Happy Trails

Cliff and Emily talk with Shannon Tracey and Caelie Quinn about the upcoming 5th Annual Climate Ride. The ride goes from Fortuna to San Francisco, starts May 19th and concludes on May 23rd. About 160 riders of varying experience will make the trek to San Francisco in order raise funds and call attention to sustainable climate friendly transportation options. More info at climateride.org.

Cliff Berkowitz and Emily Sinkhorn talk with Charles Roecklein, Eureka City Engineer, Sheila Parrott, Eureka Traffic Engineer, Dan Moody, Eureka Traffic Operations, and Gary Whitmer, Eureka PD. After several recent fatal pedestrian vs motor vehicle accents and data showing the City of Eureka as one of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians and cyclist a discussion with city officials who deal with pedestrian safety was in order. Stats are discussed along with a variety of suggestions for changes in trafic flow including delaying the green light to allow pedestrians to cross with the walk signal.

Cliff and Emily talk with Hank Seeman of Humboldt County Public Works about the proposed McKay Tract Community Forest and the public workshop tonight at Winship Middle School from 6-8pm.

Cliff talks with Emily Sinkhorn live in Sacramento who is there to attend the Transportation Choices Summit. Emily also took a tour of area trails and potentially new funding sources for bike/ped projects here Humboldt County are also discussed.

Cliff and Emily talk with Rees Hughes and Dennis Rael of the Bay Trail Advocates about where things stand now with the Bay Trail. Progress with the NCRA at the November meeting is detailed, along with the pending funding challenges to getting this trail built. Various idea are floated. Ongoing tail stewart programs are also discussed and how that model will play a roll in the Bay Trail.

Cliff and Emily talk with Robert Johnson, Program Director of the RampArt Skatepark in Arcata about activities for BMX cyclists and skateboarders. Also discussed was progress on the Annie and Mary Rail Trail and tomorrow's meeting of the N.C.R.A. on that topic. Progress on Arcata's portion of the Bay Trail is talked about along with Baykeeper's efforts move the May San Rafael meeting of Caltrans with the Coastal Commission regarding the Safety Corridor to Eureka in the Fall.

Cliff and Emily talk with Alex Cousins, District Manager of the Trinity County Resources Conservation District about the extensive trail system in Weaverville and surrounding areas. Also Emily updates us on CalTrans plans for the 101 Safety Corridor and Baykeeper's request to move the metting to Humboldt County.

Cliff and Emily talk with Sara Sundquist and Amy Pendergast of Shasta County Public Health about Healthy Shasta, Redding Bikeway Action Plan, a recent trail user survey that received input from over 800 trail users.

Cliff and Emily talk about proposed state bills to help protect non-motorized users of the road. These laws include changes to the state's written drivers test and safe passing laws.

In aftermath of a rash of bike & pedestrian vs motor vehicle fatalities and injuries in the past few weeks, Cliff and Emily talk with Patti Horsley of the California Convergence about ways to make our area safer.

Cliff and Emily talk with Ben Kageyama, Senior Civil Engineer for the City of Ukiah Public Works. The city is on the verge of putting in this trail through the Heart of Ukiah. The process of how this came to be is discussed.

Cliff and Emily talk with Kevin Wright about the grand opening of the Elk River/Hikshari' Trail. Kevin also talk about his trip to Napa and their Rail Trail. Also discussed is tomorrow's open forum at HSU regarding the future of the Humboldt Bay Rail Corridor. This forum will take place at the College Creek Great Hall at 6pm and will be moderated my Cliff Berkowitz.

Cliff and Emily talke with Gary Helfrich of the Sonoma Bicycle Coalition about their efforts to share a railroad bridge for a trail in Healdsburg. Efforts to share the NCRA right of way here in Humboldt and the problems of the Eel River Canyon are discussed.

Cliff and Emily talk with Steve Paine of the Willow Creek Community Service District about their extensive trail system and how they overcame funding obstacles. The success of the Trail to Trinity Valley School is highlighted. Emily also previewed tomorrow's meeting of the NCRA and the proposed lease of a rail bridge for a Rail With Trail project in Healdsburg.

Cliff and Emily talk with Dr. Margret Gordon of the North Coast Community Blood Bank about the Walk with a Doc program. National obesity an inactivity benchmarks for the nation and Humboldt county are discussed. Hint: Humboldt's numbers are worse than the rest of the nation.