Press release from the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities:

Next week, September 29 through October 5, 2025, the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP), Tri-County Independent Living, the Humboldt Transit Authority, and the Humboldt County Association of Governments are organizing the annual Week Without Driving on the North Coast. The Week Without Driving is an invitation for anyone who wants to participate – but particularly for elected and appointed officials, transportation planners and engineers, and other decision-makers – to get some first-hand experience of what it is like to live without the option of driving, here in our local communities.

In July of this year, Week Without Driving founder Anna Zivarts gave a well-attended public talk in Arcata about the nondrivers in every community, the importance of meeting the transportation needs of nondrivers, how communities can work better for nondrivers (and everyone else), and valuing the expertise of nondrivers. Nondrivers include people with disabilities, kids, older people, immigrants, people with suspended licenses, and people who can’t afford to own or operate a vehicle. Humboldt County’s nondrivers include at least 36,000 people without a driver’s license, as well as an unknown number of people who have a license but can’t drive for financial or other reasons.

For participants in the Week Without Driving, the challenge is to not drive themselves in any car. If participants do end up driving during the week, they are encouraged to reflect on why they ended up driving, and what they would have done if they didn’t have that option. Local decision-makers who sign up to participate in the Week Without Driving are also invited to ride along with a local transit rider on one of their regular routes to gain additional first-hand insights into using the local transit system.

This is the third national Week Without Driving. Hundreds of organizations across the country are hosting local Week Without Driving activities and events.

Local Leaders Sign Up to Participate

As of this release, 46 local residents in Humboldt County have signed up to participate in the Week Without Driving, including elected officials and other local leaders. The Humboldt Transit Authority also issued a formal proclamation recognizing the Week Without Driving at their September 3rd Board of Directors meeting.

Following is a partial list of local leaders who have pledged to participate:

• Robin Baker, McKinleyville Family Resource Center co-executive director
• Philip Beaudry, Eureka Transportation Safety Commission member
• Alysia Bixler, Redwood Community Action Agency projects coordinator
• Mary Burke, McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee member
• Caitlin Castellano, Eureka senior planner
• Katie Collender, Humboldt Transit Authority Deputy general manager
• Mario Fernandez, Eureka City Council member
• Caroline Griffith, Eureka Transportation Safety Commission chair
• Ashton Hamm, uxo architects worker-owner
• Frank Herrera, Cal Poly Humboldt Social Justice Equity & Inclusion Center coordinator
• Morgan King, Cal Poly Humboldt climate action analyst
• Maggie Kraft, Area 1 Agency on Aging executive director
• Meredith Matthews, Arcata City Council member
• Mark Mueller, Eureka Transportation Safety Commission member
• Nanette Nickerson, Caltrans District 1 senior transportation engineer
• Bonnie Oliver, McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee member
• Joben Penuliar, Caltrans District 1 complete streets coordinator
• Greg Pratt, Humboldt Transit Authority general manager
• Saskia Rymer-Burnett, Caltrans District 1 transit planner
• Sarah Schaefer, Arcata City Council member
• Matt Simmons, Arcata Planning Commission chair
• Emily Sinkhorn, City of Arcata director of environmental services
• Oona Smith, Humboldt County Association of Governments senior regional planner
• Jessica Welch, Cal Poly Humboldt Library organizational development & engagement coordinator

There is still time for anyone interested to learn more and sign up to participate at https://transportationpriorities.org/weekwithoutdriving.