If the Fire District’s analysis is accurate, it indicates a current crisis in firefighting capacity, not a future problem with building heights. The District and the local jurisdictions it serves should figure that out now. Because we have a responsibility to keep existing housing from burning down just as much as we need to build more housing close to jobs, schools and shops.

Next Thursday at 6 pm is the next public opportunity to weigh in on the Gateway Plan, at a city-sponsored workshop about the form-based code which will implement the plan. Show up and show your support for dense, low-car development in the Gateway area.

Complete Streets vs. Car Dependency in Eureka
At their meeting next Tuesday, the Eureka City Council is scheduled to adopt a Complete Streets Policy. Eureka is following the lead of Arcata, which adopted the region’s first such policy last year. These policies, when fully implemented, can be critical tools for creating a network of safe, comfortable and convenient facilities for walking, biking, rolling and even public transit. They require that every street project – from re-painting lines to building entirely new streets – must accommodate all modes of transportation by default. We’re very excited that our region’s biggest town – and the place where our bike and pedestrian safety crisis is most concentrated – is on the verge of adopting this policy.

Unfortunately, at the very same meeting, the Council is also set to approve an agreement with a local developer to extend for another 10 years the 2007 approval of a suburban subdivision in the woods at the very edge of the city. Lundbar Hills is far from downtown and accessible only by dangerous and distinctly incomplete streets and roads, but the Council already gave preliminary approval a couple of weeks ago. This follows Monday’s approval by the Eureka Planning Commission of a new drive-through restaurant design for the Target parking lot on 4th Street, despite recent pleas by residents to ban drive-through businesses altogether. Eureka officials clearly want to move toward safer streets and a more walkable city, but they still can’t seem to stop approving car-dependent forms of development.

Person Killed While Walking on Highway 299
We grieve the loss of another community member, and our thoughts are with their family and friends. Local highways are often the only way to get between communities, and for people without access to a vehicle, that means walking or biking on them. But these roads are not designed for safe walking and biking, and they are the site of many of our region’s bike and pedestrian fatalities. This has to change.

Dangerous Local High-Speed Chase
We understand, to put it mildly, the need of law enforcement officials to apprehend a suspect in a double murder case. But other people’s lives shouldn’t be put at risk in the process, and high-speed chases are notorious for killing bystanders. Photos and descriptions from this recent local chase make clear that it’s only a matter of luck that it ended safely.

News from Beyond the North Coast

Electric Cars Use the Same Roads as Gas-Guzzlers
Gas taxes don’t fully fund road building and maintenance, but they do pay for a big chunk. So with the climate crisis demanding a switch to electric vehicles (and a lot less driving in general), the state is looking at ways for EV drivers to help pay for the roads. You can enroll in a pilot pay-as-you-drive program right now!

Bay Area Disability Rights Pioneer Dies
Among many other accomplishments, Hale Zukas played a key role in making sidewalks and public transportation more accessible to people with disabilities.

Newsom Cuts Clean Transportation Funding
Is it a priority or not, Mr. Governor?

Parking Garages Are Bad For Cities
Watch this explainer video to find out why.

Progress for the McKinleyville Town Center?

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

December 16, 2022

Editor’s Note: The Collector will be on a year-end break for the next few weeks. We’ll be back in 2023!

Suburban Subdivision Approval Moves to Eureka City Council
The Planning Commission this week acknowledged that the Lundbar Hills project is not walkable, and that its 16-year-old environmental review is out of date, but voted 3-2 to extend its approvals for another 10 years anyway. Next Tuesday, the Council will get the final say. Given that the developer told Planning Commissioners he has no plans to start building any time soon, we’re not sure why the city seems so eager to get this done quickly. We hope the City Council – with two new members at their first meeting – will take the time to require an up-to-date environmental review, rather than rubber-stamping more sprawl.

Progress for the McKinleyville Town Center Ordinance?
The McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee has been laboring over a Town Center ordinance for several years now. If it’s done correctly, this ordinance would encourage walkable development in the heart of the historically sprawling, car-dependent community. Could that goal finally be in sight?

Next Wednesday, the Committee will consider a lightly edited new draft ordinance for the Town Center. It is largely the same as the June draft, so we have mostly the same comments we did in June. Specifically, while there’s a lot to like about it, there are also several big problems. They need to get rid of the expensive parking mandates, increase the development density to support walkability and transit, and design all streets – especially Central Avenue – as safe, pedestrian-oriented walking and biking corridors. You can go to the meeting – or send an email – to tell them the same thing!

