The Collector

January 17, 2020

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HCAOG Board Reviews Blue Lake Transit Study
At its Thursday meeting, Board members of the Humboldt County Association of Governments reviewed the recently-completed Blue Lake Transit study. The study found that extending Blue Lake Rancheria Transit Service to Fieldbrook and Western Glendale Drive would be feasible under certain scenarios, but bus service to Korbel is unlikely to be successful.

Eureka City Council to Consider Height Increases
The city is proposing to increase building height limits from 35 ft to 55 ft in the Commercial Service zoning district within the Coastal Zone. This mostly applies to parts of downtown and most of Broadway. It’s part of the city’s recent effort, initiated by the recent General Plan update, to encourage denser development downtown.

Fatal Collision at Indianola Cutoff
It’s unarguably a dangerous intersection. Whether the long-planned Caltrans interchange is the right solution is a subject of much debate.

Climate Action Plan Gets More Public Input
Drastic action is needed to reduce our local carbon emissions – particularly from the biggest source, transportation.

North Coast Journal Readers Want You to Slow Down
Driving more slowly reduces emissions a bit. Of course, not driving as much in the first place reduces emissions a lot more.

Dangerous by Design 2020
A special edition of the national report on pedestrian safety shows that California is failing to meet even its own unambitious “safety” targets.

Weekly Street Story Update: Eel River Drive
In the words of the Street Story reporter: “Pavement is cracked and in very poor general condition, especially toward the right edge of the roadway. Shoulder is narrow or missing; where it exists it is not possible to ride due to degraded surface. Traffic volumes are high and cars travel too fast, a combination that makes cycling unsafe and unpleasant. Eel River Dr. is an essential cycling route connector in this area.” You can make your own Street Story report here.

Walking is a “Superpower”
It makes your brain and your body healthier. What else can you ask for?

Will E-Bike Popularity Reduce Car Trips?
We’ll likely have some data to help answer that question soon, as they are increasingly widely adopted in places like the San Francisco Bay Area.

Is Fare-Free Public Transit a New Trend?
It’s a time-tested way to increase ridership, and more and more cities are trying it out.

US Carbon Emissions Dropped Slightly Last Year…
…but transportation emissions remain stubbornly high.

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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

January 10, 2020

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Climate Action Plan Meeting Next Week
The County will be holding a workshop next Wednesday at 5:30pm at the Wharfinger Building to take public input on the multi-jurisdictional Climate Action Plan it’s been developing. If you read The Collector regularly, you know that the biggest source of local greenhouse gas emissions (by far) is transportation. Come on out and tell the County that if it’s serious about climate action, it needs to take bold steps to get people to drive less.

Supervisor Candidates Debate Road Repair
Everyone agrees District 1’s roads are in bad shape. What to do about it is the question.

Eureka Committee to Look at Transportation Safety Plan
The city’s current plan was written five years ago, and the Transportation Safety Committee will talk about updating it at its Tuesday meeting. There also may be discussion of a future comprehensive parking study for the city – pretty exciting stuff for us transportation nerds!

McKinleyville Town Center Wetlands Scrutinized
At this week’s special Town Center meeting, the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee discussed wetland issues with County staff and the public. At issue: which of the common definitions of wetlands should be used for the Town Center, and what are the implications for future development there? We think this focus on the wetland-dominated vacant parcels is distracting from the bigger picture. There’s plenty of already-developed land in and around the Town Center that could be re-developed with mixed uses at much greater densities without paving over the wetlands!

Eureka Planning Commission to Consider Capital Improvement Program
New this year: The City’s Engineering Department is proposing electric vehicle charging stations in various public parking lots. Oh, and just to balance things out, a new fueling station too.

Weekly Street Story Update: Samoa Boulevard Overpass
Numerous people have reported the Highway 101 Samoa Boulevard overpass in Arcata as hazardous, particularly for bicyclists and pedestrians. Reports note high rates of speed, failure to yield, lack of adequate bike/ped infrastructure, and gravel and other hazards in the narrow shoulders. You can make your own Street Story report here.

