The Collector
March 21, 2025
Save the Date for Humboldt Bay Trail Grand Opening Celebration!
The time is almost upon us when there will be a complete bike and pedestrian trail along the shores of Humboldt Bay between Eureka and Arcata. We’ve been waiting a long time for this, and it’s time to celebrate! CRTP is working with many other local groups to organize a Grand Opening Celebration for the Humboldt Bay Trail on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at the Adorni Center in Eureka. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!
Even as this critical trail linkage nears completion, we’re also very excited that the regional commuter trail network is continuing to expand. Arcata’s Annie & Mary Trail project to extend the Bay Trail north through the city, past Valley West to the pump station on West End Road, is expected to begin construction this year. And planning is under way to extend the trail network south from Eureka to College of the Redwoods, too!
Draft Long-Term Plan for State Route 255
Caltrans has released a draft Corridor Management Plan for State Route 255 in Humboldt. This road connects Arcata and Eureka via the Samoa peninsula, and is the only (land-based) connection between the peninsula communities of Fairhaven, Samoa and Manila and the rest of the North Coast. It is a high-speed roadway with no safe facilities for walking or biking, but is nevertheless well used by pedestrians and bicyclists – including some who have no other option.
Caltrans is accepting comments on the draft plan through May 23rd. CRTP’s priorities for this corridor include adding bike and pedestrian facilities between Arcata and Manila and on the Samoa Bridge to Eureka, as well as providing safer crossings in Manila. We encourage our supporters to provide feedback to Caltrans. And don’t forget to make your reports on Street Story too!
Measure O Transit Funding Update
In February, CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske was selected by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to sit as an official transit advocate on a Measure O ad hoc committee. The committee was charged with recommending how much of the new voter-approved sales tax revenue should go to public transit, and how much to road work. Since the earliest discussions about a potential new tax measure, CRTP has worked hard to ensure that transit gets its fair share of the funding. This local revenue is especially crucial at a time when state transit funds are decreasing and federal funding is very much at risk.
The ad hoc committee met once and decided to recommend that 14% of Measure O funding be allocated to transit, and 86% to roads. This decision was made over CRTP’s objections, because 14% is not nearly enough funding to protect local transit service from federal and state funding cuts, let alone increase service to meet longstanding needs like late night and Sunday service – or to provide the even higher level of service needed to attract new riders and help meet our region’s climate goals. We expect the committee’s recommendation to come to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision in the coming weeks. We will continue to push for equitable and sustainable transit funding at every opportunity.
News from Beyond the North Coast
Parking Reform, Illustrated
CRTP has been advocating against costly, unscientific parking mandates for many years. Regular readers of The Collector know the importance of parking reforms, but sometimes the issue can seem pretty dry and abstract. So we’re grateful to the Parking Reform Network for sharing the graphic above, which provides a clear visual illustration of the negative impact of parking mandates on our communities.
CRTP Joins Allies in Objecting to State Bill
North Coast Assemblymember Chris Rogers has introduced a bill that would prioritize fire department response times over other safety considerations when new street improvements are proposed. While response times are important, this issue has unfortunately often been used by fire departments to block important street safety improvements, including things like bike lanes and speed humps. CRTP is joining with many other organizations statewide in requesting the bill be re-written to “take a more comprehensive view of public safety.” We can look to a recently updated City of Arcata General Plan policy as one example of this more comprehensive view. The policy, which CRTP advocated for, states that “when determining needed improvements, ease and speed of emergency vehicle access shall be weighed against safe design for all street users.”
Legislators Request More Money for Walking & Biking
Last year, $400 million was cut from the state’s primary funding program for bike and pedestrian infrastructure. This left many important projects – including several on the North Coast – unable to secure funding from the already underfunded Active Transportation Program. So we’re grateful that some state legislators are now advocating for restoring the lost funding in this year’s budget.
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