SR 255 - Safety Corridor West? By Matt Kapko Eye Reporter The Arcata Eye July 29, 2003 Within days of the Eureka-Arcata Safety Corridor’s one-year report being released, there is growing desire and research that supports a second safety corridor be established on State Route 255 through Manila. The report on the existing safety corridor made clear the major impacts on SR 255, which bisects Manila. Steve Weinberger, traffic consultant, with Whitlock and Weinberger Transportation Inc, drew similar conclusions in phase one of the Manila Community Transportation Plan. With 3,900 vehicles traveling on SR 255 every day, collision rates are “slightly higher than expected at intersections,” Weinberger said. Staying in close step with the community’s desires, Weinberger suggested that a safety corridor package with lowered speed limits be established on SR 255 from North Peninsula Drive to South Peninsula Drive. Third District Supervisor John Woolley attended the meeting and concurred with the plan, offering his support for establishing a safety corridor in Manila. Transportation issues were fresh in Woolley’s mind, as he had just attended a meeting where the first annual report on the Eureka-Arcata Safety Corridor was presented. “There’s enough info in there that shows that Manila should be a part of a safety corridor,” he said. As part of a plan that is ultimately designed to calm traffic and increase public safety, Weinberger is also suggesting a roundabout at Lupin Avenue where it crosses SR 255 and a nearby pedestrian median to allow crossing at a point where traffic will presumably be at its slowest. When asked why he didn’t recommend a roundabout for each end of town, Weinberger explained, “I want to present a plan that might be achievable.” Weinberger designed the roundabout in Blue Lake last summer and is suggesting a similar design be implemented in Manila. Left turn lanes are being recommended for SR 255 exits at Pacific Avenue and Carlson Drive and also, a rail trail is being suggested as an alternative path for pedestrian traffic. Setbacks to the plan According to Weinberger, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) may not prove to be the source of Manila’s problems with enacting the plan. Caltrans has responded to the plan and Weinberger said it didn’t have problems with lowering the speed, but cautioned that a safety corridor is a high-cost program. Caltrans also explained to Weinberger that a legislative act is required to establish a double-fine zone – another popular desire among residents. Inadequate financing may very well cause the more difficult burden in seeing the plan put in motion. Jim Test, who’s working with Plan West to assist in the plan, made obvious the financial difficulties that many local agencies and governments are facing. “Nobody knows if there’s gonna be any money again for the rest of our lives,” Test said. “You have to get the county involved,” Test said, explaining it as the best method to get funding approved for such a project. Woolley added that he wants to reduce the impacts on SR 255 at a cost much lower than the million expected as necessary for improvements on U.S. Highway 101. He is looking into ways to use the county as an advocate to get funding approved by the Humboldt County Association of Governments. ‘A community on valium’ Linda Lee, president of the Manila Community Services District, initiated a Humboldt Area Foundation grant to get an outside researcher to generate a report on the district’s performance as a whole. The report was intended to help see what’s functioning and what isn’t functioning, however many residents and employees of the Manila Community Services District didn’t agree with the results and made clear their opposition. Elizabeth Watson drafted the report after conducting interviews and researching how the district operates. Watson made numerous findings in the report that painted many of the district’s programs in a negative light, however no group or person was blamed more than the board itself. Watson found a serious lack of boundaries in the district’s work, with many employees unsure of their duties and subsequently overstepping into other’s duties. “When the board runs into conflict, people run to individual board members,” Watson said. She suggested the idyllic relationship for the board as finding a way to vehemently disagree at meetings, but then still feel comfortable enough with each other to go out and have a beer together afterwards. Perhaps the most hard to swallow finding for the board was Watson’s suggested moratorium on grants. She found that the board’s actions are grant driven, rather than driven by need. Her concern for the district’s liability is great. “You’re trying to do too much. That’s why I recommended a moratorium on grants,” she explained. Watson found it most interesting when people she interviewed would give extremely negative comments about someone, then backtrack and say nice things about them. “A community on valium? I don’t know,” she joked. “I’m sure there’s personal shit that goes down in Manila,” she ended. Lee agreed, saying, “We have become so divided over these liability issues that we’re no longer friends.” After presenting her report, Watson increasingly bared the brunt of opposition from district employees in the audience and utterly outraged residents. She left hastily after she sensed the growing resentment. Mary Tillman, surf director of the only surf program in Humboldt County, who works for the MCSD Parks and Recreation, was holding back tears as she explained how disappointed she was in the report. “People are working hard here and it’s a slam to the people working here,” she said of the report. Director Daniel Edrich explained simply, “We’re in trouble fiscally and it’s the board’s fault. That’s what she told us.” Home