Radical Upzoning Bill is Back
State Senator Scott Wiener has re-introduced his bill to require cities to allow denser housing near transit. The crazy-quilt coalitions that support and oppose it are not backing down.

Huffman Introduces “GREEN Streets Act”
The bill would fundamentally shift federal transportation priorities away from highway building and toward lower-carbon modes of transportation.

New Accessible Scooters Rolling Out in Bay Area
Is it enough to meet some of the mobility needs of people with disabilities?

Meanwhile, E-Scooter Collisions Are on the Rise
Not surprising, given that e-scooter travel is skyrocketing.

Trump Administration Preempts State Truck Pollution Limits…
…with its own set of weak national standards that look like they were written by the trucking industry.

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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

January 3, 2020

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Parking Crater Project Canceled by County
But many residents of the current housing on the site have already left under threat of eviction. The County hasn’t met its obligations under state law to provide relocation assistance – which includes ensuring former residents have comparable access to active transportation and transit as they did originally.

Next McKinleyville Town Center Meeting on Wednesday
Topics will include natural resource protection, open space, land use and design. None of which, if we’re being honest, can be accurately discussed without also talking about transportation.

Last Chance Grade Geotechnical Open House Next Week
On Wednesday, Caltrans will be holding a meeting in Crescent City to answer questions about the Last Chance Grade geotechnical study environmental document. This is a critical first step in the much larger Last Chance Grade highway realignment project, which will likely not be completed for over a decade.

Asked About Renewable Energy, A Supervisor Mentions Transportation
Supervisor Madrone brought up the need for electric buses and a better trail system to address the transportation system’s energy use.

Weekly Street Story Update: Henderson Center Revisited
As we reported 6 months ago, lots of hazardous conditions have been reported in the Henderson Center area of Eureka. Now that more of the details of those reports are available, a clear pattern emerges: The urban arterial roads which come together here – including F St, H St, I St and Harris St – are designed to encourage fast driving and do not contain adequate amenities for safe walking and biking. You can make your own Street Story report here.

Caltrans Spending Updates Show State Priorities
While Caltrans says it’s “taking a turn toward active transportation,” it’s still working with a funding system that dedicates the vast majority of funding toward building and maintaining highways for cars and trucks. While the $200 million that SB 1 generated for active transportation is a significant improvement over past funding levels, it pales in comparison to the more than $50 billion for the State Highway System Management Plan which is almost entirely focused on vehicles.

E-Bikes and E-Scooters Vetoed in New York
Governor Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have legalized the new forms of transportation, citing the lack of requirement for riders to wear helmets. You can find some of our previous coverage of bike helmet requirements here.

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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

December 20, 2019

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Vehicle, Pedestrian and Bike Access Are Focus of Creekside Homes Discussion
The Arcata City Council discussed the Creekside Homes project this week. Creekside is one of the bigger residential projects to come before the city in recent years. Much of the discussion by Council – and objections from neighbors – focused around transportation issues, specifically: how many vehicular access points should there be and where, and what about active transportation? People raised serious concerns about safety issues arising from increased traffic. Unfortunately, what was missed in all of this discussion was how the project itself could be designed to minimize driving. You can read CRTP’s previous comments on the project here.

Arcata Committee Talks Street Story, Plaza Street Closures, and Accessible Design
The city’s Transportation Safety Committee had a packed agenda this week. CRTP’s Colin Fiske shared information about Street Story, and committee members discussed how to integrate it into future work. Also, North Coast Growers Association’s Portia Bramble announced that they have reached agreement with Arcata Main Street to close 8th Street on the Plaza during Saturday farmers markets, and CRTP hopes to provide bike valet services in that area. Finally, the committee heard from local advocate Peggy Martinez about the problems with roundabouts (and other common street designs) for blind and sight-impaired pedestrians.

Plaza Task Force on Winter Break
Arcata’s Plaza Improvement Task Force isn’t meeting this month. However, it’s expected to meet in January – and that might be its very last meeting before making final recommendations to City Council. Will the recommendations call for a more pedestrian-friendly Plaza? What will the Council do with those recommendations? We wait with bated breath.

