The Collector
October 4, 2019
What’s That Project For Again?
At the California Transportation Commission meeting next week, Commissioners will vote on allocations of funding for the “safety corridor” improvement project on Highway 101 between Arcata and Eureka. Although much of the attention on this project has centered on the Indianola interchange, it contains a number of other components too, including lengthening acceleration and deceleration lanes. Interestingly, the purpose of that portion of the project – according to the CTC agenda packet – is not to improve safety, but to reduce vehicle delays. Hmmm. Also on next week’s agenda is a request for a time extension for building an electric vehicle charging station in Willow Creek.
And Is Humboldt Done Paying for It?
Meanwhile, the Humboldt County Association of Governments is hoping Caltrans will pick up the increased tab for the corridor project. The county has allocated all of its State Transportation Improvement Program funds to the project for years, and HCAOG isn’t interested in promising future money too.
Times-Standard: If Arcata Won’t Build Student Housing, Eureka Should
An editorial clearly calling out Arcata’s resistance to building The Village student housing project suggests that Eureka can build housing and “they can ride the bus to campus.” It’s a nice thought, and there should absolutely be more housing in Eureka – and more investment in our bus system – but it still makes more sense for HSU students to be housed closer to campus, where walking and biking are options too.
Eureka Commission to Talk Parking
The city’s Transportation Safety Commission will discuss requests to remove time limits in part of downtown and establish a pilot residential permit program near Eureka High School. Maybe if they remove time limits downtown they should add meters, too. It seems high time to stop subsidizing private vehicles with so much valuable public space.
Hearing Scheduled for Sidewalk on Broadway
Caltrans is applying for a Coastal Development Permit from the City of Eureka to build a sidewalk along Broadway south of the Lithia car dealership. This is part of an area that has been a hot spot for pedestrian collisions in recent years. The hearing is scheduled for 10 am on October 15 at City Hall.
Weekly Street Story Update
Of the 424 Street Story reports made for far in Humboldt County (at the time of this writing), 166 of them are in the unincorporated county, 149 are in Eureka, and 88 are in Arcata. In the unincorporated county, the greatest concentration of reports is in the areas near Eureka and Arcata, as well as in McKinleyville. You can make your Street Story report here.
NACTO Takes On New Forms of Mobility
The National Association of City Transportation Officials has released new guidelines for regulating “micromobility” options such as e-scooters, as well as autonomous vehicles.
In California, Will Every Road Be an Autobahn?
Some analysts say that the legal arguments the Trump administration is making to try to invalidate California’s fuel economy standards would have much broader effects, including invalidating speed limits all over the state.
No New Federal Transportation Funding
Transportation for America and Smart Growth America are now officially calling for no new federal investment in the “broken” transportation system until the many problems with that system are addressed.
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.