Arcata: A Bike Friendly Community

OUR VISION

The City of Arcata is adamant about its goal of having more than 50% of trips occurring within the community be through the utilization of multi-modal transportation, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, or any means outside of single-occupant vehicular travel. The City of Arcata is determined to reduce the number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities that occur within our transportation infrastructure as the safety of our community is our highest priority.  These goals can be achieved through implementing the five E’s to success: Evaluation & Planning, Enforcement, Encouragement, Education, and Engineering.

BICYCLE FACILITIES

There are approximately 1.5 miles of bicycle boulevards, 16.3 miles of wide paved shoulders, 14 miles of bike lanes, 9.8 miles of shared lane roads, 10 miles of singletrack trails, and 27 miles of unpaved shared use paths throughout the City of Arcata. There are also over 100 bicycle parking stalls spread throughout Arcata. Need to leave your bicycle behind? We have ten bicycle lockers available for a monthly rental fee of $3.05/month located at the Transit Center. The City of Arcata also features roads specifically designed for bicycle travel. Read more about Arcata Bicycle Boulevards here.

BIKE SHARE PROGRAM

In 2021, The City of Arcata and Cal Poly Humboldt partnered with Tandem Mobility to reinvigorate our bike share program for the community. The City of Arcata is determined to reduce the trips beginning and ending within town made through automobile travel. A bike share program offers the community a low-cost alternative to single-occupant vehicle usage, or a faster method of transportation than simply walking around town.

Thanks to our partnership with Cal Poly Humboldt, there are currently four stations around Arcata: one on both the northern and southern sides of the Arcata Plaza, one at Harry Griffith Hall, and one at the base of the Jolly Giant Commons at Cal Poly Humboldt. There have been approximately 2300 bicycle rentals through our program since its revitalization. Learn more about the Tandem-Mobility Humboldt Bike Share here.

BIKE FRIENDLY CITY

“The League’s Bicycle Friendly America program provides advocates and change makers with a roadmap and hands-on assistance to build places more welcoming to people who bike. The BFA℠ program is a tool for states, communities, businesses, and universities to make bicycling a real transportation and recreation option for all people and it recognizes those doing it well.”

The City of Arcata was initially awarded the bronze level status as a Bike Friendly Community in 2016, and successfully raised its level to silver in 2019. The City of Arcata’s goal is to become a gold level community by 2023, and a platinum level community by 2026. On September 29, 2022, the City of Arcata applied for Bicycle Friendly Community Gold status from the League of American Bicyclists. This recognition can be beneficial for helping gain grants and other forms of funding as it provides a source of credibility as we continue to demonstrate our commitment to providing safe, accessible, and equitable bicycle transportation facilities to our community.  

Your feedback is desired to help The City of Arcata continue to provide ample access and safe and equitable transportation facilities within our community. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey. We thank you in advance, as your feedback is essential to providing our community the transportation facilities they deserve.

Further information regarding the application process can be found here.

HELPFUL LINKS FROM CAL POLY HUMBOLDT

Explore alternative transportation options as well as bike resources and information through Cal Poly Humboldt.