Another Person Dies on Broadway
Two people driving cars appear to have hit and killed a person on foot, and both then fled the scene. And yet you may note the use of passive voice in the headline, which grammatically removes the drivers from the equation, and the inclusion in the police press release of a report that the person walking was “outside of the crosswalk.” Broadway is literally a death-trap for pedestrians and bicyclists, and the number of victims only keeps growing. Any hint that these victims are in some way to blame for their fates should be thoroughly rejected. The fault lies with the design of the road and with the drivers who are performing an inherently dangerous activity, not with people simply trying to cross the street.

Last Chance Grade Geotechnical Project Document Released
Exploratory drilling and other work will be needed in order to determine the feasibility of various potential new routes for Highway 101 at Last Chance Grade. Now is the time for public comment on the environmental impacts of this part of the much bigger long-term project.

Weekly Street Story Update: Read the Reports!
Street Story now allows users to view the details of a report with a click of the mouse. You can find out exactly what hazards, crashes, and near misses people are reporting for each dot or line on the map. You can also make your own Street Story report here.

New Report on Transportation and Health Equity
Where we live has a huge impact on our health – and transportation is a big reason for that.

International “Streets for Kids” Design Guide in the Works
Could we design streets as places kids can play – as they once were – rather than dangerous places where we have to look both ways before even stepping in?

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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

December 13, 2019

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Residents Sue County Over Parking Crater Plans
Now we know why the Supervisors delayed their property purchase plans last week. It turns out that current residents of the 1000 block of 4th Street would rather not be kicked out of their homes with no place to go so that the County can expand the jail and blast a parking crater into downtown. Who would have thought?

Supervisors Push Back on Traffic Fee
As we reported last week, Humboldt County is proposing a new development impact fee which would be used to pay to increase vehicular capacity on local roads. Supervisors Wilson and Madrone objected to the focus on cars, while other Supervisors picked up on realtor and developer objections to having to pay more to build. In the end, the Board directed staff to “talk to stakeholders” and come back with a new plan.

Give Your Feedback on the Town Center!
If you missed the latest meeting, or even if you were there, fill out the survey to tell the County that you want a walkable McKinleyville Town Center.

Health Clinic’s Transportation Impacts
The new Open Door center provides close to the minimum amount of required parking (that’s a good thing!) – and their plan still shows more land devoted to parking than to the actual clinic. But there’s still a lot they can do to encourage employees and clients to walk, bike and ride the bus instead of drive. Luckily, they’re working on that.

Local Resident Wants to Own a Bike Shop
The letter published in the Times-Standard from a currently incarcerated Eureka man is both heart-breaking and inspiring. It’s a story of bad circumstances and bad decisions with a dream of bicycles at the end.

Is Eureka’s “Moonshot” Program All About Transportation?
Examples provided of possible “moonshot” topics range from self-driving cars to drones e-bikes to buses to hyperloops. If we’re talking about big transportation goals, how about a 100% pedestrianized downtown?

Arcata Planning Commission Considers Housing Element
The new document is focused on infill housing development for active transportation and transit.

Weekly Street Story Update: McKinleyville
From the map of reports, it looks like far fewer McKinleyville residents have been using Street Story than Arcata or Eureka residents. McKinleyville has almost the same population as Arcata, but a fraction of the reports. And we know it’s not because the roads are safer! McKinleyville residents (and everyone else): You can make your Street Story report here.

CalBike Unveils 2020 Agenda
Check it out!

The Future of Electric Trucks in California
Is this how we’ll make our freight transportation system more sustainable?

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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

December 6, 2019

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County Proposes Impact Fee…to Build Bigger Roads
At the Board of Supervisors meeting next week, an ordinance is on the agenda to establish the Greater Eureka Area Traffic Impact Fee – the culmination of a project that began way back in 2006. We believe in developers paying their fair share for impacts they cause. But this proposed ordinance says revenues can be used ONLY for “capacity enhancing improvements” like road widening and road expansion. This would lock the county into the kind of counterproductive road planning that will just encourage more driving and increase congestion in the long run. It seems the county needs a reminder that you can’t reduce congestion by building bigger roads – you’ve got to make it easier to walk, bike, and take the bus.