In other exciting McKinleyville news, the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) is applying for a state grant to implement an on-demand microtransit system in town – as recommended by last year’s transit study – and also fund the inclusive infill housing project called We Are Up. CRTP is actively supporting this grant application.

Don’t forget Street Story over the holidays!
Your reports of hazards, near-misses and collisions help us advocate for safer streets, and help government agencies get funding for improvements. La versión de Street Story en español está disponible aquí.

News from Beyond the North Coast

People in Denser Neighborhoods Produce Less Climate Pollution
Another strong argument for more walkable, transit-oriented development.

It’s Not Normal for So Many People to Die on Our Streets
People who have lost loved ones to traffic violence are fighting for safer streets and vehicles.

San Jose Eliminates Costly Parking Mandates Citywide
It is the largest city yet to do so. It joins a growing list of communities large and small, liberal and conservative, that are finally recognizing the harms caused by requiring huge amount of money and land to be devoted to private car storage.

SUVs, Walkability and Complete Streets in Eureka

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

December 9, 2022

Three Local Leaders Named 2022 Responsible Transportation Champions
CRTP named our 2022 Champions this week, and they are: Caltrans District 1 Complete Streets team leaders Alexis Kelso and Joseph Caminiti, and Humboldt Transit Authority planner Jerome Qiriazi. Congratulations to all! If you see them around town, be sure to thank them for their work to make walking, biking, rolling and riding the bus safer and more convenient.

SUVs, Walkability and Complete Streets in Eureka
Eureka City Councilmembers echoed our concerns about gas-guzzling, dangerously huge SUVs this week, but then approved the purchase of 8 more of them for the police department anyway. Maybe they think that it would be easier for local residents to adapt to SUVs and climate chaos by growing longer legs, along with gills and webbed feet, than for the police department to find smaller, safer, zero-emission vehicles.

In other topsy-turvy Eureka news, planners there have described a proposed suburban subdivision in Lundbar Hills as “walkable” – despite the fact that it is almost 4 miles from downtown and separated from all major destinations by a high-speed stretch of road with no bike or pedestrian facilities. You can attend next Monday’s Planning Commission meeting (or send an email ahead of time) to tell the city to focus on real walkable development – and that that this project, whose 2007 approvals are now expiring, needs an updated environmental review using modern standards before being approved for another 10 years.

But never fear, there’s also something happening in Eureka that we can really support! The city’s Transportation Safety Commission has developed a Complete Streets Policy based on the one Arcata adopted this year (as a result of CRTP’s advocacy). They will decide next Tuesday whether to recommend that City Council adopt it. Attend the meeting or send an email to let the TSC know you support the policy of including bike, pedestrian and transit facilities in all city transportation projects.

There’s No Perfect Choice. So What Do We Do?
In the latest episode of the EcoNews Report, CRTP’s Colin Fiske joins other local environmental leaders to discuss how we make difficult decisions in our work and in our lives.

Please report road hazards, near misses and collisions on Street Story.
Your reports can save lives by helping us – and Caltrans and local governments – identify where safety improvements are needed before a tragedy occurs. La versión de Street Story en español está disponible aquí.

News from Beyond the North Coast

Advocacy Group Scores California Legislators on Transportation
Who are the champions of safe, healthy, clean transportation – and who are the obstructionists? Check out the scorecard.

Denver Voters Approve Dedicated Funding for Sidewalk Improvements
Why should individual property owners be in charge of maintaining sidewalks when the public pays to maintain the streets?

County Employees to Get Free Bus Passes!

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

December 2, 2022

County Employees to Get Free Bus Passes!
CRTP first proposed the idea of free bus passes for Humboldt County employees several years ago. Progress was stalled by the pandemic, but a pilot program finally launched earlier this year. It was successful, and this week Supervisors made it a permanent program. Let that County employee in your life know that they can now request a bus pass and commute to work for free!

Eureka Police Want Massive SUVs to Take Home With Them
A proposed police department policy assigning vehicles to specific officers would require the city to buy 8 more vehicles. They are proposing to spend half a million dollars on 8 massive, gas-guzzling Chevy Tahoes – exactly the kind of vehicles that are killing more and more pedestrians and supercharging the climate crisis. The City Council will consider the request next Tuesday. We’re asking them to reconsider the policy and focus purchasing on safe, zero-emission vehicles.

A year ago, in the face of rising deaths on local streets, Mayor Susan Seaman convened the Eureka Regional Traffic Safety Task Force. The Task Force has helped raise awareness of the crisis, but this latest misstep by the city shows that a lot more work needs to be done.

