County Residents Overwhelmingly Support Changes to Local Streets, Says CRTP

This is a press release from the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities:

The Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities has released the results of a survey of Humboldt County residents about how they are moving around their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what changes they want to see on the street in response.

·       70% of respondents reported biking or walking the same amount or more since stay-at-home orders were issued, while 94% reported driving the same amount or less. This represents a significant and fundamental shift in the way local residents are using the streets.

·       37% of respondents reported that they experienced moderate to extreme difficulty maintaining social distance while using the street. While the majority of respondents reported little to no difficulty social distancing, these results demonstrate that a significant portion of the county’s population is having trouble complying with this public health mandate. Many respondents identified specific locations where they had trouble social distancing.

·       80% of respondents support implementing Slow Streets programs in their communities. Slow Streets are neighborhood streets where through traffic is discouraged, so that people can walk, bike and even play in the streets more safely while social distancing. Many respondents suggested specific locations for Slow Streets in their communities.

·       72% of respondents support programing traffic signals to give automatic “walk” signs, so that people walking can avoid touching buttons and other “high-touch surfaces.”

·       90% of respondents support relaxing parking requirements to allow businesses to conduct outdoor dining and retail. Humboldt County and the cities of Eureka and Arcata are each already implementing versions of this measure. However, most of the efforts to date have focused on sidewalk dining, which interferes with pedestrian traffic much more than parking-space dining.

Given the urgent need for ongoing public health measures in response to the pandemic, as well as the broad public support demonstrated here, the Coalition is asking jurisdictions throughout the county to implement each of these measures as soon as possible. The Coalition will be providing local officials with lists of potential Slow Streets in their jurisdictions as suggested by respondents, as well as a list of streets and other locations where respondents report difficulty social distancing. The Coalition also notes—as did several respondents—that when implementing these and other measures, it is critical to ensure convenient access for people with various mobility limitations.

The Coalition hosted the online survey from June 5 through June 25, 2020. The survey was promoted through email, social media including Facebook and Nextdoor, and local news outlets. 201 Humboldt County residents responded.

For more information about the Coalition, visit www.transportationpriorities.org.

COVID-19 Survey Information & Countywide Results COVID-19 Survey - Eureka Results COVID-19 Survey - Arcata Results COVID-19 Survey - Unincorporated County Results Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

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22 Comments
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Ullr Rover
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Ullr Rover
3 years ago

That’s nice. A survey with no statistical validity.

NoBody
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NoBody
3 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

That’s exactly what I was thinking! 🤣

64 responders in Eureka
62 responders in Arcata
and 48 responders in unincorporated Humboldt.
That’s a total of 174 or about 0.13%
You can’t determine anything with such a small sample size.

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
3 years ago
Reply to  NoBody

Not only is it a tiny sample size, but by promoting it on their own social media, the sample is strongly biased towards people who already supported their agenda.

Susan Nolan
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Susan Nolan
3 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

Exactly. I took the survey and found it slanted toward a certain agenda. I’m sympathetic with some of their goals but this survey is a joke.

Prof. Quiz
Guest
Prof. Quiz
3 years ago

I had to snicker with disgust when yesterday in all that WIND I saw two COVIDIOTS walking down the sidewalk wearing masks………… They were obviously a couple and walking side by side not six feet apart.

yesmeagain
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yesmeagain
3 years ago
Reply to  Prof. Quiz

They were doing this to protect YOU and others they might encounter. Most masks, including common medical masks, offer more protection to the people around the wearer than they do to the person wearing the mask. These folks might have been a bit over-zealous but so what? they weren’t causing any harm. And maybe they were a couple, but maybe one of them has been exposed and is trying to protect their partner by distancing and wearing a mask.
I suppose all you libertarians out there are opposed to traffic laws, too, on the grounds that they restrict your “freedom” unnecessarily; after all, you speed and fail to use turn signals, etc. all the time and haven’t injured anyone yet. (I wonder how you would feel, however, if your child was killed by someone else’s careless driving.) Wearing masks and social distancing are in the same category as traffic laws — minor restrictions on our freedom in order to protect our fellow humans from injury. If that’s socialism, so what?

John Alden
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John Alden
3 years ago
Reply to  yesmeagain

Thanks, Dr. Fauci. Still waiting for millions to die. 1968-1969 flu indeed took millions of lives worldwide. No destroyed economies. No annihilated jobs. No mask wearing tyrants. We still lived with liberty. Socialism KILLS liberty. America is teetering into leftist fascism. Liberty will be defended by patriots.