4th Street Parking Crater Plans May Be Delayed
Also on next Tuesday’s Supes agenda is a staff request to delay purchase of the housing and commercial properties on 4th Street in Eureka, which the county plans to use mostly as a parking lot. The delay is attributed to unspecified “issues relating to the tenants and occupants” of the existing buildings.

County Considers 2020 Legislative Platform
Also on Tuesday’s Supes agenda is a discussion of what types of state and federal bills the county should officially support next year. Lots of transportation-related issues could be affected, including infrastructure funding, the Richardson Grove road expansion project, and the Highway 101 Arcata-Eureka Corridor project. Not currently on the list: support for federal and state-level Complete Streets bills.

Town Center Planning Continues Next Week in McKinleyville
The County Planning Department and McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee are hosting a “Community Round Table” next Wednesday to get more input from residents on how to prioritize elements of the future Town Center Master Plan. At the last meeting, walkability was the most talked-about feature of a future town center. Come on out and make sure it stays at the top of the list!

Truckers Parade, Meet EV Parade
A new tradition starts in Blue Lake.

Weekly Street Story Update: SoHum
Most of the Street Story reports so far have come from Arcata, Eureka, and surrounding areas – because that’s where most people in the county live. But there are road hazards in the rural areas, too, as residents know well. You can make your Street Story report here.

Transportation Commission to Allocate Active Transportation Funds
At next week’s meeting, the California Transportation Commission will vote on funding for a long list of active transportation projects, including local projects in Blue Lake and Fortuna. Also on the agenda are cost overruns for the Panther Creek Bridge seismic retrofit project in Del Norte County and a discussion of the federal government’s latest attempt to roll back fuel efficiency standards.

Wireless Charging for Electric Buses
New technologies allow electric buses to charge up during their routes, extending their ranges substantially.

New Arizona Development Won’t Allow Cars
Could this be the start of a trend?

Cargo Bikes On the Rise in New York
Major shippers are signing on to use bikes for local delivery in the big city.

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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

November 22, 2019

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Mary Burke Named 2019 North Coast Responsible Transportation Champion
CRTP recognized the McKinleyville official for her leadership in bringing active transportation planning to the forefront in that historically car-dominated community. If you see her around, thank her for all of us!

New Street Tree Program Debuts in Eureka
The Times-Standard notes that “benefits include traffic calming.” Meanwhile, Eureka and Caltrans continue to argue over who’s responsible for such things on Broadway. We love trees and traffic-calming, but we caution planners to make sure new trees don’t create unnecessary obstructions or hazards for users of the sidewalk.

Another Driver Hits A Pedestrian on Highway 101
And again, CHP and the media appear to be blaming the victim.

Arcata Accepting Comments on Housing Plan
Where and how we allow (and build) housing is the biggest factor in determining where and how we get around.

Weekly Street Story Update: Broadway
If Eureka is serious about making Broadway safer, there are good data on Street Story for them to consider. The Arcata Transportation Safety Committee talked about Street Story this week – so can Eureka! You can make your Street Story report here.

Bay Area Planning Agencies Debut New Public “Game”
“Mayor of Bayville” is an online platform intended to increase public participation in transportation and land use planning.

An Experiment in Development Without the Rules
There are lots of good reasons to regulate development. But in a small area in the middle of the Vancouver, BC, a Canadian First Nation unconstrained by density restrictions and parking requirements is able to build a lot of housing that wouldn’t have been possible if they’d followed the rules. Makes ya think.

What’s Missing from Candidate Climate Plans?
We’re talking about it, so it must be transportation-related.

Wondering What’s in the Federal Complete Streets Act of 2019?
Find out here, courtesy of Smart Growth America.

How to Transform the Suburbs
Ideas from leading thinkers on land use, transportation, housing and more.

A Debate in New York Over the Price of Parking
Could free storage of private cars in the public right-of-way – ahem, street parking – become a thing of the past in the nation’s biggest city?

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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

November 15, 2019

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McKinleyville Town Center Meeting Heavily Attended
The meeting on Wednesday, held jointly by the County planning department and the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee, asked residents what they want to see in the future town center. The number one answer? Walkability!