Funding on the Way for Transit, Trails and More
Most funding for transportation in this state goes through the California Transportation Commission. Next week, they will approve initial allocations of funding for Eureka’s EaRTH Center and related route and bus upgrades. In the 1920s, Eureka had a higher quality public transit system than it does today; these new investments are a step toward making regional transit great again.

Also on the Commission’s agenda next week are funding allocations for the Eureka’s Bay-to-Zoo Trail and C Street Bike Boulevard and for pedestrian and bike improvements in Blue Lake.

Our Comments on Cal Poly Humboldt’s Student Housing Project
The blighted “Craftsman Mall” site in Arcata is a great place for student housing, and we support the university’s proposed project there. But it needs a few tweaks to make it the kind of climate-friendly, bike and pedestrian-oriented housing that students truly deserve.

News from Beyond the North Coast

Want More Housing? Get Rid of Costly Parking Mandates
If car-dependent southern cities like Nashville can do it, we can do it here too.

Tips for Youth Bike Advocacy
Know any young people looking to get into bike advocacy – or just to do something about climate change? Pass along this handy guide from CalBike.

State: Cut Driving 25% by 2030

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

November 18, 2022

Editor’s Note: The Collector is taking a break next week. See you in December!

State: Cut Driving 25% by 2030
The California Air Resources Board, which oversees the state’s response to the climate crisis, this week released the final draft of its new plan to cut climate pollution. The aspect of the plan that’s getting the most attention is its reliance on controversial and unproven “carbon capture” technologies to meet its targets, which will allow polluters to keep polluting longer.

What you won’t see in most headlines (but should) is this: the Board concluded that even if everything else goes to plan, we’ll have to reduce the collective number of miles driven in the state by 25% by 2030 – and even more by 2045 – in order to avoid total climate chaos. This is a dramatic increase from the last plan 5 years ago, which only called for reducing vehicle miles traveled by 15%. But here’s the thing: we’re nowhere near meeting even that less ambitious target. In fact, both total and per capita driving have increased over the last several years. That’s very bad news for the climate.

Here on the North Coast, driving produces more climate pollution than anything else we do. And people drive their cars for quite a long time before buying new ones, so it will take many years before they can all transition to zero-emission models. That means our collective responsibility to drive less is even greater. Humboldt County’s regional Climate Action Plan must reflect this reality, along with all the new housing, commercial and industrial development being planned for our region.

How Safe Do You Feel on Local Trails?
Cal Poly Humboldt master’s student Natalie Arroyo is conducting research on “people’s perceptions of safety on two local trails – the Hikshari’ Trail in Eureka (southern portion of the Bay Trail in Eureka), and the Hammond Trail in McKinleyville (in particular, the portion of the Hammond Trail north of Hiller Park).” She’s looking specifically for people who have used these trails very recently, so the experience is fresh in their minds. If that’s you, click the link above to take her survey!

News from Beyond the North Coast

Why Are US Streets So Much More Dangerous Than Streets in Other Countries?
It’s not inevitable. It’s the result of choices we’ve made.

Can You Guess Where the Nation’s First All-Electric Bus Fleet Is?
If you guessed “Antelope Valley,” we tip our hats to you.

Give Your Input on Humboldt’s Transit System

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

November 11, 2022

Give Your Input on Humboldt County’s Public Transit System
Local transportation planners are developing a new five-year plan for investing in our local transit system, and they need to hear from you! Take the survey to provide feedback based on your experiences riding the bus locally – or the reasons you don’t or can’t ride the bus without some changes to the system.

More Money, More Meetings?
Next Tuesday, the Arcata Planning Commission will hold yet another meeting on the Gateway Area Plan. This time, it is meant to focus on the proposed community benefits which the plan will incentivize developers to provide – benefits which could include things like bus passes for residents, upgraded bike storage facilities, and contributions to bike share and car share programs.

The next night, Wednesday, the City Council will consider whether to allocate another $118,000 for the Gateway planning process. The additional money has been requested by the Planning Commission to pay for even more meetings as part of the plan review and the development of a form-based code to implement it.

The Planning Commission has been reviewing the Gateway Plan for almost a year, and so far has nothing to show for it. This plan is critically important for meeting local housing and transportation needs. CRTP believes that the City Council should not write a blank check for more meetings without attaching a firm deadline for the final product. The lack of walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented housing is a crisis in our region, and we can’t afford to keep waiting forever!

News from Beyond the North Coast

Why Did Voters Reject Prop 30?
Taxing the rich to pay for electric vehicle infrastructure should have been a popular idea in California. But the governor’s opposition doomed it.

America’s Rural Roads Are Extremely Dangerous
The risk of dying is much higher on a rural road than on an urban street. Part of the reason is roads designed for high-speed driving.

