HCAOG Announces Expert Led Walk and Bike Audits, Workshop

The Humboldt County Association of Governments announced on November 26 that it will host hands on community walk and bike audits and a regional public workshop from December 1 to December 3, 2025 as part of the Humboldt Multimodal and Vibrant Neighborhoods Planning Project. The sessions will bring national experts Dan Burden, Victor Dover and Josh Meyer to Hoopa, Arcata, Eureka and McKinleyville to assess corridors and potential design improvements.

The events follow a series of preparatory webinars and roundtables held November 21, 25 and 26, which were intended to orient local stakeholders and set priorities for the on the ground audits. The audits will examine street trees, missing middle housing, accessibility and other design strategies that affect how people move through neighborhoods and access services. Organizers say the process is intended to produce practical recommendations that can be incorporated into local planning and capital investment decisions.

Funding for the workshops and audits comes in part from a Caltrans Sustainable Communities grant. That grant program prioritizes projects that align transportation investments with broader community goals, including safety accessibility and housing. HCAOG has positioned the December events as an opportunity to translate those statewide priorities into locally actionable items and to surface community concerns that may not be captured in formal planning documents.

For residents the most immediate impact will be the opportunity to influence corridor design and project lists that determine how limited transportation dollars are spent. Recommendations emerging from the audits could inform street design changes such as sidewalk and crossing improvements tree planting strategies and zoning adjustments that support missing middle housing options. Participation in the audits and the workshop will also feed into policy discussions at local agencies that oversee housing land use and public works.

HCAOG provided registration and contact information with the announcement to facilitate community participation. Residents and local officials who attend will have the chance to directly observe the technical review process and to register priorities that may affect safety mobility and housing access in their neighborhoods.