Creek Side Homes Project Sent to City Council
The Arcata Planning Commission (again) held a hearing on the housing project on the western edge of the city and (again) voted to move it on to the Council. You can read CRTP’s comments on the project here.

Eureka Residents Want a Prettier, Safer Broadway
But project planners are looking to get “congestion relief” funds, which historically has meant bigger, uglier, more dangerous roads (and more of them). Let’s hope that’s not where this is headed.

Meanwhile, More Car-Oriented Restaurants Are Almost Open on That Same Roadway
Local media report breathlessly on the progress. The irony of a new development designed to bring more cars to Broadway at the same time as the city hears concerns about the road’s safety for bicyclists and pedestrians seems largely unnoticed.

Watch Out for Livestock
More drivers have been hitting livestock in Humboldt lately, and law enforcement is putting the public on notice that they intend to crack down.

McKinleyville Skateboarders Get Money for a Park
Skateboarding is active transportation too!

Coast Guard Has Plans for Humboldt Bay Bar
Local marine transportation would be affected.

Weekly Street Story Update: Valley West
Every (non-highway) route in and out of the Valley West neighborhood in Arcata has been reported as hazardous on Street Story. This isn’t news to those who live there, and planning is under way to improve connectivity through a portion of the planned Annie and Mary Trail. But more improvements are needed to Giuntoli Lane and other streets to make it a safe and comfortable environment for bicyclists and pedestrians. You can make your Street Story report here.

Why Does Everyone Bike in Copenhagen?
The simple answer: because they made it more convenient.

Cities Around the World Grapple With Car Problems
A good summary of recent efforts in major world cities.

Norway Takes Serious Steps Toward a Zero-Emission Port
Perhaps the North Coast should take note.

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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

November 8, 2019

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Public Meeting Next Wednesday About Improving Broadway…
Details about the plans are sketchy so far, with public statements focused on making Broadway “easier to travel,” providing “additional transportation choices,” and “reducing congestion.” Will this mean adding to the nightmare with more lanes and more speeding cars, or making the corridor safe and comfortable enough for walking and biking that some people might actually want to do that?

…And About McKinleyville Town Center…
On the same night as the Broadway meeting, the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee will hold its first official Town Center planning meeting. This will kick off the process of developing a county ordinance which could actually move the concept of a walkable town center from long-awaited dream to legal reality.

…And About Eureka Housing Element!
Also on Wednesday night, the City of Eureka Planning Commission will be holding a hearing on the city’s proposed General Plan Housing Element, a state-required document that guides the future location and amount of housing in the city. (Which of course helps determine where and how people travel.)

Changes Coming to Long-Distance Bus Service in Humboldt
A special guest post for CRTP provides the inside scoop on potential improvements to Amtrak-affiliated bus service on the North Coast.

Mobility-on-Demand Meetings Talk Transit – and Much More
At a series of meetings held by the Humboldt County Association of Governments on Thursday, attendees heard from consultants developing a “mobility-on-demand strategic development plan” for the county and provided input on priorities. The focus was on providing more convenient mobility for those with limited transportation access and bringing more riders into the existing bus system. The overall impact on the amount of driving in the county remains to be seen.

Weekly Street Story Update: Blue Lake Rancheria
People have been reporting hazards, collisions and near misses on and around the Blue Lake Rancheria. Reports are the first step to effective safety improvements! You can make your Street Story report here.

State Offering Money for “Clean Mobility”; Local Meeting Scheduled
A workshop is scheduled for November 22nd in Blue Lake to discuss a new state program that will offer grant money for “bikeshare, electric carshare, electric vanpool, and other zero-emissions shared mobility projects in disadvantaged and low-income communities around the state.”

State Officials Meet in Del Norte
The press from the meeting was all about Last Chance Grade – a critical project for the regional transportation system. But state transportation commissioners also heard about the long-running attempt by Caltrans and local officials to widen and straighten Highways 199 and 197 along the Smith River to allow interstate-sized trucks to drive that winding mountain route. And they heard from local critics (which includes CRTP) who oppose the project as an unsafe boondoggle.

State Task Force Looks at Speed Limits, Road Design
Will the long and winding road to change ever lead to slower, safer streets?

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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.