No One You Know
Guest
No One You Know
3 years ago
Reply to  John Alden

NOT all factual.
That was 1918 and 1919 and there were MANY communities which made being maskless in public an offense you’d be arrested for.
Odd how old fashioned Libertarians and those who cling to the past have such a capacity to rewrite it.

Having your face covered is about as necessary at this point as having your FEET covered in public places.
You’ve seen the signs? No Shirts, No Shoes, No Service.
I don’t seer a lot of naked people in those places objecting to the “limits” of their freedom.
It’s COMMON SENSE and basic human decency to cover.
Not to mention a social requirement, these days.
To me the general message is: “Evolve or Die”

Really?
Guest
Really?
3 years ago

You’re not factual. The 1968-1969 flu did take millions of lives. I could care less if I have to mask up.
https://www.britannica.com/event/1968-flu-pandemic

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  Really?

““Life continued as normal,” said Jeffrey Tucker, the editorial director for the American Institute for Economic Research. “But as with now, no one knew for certain how deadly [the pandemic] would turn out to be. Regardless, people went on with their lives.”

Which, he said, isn’t all that surprising. “That generation approached viruses with calm, rationality and intelligence,” he said. “We left disease mitigation to medical professionals, individuals and families, rather than politics, politicians and government.””

https://nypost.com/2020/05/16/why-life-went-on-as-normal-during-the-killer-pandemic-of-1969/

And “During the Hong Kong flu, Americans rode buses less often, washed their hands, and practiced social distancing. But they went to work.

Marilyn Brown worked at the Los Angeles Department of Social Services during the Hong Kong flu. “Other than my coworkers bringing their own alcohol to wipe down their desks and wipe down pencils and not use pencils that clients had used, we didn’t do anything,” she recently told Travel Weekly.” https://news.yahoo.com/forgotten-hong-kong-flu-pandemic-004728750.html

Development of the Hong Kong flu vaccine was pretty fast. I can only hope the same for C19.

Prof. Quiz
Guest
Prof. Quiz
3 years ago
Reply to  yesmeagain

They weren’t protecting me as I was driving by with the windows up LOL. And NO I wasn’t wearing a mask. 😉

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
3 years ago

100% of people in my household would like me to receive a generous grant to conduct a useless survey.

Fast Freddy
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Fast Freddy
3 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Ha! That is great! What a sample size, by the way. That would be similar to the survey.

Bobo
Guest
Bobo
3 years ago

Leave our streets alone!!

Peace
Guest
Peace
3 years ago

Either the cdc or The Who said it’s almost impossible or to give cv to anyone if you don’t show symptoms, wearing a mask does nothing but deprive people of oxygen.

Wearing a mask and social distancing are not in the same category as traffic laws. I wouldn’t worry about it since the sparse population keeps people apart anyway.

Industrial Disease
Guest
Industrial Disease
3 years ago
Reply to  Peace

Wearing masks does not deprive you of oxygen. Public health laws are in the same category as traffic laws as a matter of public safety.

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago

Certainly not significantly for most people as the ones available to the public on general are pretty leaky, certainly the cloth one are. But notice the usual phrase is “masks and social distancing?” “”I think we need a combination of [masks,] distancing, avoiding crowds, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces,” says Marr. Even if each of those individual measures is only partially effective, she says, “by the time you add them all on top of each other, you can achieve better numbers for reduction of transmission.” https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/21/880832213/yes-wearing-masks-helps-heres-why

No One You Know
Guest
No One You Know
3 years ago
Reply to  Peace

False.
Go back and talk to the CDC about this.

VHDA
Guest
VHDA
3 years ago

They feel 201 commenters speak for all of Humboldt county????

Burnt Roach (new handle)
Guest
Burnt Roach (new handle)
3 years ago

Maybe people should start driving bigger vehicles. I drive a truck and I’m always six feet away from people.

Captain Courageous
Guest
Captain Courageous
3 years ago

Wear the damned mask. Quit riding bikes and aimlessly walking around town. Find things better to do with your time other than whining about the streets and not being able to ride your damned bike or take a hike. To all you
selfish, cry-baby jerks out there, I’ll say it again, wear the damned mask![edit]

Mountain Man
Guest
Mountain Man
3 years ago

How about just paving Guintoli Ln. ?