This Halloween, Green Wheels participated in the Arcata Main Street trick or treat event around the Plaza.  We handed out healthy and fun snacks to trick or treaters and decked out our "monster bikes" for a ride around town.  Check out the fun pictures!

A new medical study examines the association between active commuting and cardiovascular health and obesity.  The study appears in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine and a news summary of the findings can be found here.  The researchers found that people, particularly men, who walked or biked at least part way to work performed better on fitness tests and had a reduced likelihood of obesity.  This research supports what we have been talking about all along and highlighted in the latest Community Wheel - active transportation has positive effects on health!

Tomorrow night the Arcata Transportation Safety Committee will likely vote on whether to keep or eliminate bike lanes as part of an effort to widen sidewalks on G and H Streets between 9th and 11th Streets.  There are several options on the table including eliminating the bike lane, a travel lane or parking on one side of the street.  Past alternatives are here, but they have been honed down to a more fine-tuned set of options for the two street segments.

Here are the pdfs for the current options:

Options for widening the sidewalks were discussed here last month.  At issue is how much the sidewalks are widened on G and H Streets between 9th and 11th Streets, and what other road feature gives way to make it possible, whether it be parking on one side of the street or the other, a motorist travel lane, or the bike lane.

Option 4, which eliminates a travel lane, has evolved further, but images are unavailable at this time.  Essentially, the law requires a 20 foot minimum clear path for emergency response, so staff has revised Option 4 to include a heavily buffered bike lane.  The TSC will make a recommendation on this project, but the council has ultimate authority.

Also on the agenda is a review of a downtown parking study.  You can review Arcata TSC agendas here.

A collaborative effort between the Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans and stakeholders including Green Wheels is now complete and should provide some ideas for how to improve bike and pedestrian safety on Broadway, one of the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in Humboldt County.  Some of the ideas generated from this plan include addition of midblock crossings, sidewalk improvements and addition of bicycle facilities.  This study should inform future work Caltrans does on this facility.

From the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center:

Guidelines for safe walking at Halloween

Young children need a parent or other adult to go trick or treating with them. There is no magic age when children are old enough to walk alone. Parents need to judge when their children are mature enough to go without an adult.