Developing a Town Center
Humboldt’s “bedroom community” is trying to rebrand itself as a destination by building bicycling and pedestrian transportation amenities accompanying a Town Center.
In this story, we look at how the downtown core could add dense housing, walking trails, and new opportunities for socializing and shopping:
Following the broadcast of that story, the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee met on September 1. MckMAC members asked county planners to incorporate small parks and preserve open space in the downtown core.
County planners also presented sketches showing diagonal on-street parking on both sides of Central Ave. north of Hiller Road. Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford said diagonal on-street parking “creates a much different kind of environment where the driver can no longer just focus on going at a high rate of speed and just staying in their lane. They have to be aware that people could be backing out, they have to be aware of pedestrians...and so it causes traffic to slow down.”
MckMAC chair Maya Conrad said that adding on-street parking would benefit pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well local businesses.
“I think without the traffic calming measures, it will be hard to really develop a sense of place and a heart because right now...it’s just a thoroughfare that people blast through,” she said. “And I think it will allow us to consider moving much differently through the space and staying in the space.”
Because Central Ave. has two lanes of traffic traveling in each direction, County Public Works opposes diagonal on-street parking. County planners said they’ll collaborate with Public Works to resolve that concern and will present a draft Town Center ordinance to the MckMAC by the end of October.
Making McKinleyville’s Streets Safer
As part of the Town Center transformation, the county will likely also install sidewalks on Hiller Road just off Central Ave. In this story, we look at other active transportation amenities that would facilitate walking, biking, skating, and rolling throughout McKinleyville.
Stakeholders can subscribe to the McKinleyville Multi-Modal Connections Project page to receive updates on how to help planners design a safer McKinleyville.