The Problematic History of Zoning Laws

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

November 4, 2022

Zoning Laws Have Created Segregated, Car-Dependent Communities
Find out more about the problematic history and continuing impact of exclusionary zoning on our communities in CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske’s article in the EcoNews. (La versión en español está disponible aquí.)

This history is important to remember when thinking about local proposals like Arcata’s Gateway Area Plan, which attempts to use a different kind of zoning to encourage a less car-dependent neighborhood that could also accommodate a broader range of people than the single-family zoning that dominates most of the city (and others in the region). This is one of many reasons CRTP supports the Gateway Area Plan. The Arcata Planning Commission continues its debate on the plan next week.

Don’t Forget to Vote for CRTP!
North Coast Co-op members: you have until next Thursday (11/10) to vote for CRTP in next year’s Seeds for Change register round-up program. All local voters: you have until next Tuesday (11/8) to vote in those other elections, so do that too!

New Arcata Trail Takes Another Step Toward Construction
Arcata’s portion of the long-envisioned Annie & Mary Trail will provide a much-needed safe connection for people walking, biking and rolling between the Valley West neighborhood and the rest of town. Environmental documents for the project were released this week. The trail is already fully funded, and we are hoping it moves to the construction phase soon!

Another Tragedy on Broadway
Details are sparse, but our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim(s). Every new tragedy renews our determination to get this deadly street redesigned and rebuilt for safety over speed. CRTP continues to participate in Caltrans project planning for Broadway, advocating for near-term safety improvements that will protect everybody.

News from Beyond the North Coast

Cities and Towns Across the Country Are Eliminating Costly Parking Mandates
Recent towns to abolish parking mandates include Lexington, Kentucky, and Culver City, California. If they can agree on this common-sense reform in places as diverse as Kentucky and Southern California, why aren’t we doing it here?

Fancy New Car “Safety” Tech Isn’t Going to Save Us
Despite the hype, it’s mostly meant to make driving more convenient – not to save lives.

Vote for CRTP!

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Colin Fiske

The Collector

October 28, 2022

VOTE FOR CRTP!
If you’re a North Coast Co-op member, please click the link above right now to vote for CRTP in next year’s Seeds for Change register round-up program. Funds raised from this program can be a critical source of support for a small organization like us. (Also, don’t forget to vote in those other elections, too.)

A Week of Tragedies
Sunday evening, Rio Dell resident Donald Ferguson was killed by the driver of a pick-up truck while biking on Highway 101 in southern Eureka. Early Wednesday morning, an unnamed person was killed by a driver while walking in Arcata’s Valley West neighborhood. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of both of the victims.

Nationwide, pedestrian deaths are increasing sharply. These tragedies are allowed to happen because we have designed roadways for speed over safety. It doesn’t have to be this way. Listen to the latest episode of the EcoNews Report about getting to zero traffic deaths, and attend a public meeting in Arcata next Wednesday to tell the city you want its Local Road Safety Plan to actually make the roads safe for everybody – even if it means some inconvenience for drivers.

Key Decisions for Local Housing
As CRTP Board Member Tom Wheeler argues in an op-ed in the Times-Standard, it’s time to prioritize affordable infill housing over parking lots. What it’s not time for is more sprawl, like the project proposed in Indianola by local billionaire Rob Arkley. Housing built in a place where you need a car is not housing that’s available for many people with disabilities, people with low incomes, older people, and people who choose not to drive for other reasons. It’s also not great for kids (who can’t drive) or their parents (who have to drive them everywhere).

Arkley’s project is expected to have its first appearance before the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors at their meeting next week, where Supervisors could end the project before it gets any further or could vote to spend a lot of time and money on staff time and studies.

There are also two meetings next week where you can weigh in on Cal Poly Humboldt’s plans for student housing and other campus-related infrastructure. Or just take the survey. Let’s encourage the university to keep it walkable and stop doubling down on cars. In other words, let’s tell them to invest in bike and pedestrian safety and on-campus housing, and forget about their five-story parking structure boondoggles!

Great Redwood Trail Plan Website Unveiled
Check out maps, take the survey, and weigh in on the future of one of the nation’s most ambitious trail projects.

News from Beyond the North Coast

Why Are California Lawmakers So Hostile Toward Scooters?
A new law will make it much harder to operate a scooter-share system, and may not bode well for bikeshare systems either.

Secretary Pete Is Upset About Traffic Violence
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg isn’t pulling his punches when it comes to the carnage on our roads, referring to “murderous” drivers in a recent interview. But his proposed solution – self-driving cars – isn’t really going to work either.