It’s time to get up and move!
Active transportation is transportation powered by human energy, primarily walking and bicycling and even rolling using wheelchairs, scooters, or skateboards. Using public transportation is another form of active transportation, as people tend to move themselves to get to and from bus stops.
Active transportation is a vital component of creating livable and sustainable communities. Communities designed with safe walking and biking infrastructure promote health by providing opportunities for people to incorporate physical activity into their daily routines. Active communities help reduce traffic congestion, climate-polluting vehicle emissions, dependence on fossil fuels, and land consigned to car storage.
Programs
HCAOG is teaming up with the Bike Month Coalition to sponsor another year of the Bike Challenge! All events are free and open to everyone in the County. Find a full list of Bike Month events and details on BikeMonthHumboldt.org
- Join the Bike Challenge! Create a free account at lovetoride.net/humboldt to join the challenge. Whether you want to get in better shape, save money and improve the environment by driving less, or simply have fun riding a bicycle- the bike challenge is a great way to track your rides and get motivated by others in the Humboldt biking community.
- The Bike-Friendly Business program is back! This popular initiative is a win-win-win. Get some fresh air and ride your bike to a participating local business, boost the local economy, AND get a free perk or discount! See the list of participating bike-friendly businesses and the perks offered last year. Look for the orange window sign and just show your bike, helmet, or a Bike Month Humboldt sticker to get the discount.
The Bike Month Coalition is comprised of members representing Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association, North Coast Co-Op, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, DHHS Healthy Communities, Humboldt Bicyclists, Redwood Coast Mountain Bike Association, Caltrans District 1 Active Transportation, and other bike enthusiasts.
Safe Routes to School (SR2S) is a nationwide movement to make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school. SR2S promotes walking and bicycling to school through targeted education, encouragement, enforcement, and engineering projects. SR2S programs are alive and active in Humboldt County.
In September 2021, HCAOG launched the online interactive bike map! The result is the most accurate bicycle map for Humboldt County as we had a dozen volunteers verify the data on the ground.
How to use the online bike map:
1. Navigate to https://hcaog.net/map from your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop internet browser.
2. In the upper right, click the compass symbol to navigate to your location.
3. Use the toggles on the side-bar to explore different bike routes and points of interest.
- Existing bike routes are shown in solid colors
- Connector routes are roads often used by cyclists, and are designated in dashed lines by their relative comfort level
- Icons show bicycle shops, bike rental locations, and tool stations
At this time, the tool does not work like Google Maps where you can get directions between two locations. There is no best way to get places by bicycle, as every person will have a different level of comfort. Using our map as a reference can help plan a route. Also note that Google Maps has some inaccurate bicycle route information.
2018 Humboldt Bay Area Bike Map (PDF)
Hundreds of these free bike maps were provided at local bike shops, book stores, hotels, and visitor centers. Printed copies are out of stock , but you can still view the map and print it, below.
Highlights
Walkability and Complete Streets innovator and expert Dan Burden visited our neighborhoods to perform walk audits in Arcata, Eureka, Manila, and McKinleyville. (July 2023)
Local Coverage
Lost Coast Outpost Article "How Do We Make Our Communities More Walkable? Dan Burden Knows, and He’s Coming to Humboldt to Help Us Out"
Times Standard Article "Humboldt County Walkability Audit Presentation Well-attended"
"The Econews Report: What’s a Walkable Community?" (30-min podcast; aired July 29, 2023) (transcript available here (Lost Coast Outpost))
Walk Audits & Presentations
Schedule of local events (325 KB)
City of Arcata video - Arcata Walk Audit (50 minutes) - July 22, 2023
Arcata Photos (29 MB)
City of Eureka video- Old Town Eureka Walk Audit (66 minutes) - July 23, 2023
Technical Meeting-Local Agencies Presentation (City of Arcata video) (79 minutes) - July 24, 2023
Humboldt - Technical Meeting slide deck (151 MB)
IT'S HERE! Video of Humboldt presentation at the Wharfinger Building (1hr43m) - July 24, 2023 (Access Humboldt archive)
Humboldt presentation - slidedeck (146 MB)
Blue Lake - Walk audit presentation video (72 minutes) - July 25, 2023
Blue Lake - slide deck (100 MB)
McKinleyville (McK Municipal Advisory Committee special meeting) - slidedeck (110 MB) - July 25, 2023
Articles by Dan Burden
"Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice" (126 KB)
"Why Walkability Matters" (157 KB)
Documents
This Humboldt Regional Bicycle Plan is foremost a regional plan, intended primarily to facilitate projects and programs that will help build a bikeway system that makes bicycling throughout Humboldt County a safe, convenient, and practical means of transportation for all residents and visitors. Priority infrastructure projects will link adjoining jurisdictions’ bicycle routes and thereby build a regional bicycle network. The Bike Plan’s recommended projects and programs have the potential to considerably increase the number of bicycle trips in Humboldt County.
HCAOG has prepared two documents to facilitate quality bicycle parking in Humboldt: "Countywide Bicycle Parking Guidelines: Recommended Policies & Requirements" and "Bike Parking Sourcebook: Sample Policies, Municipal Codes, & Programs."
The Humboldt County Regional Pedestrian Plan is a guide for developing future pedestrian infrastructure in the county. The Plan aims to make walking an integral transportation mode by proposing improvements to the pedestrian network. The study area is all of Humboldt County, although it focuses on places with the highest density of destinations within walking distance. (The Plan was prepared by Alta Planning + Design, Redwood Community Action Agency, and SHN Consultant Engineers.)