There are a few new transportation laws in effect with the new year which will hopefully move us in a safer and more sustainable direction:
The Regional Transportation Plan is updated every two years by the Humboldt County Asssociation of Governments (HCAOG). The document plays a central role in decision-making on transportation projects in the county that involve inter-government/agency collaboration (ie: collaboration between Caltrans, the county, the cities, and public transportation agencies).
The final 2008 RTP was just released (available on the HCAOG website). Hopefully, Green Wheels comments were well-incorporated in the final document. Green Wheels Executive Director Chris Rall offered extensive comments on the Regional Transportation Plan in the draft phase.
Every two years, the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) updates its Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The comment period for the draft 2008 RTP ended June 23, and now the final is being worked up. This year the plan is separated into “elements” for each mode: Highways and Roadways, Bicycle and Pedestrian, Public Transit, Goods Movement. There are also elements on tribal transportation and public input.
23 June 2008
Dear HCAOG Board,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft 2008 Regional Transportation Plan.
We face emerging challenges that are different from the ones we have addressed in RTPs over the years. Now that oil prices are increasing rapidly, automobile dependence is becoming an even more substantial burden on our economy. The problem of transportation inequity will grow with fuel prices as well. More insidious health and safety problems, have become more apparent, like the rate of carnage on Eureka streets, and the rate of diabetes and other chronic diseases related to inactivity. Our overbuilt road system is now a struggle to maintain because of a decline in available funds.
I rode with Peggy on her tandem to the last of the first round of Regional Transportation Plan Workshops in McKinleyville, last night.
Peggy is sight-impaired, so this was a cool way to get to a workshop that would have been difficult to attend by transit. There was no bike parking out front so we brought our bikes into the Lobby. Jim from the Schattz Energy Lab rode over from Arcata with us.
