Friday, April 03, 2009

Do Arcata Bikers and Skateboarders have suicidal tendencies?

I was parked for a few minutes North of the Arcata Plaza just above H ST and 11 TH St. I have always noticed that Bikes rarely stop at the sign going down the hill on H. Sure enough, I saw a person going out of control trying to stop his bike with no brakes and he ran into a car making a right turn on 11 TH. The biker then just got back on his pedals and left the scene. Not hardly a minute later here came a skateboarder down the hill out of control. And split traffic through the intersection. A policeman was at the 11th Street stop sign as he whizzed pass. Do you think the cop pulled him over for being a safety hazard to traffic? Nope. I heard this behavior is common on H ST. I am surprised I don't hear about more injuries or even fatalities in Arcata.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Friend:

I am pleased to inform you that a member of my staff will be holding office hours on Monday, April 6th from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Room 111 of the Humboldt County Courthouse, located at 825 Fifth Street in Eureka.

As your Senator, I can help you in contacting and working with federal government agencies. The office hours allow my staff the opportunity to consult with constituents who are seeking assistance with matters involving the Veterans Administration, Social Security Administration, or any other federal agency. Anyone who is seeking casework assistance is encouraged to visit the Humboldt County Courthouse.

Providing government services to my constituents is one of my most important duties as a United States Senator. I look forward to the opportunity to learn more about issues of importance to you and your community and resolve any problems that you may have with a federal agency.

Sincerely,


Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

humboldturtle said...

Maybe the Senator can fix the skate-punks in Arcata.

Rambo said...

Just take them out. natural selection at work.

Anonymous said...

As someone who works in Arcata, I too am constantly amazed that there are not more deaths involved with cyclists and homeless.

Daily I witness the cyclists who don't even bother to slow down at stop signs, or those drive down the middle of the street at 10 mph and get upset at you if you honk or pass them.

The latest is the homeless who walk out in the middle of the street, in front of on-coming traffic without even bothering to look.

I know the APD is short-staffed and under-budgeted, but is it going to take a death in downtown Arcata to open someone's eyes that something needs to be done?

jim m said...

It's nice of Senator Boxer to express her desire to help, and after shedding so many hundreds of living wage jobs recently, we sure could use it. But what help to ask for, specifically?

And I agree, traffic in Arcata can be alarming whether behind the wheel, the handlebars or on foot.

Anonymous said...

The other Arcata traffic peeve is pedestrians walking into the crosswalk as a vehicle is already in the intersection, forcing the vehicle to slam on the brakes and blocking the intersection. Only other place that routinely happens is in the intersections around Eureka High- I guess it's a way for young pedestrians to say fuck you to people in cars.

notarepublican said...

Where have you been? It's been like this in Arcata FOREVER. By the way, Boxer is a complete joke.

Anonymous said...

4:52pm-Worse now than ever. Been here many years.

Chris Rall said...

"Daily I witness the cyclists who don't even bother to slow down at stop signs, or those drive down the middle of the street at 10 mph and get upset at you if you honk or pass them."

Your talking about two very different issues here. One is cyclists violating the law by running stop signs. This is a serious problem in Arcata, especially at H and 11th.

The other issue is a cyclist taking the lane, which a cyclist is entitled to do if the lane cannot be shared safely side-by-side with a motor-vehicle. This may be an inconvenience to motorists, but cyclists have the right to use the road safely, and depending on the situation (hazards such as broken glass on the shoulder, potential for parked car-doors to open, etc.), they may be doing the safest thing by riding in the middle of the lane.

If it bugs you as a motorist to have bicyclists taking the lane when they need to, I suggest advocating for more bike lanes. That'll free up the road so you can speed all you want (speeding is perhaps the only traffic problem in Arcata more pervasive than stop-sign runnning).

Anonymous said...

Eureka High School encourages students to walk into the street without looking for cars. They do that by blocking off some of the streets around the campus so cars can't go there. Then it seems some of the kids get into the mental fog of thinking all streets around the campus can be walked across without looking. So motorists, be careful! If you run down a student who steps out in front of your car, you can be sure that YOU will be held responsible.

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