This letter appeared as a guest opinion editorial on 30 September 2007 in the Eureka Reporter, and in the Times-Standard.

To the California Department of Transportation and Humboldt County Association of Governments,

We are a coalition of North Coast groups representing diverse interests in our community.

The offered Eureka-Arcata 101 Corridor project alternatives neglect to address important safety, access, aesthetic, economic, health, and environmental concerns with cost-effective and appropriate solutions that are important to all of us in one way or another. Some of the issues outlined here are more important to some of us than others, but on one key issue is of critical importance to all of us: the . The project alternatives offered in the DEIR do not address a need for multi-modal transportation solutions to more thoroughly address improved safety on the Eureka-Arcata 101 Corridor. The stated “purpose and need” should be revised to reflect this. We urge that an alternative be added to maintain the 50 mph safety corridor, which has proven effective, and include other alternative traffic engineering and transit solutions to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety by means that are not assessed in the DEIR.

The alternatives offered do not address real needs for cyclist and pedestrian safety and access. Increasing the speed limit and rededicating road shoulder space for acceleration lanes will make bicycling the Eureka-Arcata 101 corridor more dangerous and intimidating, resulting in less commuter cyclist use and more traffic congestion. Higher speeds also mean that emergency uses of 101 shoulders (their primary function) will force cyclists into situations where they have to share traffic lanes with motorists who will have less response time to adjust to the presence of a bicycle. All the “build” alternatives will result in closed at-grade median crossings, reducing access for all users, including bicyclists. Bicyclists entering the highway at some intersections will have to ride out-of-direction for some distance before coming to a legal highway crossing. For example, the median closure at the Bayside Cutoff will require cyclists heading towards Eureka from Bayside to ride back to the Samoa Boulevard overcrossing in Arcata to enter the highway. The proposed project may result in more cyclists negotiating the difficult cloverleaf system of on- and off-ramps at the 101-255 interchange.

According to section 887 of the Streets and Highways (S&H) Code, Caltrans is required to develop non-motorized transportation facilities approximately paralleling the highway where “traffic safety or capacity of the highway would be increased.” A Humboldt Bay Trail would fulfill this requirement, would offer a safe route for cycling between Eureka and Arcata, generate $4.6 million in economic activity per year, and provide $84.7 million per year in health benefits (Humboldt Bay Trail Feasibility Study).

Building infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians and improving transit between Eureka and Arcata would offer some key quality of life improvements to attract and retain information, technology, and creativity-based businesses and professionals. Such a development would fit hand-in-glove with the strategy to improve broadband connectivity and develop an information services economy on the North Coast.

To support and stimulate economic vitality, Humboldt County must plan for rising energy costs. Increasing the speed limit will lead to significantly reduced fuel efficiency for cars traveling the corridor. Closing the median crossings will force drivers to travel out of their way to turn around points, increasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

No part of the proposed project provides accessible, equitable transportation options for the third of our population that does not or cannot drive.

The project calls for Eucalyptus trees along the corridor to be removed. Caltrans data from before the safety corridor installation shows that the eucalyptus trees slow traffic by an average of 4 miles per hour. These trees could be important as a scenic barrier between the highway and an under-consideration Humboldt Bay Trail.

By planning for, and thereby enabling, increased traffic on the Eureka-Arcata 101 corridor, the proposed project would worsen already bad congestion on Eureka's 101 Broadway corridor. Planning for increased traffic volumes that far outstrip projected population growth, and failing to provide options which do not promote automobile dependency, as this project does, will create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Investments in transit, trails, and alternative traffic engineering solutions will prove equally, if not more, effective at achieving our region's needs and goals.

Increased investments in public transit would offer many benefits above and beyond the benefits of the proposed project. Transit is equitable, serving non-driving populations; it is more fuel-efficient and minimizes greenhouse gas production; it provides cyclists with additional travel options; it offers more benefits for our local economy; and, importantly, transit investments can reduce traffic congestion and improve corridor safety. Caltrans has been part of implementing transit projects in other areas.

Businesses on Jacobs and Airport Avenues have concerns about customers being able to access their establishments from the 101 corridor if median crossings are closed due to traffic increases. We share their concerns for a number of reasons. However, the project DEIR fails to offer a substantiated projection of traffic increases. Additionally, other less expensive bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly alternative traffic engineering solutions such as a Jacobs and Sixth Avenue bridge or Jacobs Avenue traffic light without an Indianola cutoff overcrossing were not considered in the DEIR. Business concerns can and should be addressed by more creative, realistic and cost-effective means than as proposed in the DEIR.

We urge you to 1) reconsider the “purpose and need” of the proposed project in the DEIR to address the safety of all users of the corridor more completely by fully considering a more comprehensive multi-modal approach to traffic congestion reduction and corridor safety improvement; and 2) include a project alternative that addresses these needs.

Submitted by:

Green Wheels
Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County
Healthy Humboldt
Humboldt Baykeeper
HSU Student Nurses Association
Keep Eureka Beautiful
Northcoast Environmental Center
Natural Resources Services Division of Redwood Community Action Agency
Redwood Alliance Climate Action Project
Trails Trust of Humboldt Bay