Happy Trails

Today, Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Netra Khatri, assistant city engineer for Arcata about improvement projects on old Arcata Road. There have already been some with more to come. And yes, the public will have input on those future improvements at an open house on Wednesday

This morning Michael Kauffmann and I spoke with Gabe Howe from the Siskiyou Mountain Club. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to trail restoration in the Siskiyou wilderness. The group started as just a group of friends who saw a need as so many trails were falling into ruin. The organization now has over 300 members and has thus far restored numerous trails, to a point where they are hoping to move into more of a trail maintenance organization by 2020.

Today Emily and I spoke with Denise Newman, the RCAA Projects Coordinator about Explore The Coast taking place this Sunday, October 9th on the Hikshari Trail. We also discussed this past weekends events, the Cooper Gulch Plan & Play Day and the Chah-Gah-Cho trail Grand Opening.

This morning Jessica Hall and I spoke with Christy Prescott, Community Advocate for Cooper Gulch Common Grounds, a grassroots organization that's been around for about a year to help the park at Cooper Gulch live up to it's potential. This Saturday, October 1st, there will be a big event open to the public called Play and Plan Day at Cooper Gulch from 9am till 4:30. Many events are planned for the day. More info at coopergulch.org

This morning my co host Michael Kauffmann and I spoke with Terri Vroman Little and her work with the CCC and all they are doing with trails here in Humboldt County. We also talked about The Humboldt Bay Marathon, how it started and where she hopes to see it in the near future. And although it was painful to bring it up, how she has taken the tragedy of 4 years ago (on Old Arcata Road) moved forward for positive advancement of trails and the creation of the Humboldt Bay Marathon, part of which goes along Old Arcata Road, in essence, reclaiming that space. Thank you to Terri and The CCCs for their tireless efforts to make Humboldt a better place for all.

This morning Emily and I spoke with Tash Ahlstrand, transportation Planner for Caltrans District 1. The Pacific Coast Bike Route or PCBR, now 40 years old is bike route that spans the Pacific Coast from Canada To Mexico. Recently Caltrans initiated a study of PCBR users. Lots of great data was collected and many suggestions are in the process of being implemented. However, there was also some surprize date that was revealed. For example, 93% or PCBR riders go from north to south and the average age of PCBR riders is 43 years old.

This morning Jessica Hall and I spoke with Emily Benvie Environmental Programs Manager for Arcata. We spoke about the recent Request for Bid that went out to all contractors to construct the next phase of The Bay Trail between Arcata and Eureka. This phase will go from Arcata to Bracut Center (about half way). Emily also outlined progress on other trails such as the Ridge Trail and other.

This morning Emily and I spoke with Jeff Pimentel, Project Manager with Caltrans. We talked about the many safety projects on 4th and 5th street in Eureka, from a new signal at L Street, High Visibility Crosswalks, Intersection Bulbouts and more.

Today, Jessica Hall and I spoke with Joseph James, Transportation Manager of Yurok Tribe to talk about foot and water trails, and the new ferry (which just started service on Monday) among other things. This all in the midst of a fire emergency in the area.

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Mike Cherney, trail user, and Josh Smith of the Watershed Center about trails in Hayfork. There is already an extensive, if not well known system of trails in Hayfork, many of them historic. There is also substantial watershed trail development going on right now.

This morning I spoke with Emily Sinkhorn, Erin Kelly and Michael Kauffmann about the Bigfoot Trail. Emily and Erin spent about a month hiking this beautiful trail through some of the most stunning parts of the country.

Jessica Hall and I spoke with Kevin Hoover who just completed an many weeks hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Kevin spoke of the trail culture and his adventures. He also talked about how he dealt with adversity when a medical issue cropped up with his foot.

Emily Sinkhorn and I speak with Marcella Clem, Executive Director of Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) which has initiated research and work towards a Draft Expenditure Plan for a potential transportation ballot measure. The tax would fund deferred road maintenance throughout the County as state funding for local jurisdictions has been drastically cut and gas-tax revenues have been depleted. This would be a .5% county sales tax and would be specifically earmarked for maintenance.

Emily Sinkhorn and I speak with Marcella Clem, Executive Director of Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) which has initiated research and work towards a Draft Expenditure Plan for a potential transportation ballot measure. The tax would fund deferred road maintenance throughout the County as state funding for local jurisdictions has been drastically cut and gas-tax revenues have been depleted. This would be a .5% county sales tax and would be specifically earmarked for maintenance.

This morning Jessica Hall and I spoke with Miles Slattery, Director of Eureka Parks and Recreation about the Eureka Waterfront Trail. Phase A, from the end of the Hikshari Trail to Del Norte street has begun and should be completed by September of this year! Phases B & C all the way around the city of Eureka should be completed by sometime near the end of 2017 to the middle of 2018.