From the Triplicate:
“…More undercutting and back cutting as proposed in the current Highway 199 STAA proposal would further destabilize the canyon walls and increase the probability and severity of landslide occurrences…”
Op-Ed: “Improvements on U.S. 199, 197 needed, STAA trucks are not”
From the Triplicate:
“I must add my voice to the chorus of locals who understand that the proposed work for Highways 199 and 197 in Del Norte County will not solve current road problems but will worsen already dangerous driving conditions if the work is completed and STAA-sized trucks are permitted to use both roadways…”
North Coast Journal: “Many of Humboldt’s Worst Roads Are Probably Not Going to Get Fixed”
From the North Coast Journal:
“…As with the county, city public works departments rely on a patchwork of funding to patch the roads, and the likelihood of some sources of funding coming through is often dubious…”
North Coast Journal: “Why aren’t Humboldt’s rural roads getting fixed?”
Another in a series of informative articles on our local transportation infrastructure from the Journal highlights the dangerous disrepair of many rural roads. Putting road maintenance and repair first – particularly where basic access is at risk – is CRTP’s top priority. Maintaining and repairing roads before conditions become so bad is far cheaper in the long run, but with such a deficit in transportation funding, officials are just doing “triage”:
“‘We currently have between $200 and $250 million dollars worth of deferred maintenance,” [Humboldt County Public Works Director Thomas Mattson] said. ‘I do not have anywhere close to enough money to bring our roads up to an acceptable state of repair.’ … Keeping up with the basic maintenance of roads — cutting back brush, cleaning out culverts and repairing potholes — requires $20 million a year, according to Mattson. He currently works with a budget of $10 million, meaning the county accumulates about $10 million in deferred road maintenance annually.”
This state of affairs really highlights the importance of prioritizing maintenance and repair over projects that add new capacity – particularly new capacity for heavy trucks that do disproportionate damage to our roads.
Op-ed: “Humboldt County, Caltrans rhetoric misleading the public”
From the Times-Standard:
“…While the county and Caltrans have labeled oversize Surface Transportation Assistance Act trucks as “industry-standard” for years, no other county or agency has used such a nonsensical and misleading term….”
Letter: Canceling STAA Access Project Needs to Be on the Table
From the Triplicate on January 12th:
“The meeting on the 2016 Regional Transportation Plan was jam-packed with folks from Crescent City, Hiouchi, and Gasquet, among other places, to the surprise of Project Manager Jeff Schwein. A large percentage — two-thirds to three-fourths by show of hands — were there with concerns about Caltrans’ project to alter Highways 199 and 197 to allow the longer STAA trucks….
The point I wanted to make, but was cut off, is that funding can be rescinded and projects canceled. We need to free up as much money as possible to handle what Jeff stressed is a “crisis in funding” for Del Norte County roads….”
Triplicate: Last Chance, STAA Hot Topics
From the Del Norte Triplicate:
“…The letter EPIC submitted Monday night as its formal comment on the Regional Transportation Plan touched on many of the things said by opponents of the project all along: namely, that widening and straightening the highways to allow access to larger trucks will not make the already windy and precarious road any safer, and puts the pristine Smith River at greater risk of spills…”
Eureka’s Dangerous Intersections: A Tale of Two Agencies
A recent article from the North Coast Journal about ongoing efforts to reduce serious traffic accidents in Eureka is timely and enlightening. The City of Eureka has taken the sensible approach of mapping the most dangerous intersections, identifying the causes of crashes, and (in addition to stepping up education and enforcement) “identify[ing] problems with road layout, visibility, signage, signal timing and other safety issues.” Contrast that with Caltrans’ approach to the roads under its jurisdiction. Rather than following Eureka’s approach of identifying dangerous spots and figuring out what can be done about them, the state agency, as usual, is trying to justify road capacity increases with unsupported safety claims. It seems almost unbelievable a transportation agency would argue with a straight face that adding lanes – and thus increasing traffic speed – through a busy downtown would increase safety, but that’s exactly what Caltrans is saying.
Letter: “Caltrans pushing safer highways for whom?”
From the Times-Standard:
“…Projects like the widening of Richardson Grove, among others in District 1, will subject the public to increasing hazard from larger trucks, while areas like Eureka, Weott, Highways 20 and 29, (with fatality rates four times higher than the district average), remain unaddressed….”
Letter: “Caltrans can’t excuse itself from its responsibility”
From the Times-Standard:
“…[W]hen the data show that there are a lot of serious accidents in a particular location, regardless of the reason, it’s Caltrans’ responsibility to design the roadway in that spot with extra safety precautions.”