As the Eureka Traffic Officer says in an article in today’s Times-Standard, “It doesn’t really matter who’s at fault when you end up in the hospital…the pedestrian will always lose.” So maybe we should shift some of the focus away from the people involved in specific accidents and toward the infrastructure! Our roads are often dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists. Better crosswalk markings and signage seem to have made a difference already in pedestrian safety in Eureka. Imagine how much safer we could be with roads that were actually designed for multimodal transportation – rather than being designed for cars and trucks, with other users just an afterthought!

From the Times-Standard:

“…Crosswalk countdown signals — noting how much time a pedestrian has to get across the street before the light changes — as well as more visible markers at such locations on West Avenue near Silvercrest as well as the police department’s targeted enforcement may have all contributed to fewer pedestrian vs. vehicle accidents this summer, she said.

While the EPD only tracks pedestrian fatalities within the city limits, 2015 has also been a deadly year for pedestrians in the northern Humboldt County area outside of the Eureka city limits — from south of Scotia to the Del Norte County line and inland to Trinity and Siskiyou counties….”

Read the full article.

Apparently the majority of our Humboldt County supervisors have now decided that “pedestrian friendly streetscape” requirements don’t belong in our general plan. This is a disappointing decision at a time when we should be doing everything we can to prioritize walking and other healthy, community-building, low-impact modes of transportation.  From the Mad River Union:

“In response to lobbying from housing developers, county supervisors have revisited several General Plan Update decisions…

Reconsideration of a policy calling for pedestrian-friendly streetscapes also stirred debate. The policy encourages “pedestrian-friendly residential design” through techniques such as using alleys and courtyards to minimize street-facing driveways and minimizing street-level views of garages….

Supervisors voted to delete the policy, with Lovelace dissenting….”

Read the full article.

According to Governor Brown’s administration, California’s current transportation infrastructure deficit is $59 billion.  We’re glad that the issue is getting some much-needed attention, and hopefully lawmakers will find a responsible way to pay for some of that needed repair and maintenance.  But one thing is clear.  Regardless of what lawmakers do during the special session, we can no longer afford to build costly road expansion projects which will increase the repair and maintenance deficit, as the oversized truck projects at Richardson Grove and on Highways 199/197 will do.

From the Times-Standard:

“…Brown’s administration says California faces a $59 billion backlog in infrastructure repairs over the next decade. He called a special session of the state Legislature to address it, but lawmakers have been slow to act….

Lawmakers from both parties agree the state’s transportation tax structure is out of date and heavily reliant on a gas tax that has not increased in 20 years. Today’s cars are more fuel efficient and electric car drivers pay little to maintain the roads they drive on.

Transportation advocates and lawmakers have proposed a variety of fixes, including hiking fees on gas, vehicle registration and licenses; re-directing money used to pay off state debt back to road projects; and converting carpool lanes into paid tollways. Brown’s administration is studying how to eventually tax drivers for miles traveled instead of gas guzzled….