Bike Davis' 12 months of '21
Happy holidays!
‘tis the season for caroling… and we are fondly tweaking a classic ol’ song to share some of our favorite successes of 2021!
In the 12 months of ‘21, Bike Davis brought to me…
One brand new bike lane on 5th Street,
Two hundred bike registrations,
(*) these discounts are brought to you by Visit Davis
Not ready for a monthly donation yet? Make a one-time donation here.
One brand new bike lane on 5th Street
5th Street between L and Pole Line was a large gap in our bike network. This year, we worked closely with staff to leverage an existing project to redesign this section of street to include bike lanes.. We commissioned a conceptual design from a Dutch consultant and presented it to staff, who quickly turned it into an actual project that is now complete. This is a huge improvement for people riding their bikes from East Davis to Downtown and the UCD Campus.
Extract from the conceptual design that Bike Davis commissioned
If this project is making a difference for you, send a thank you email to all the people who worked hard to make this project a reality! The general email for Public Works staff is pwetweb@cityofdavis.org and the City Council members is citycouncilmembers@cityofdavis.org (and feel free to copy info@bikedavis.us so we are in the loop too!)
Westbound bike lane on 5th showing the ‘door zone buffer’, a first in Davis
Two hundred bike registrations
Bike theft is a huge issue in Davis. To deter theft and increase chances of recovery, we are helping people register their bikes with Bike Index, a platform used across North America. Through events at schools and farmers market, we’ve already helped 200 people get their bikes in the system since October, and we will work to get many more bikes registered in 2022.
We are collaborating on this project with the City of Davis, the Bike Campaign, several local bicycle stores, and the UC Davis Bicycle Program.
You can register your bikes for free with Bike Index, through this City of Davis webpage.
Bike registration flier (designed by Bike Davis board member Jouke Peutz)
Three miles re-striped
We helped make bicycling more comfortable and safer on sections of E 8th St, Pole Line, F St, 5th St and many more, by ensuring that City staff and consultants were applying the city’s street standards correctly in two large 2021 projects (pavement rehabilitation and striping maintenance).
Working closely with city staff, we reviewed 40 pages of plans and submitted over 120 comments to address issues where the proposed striping was inconsistent with the City standards, or to suggest improvements on some design details. We discussed that feedback with city staff, and most of our comments and suggestions were incorporated into the final project.
We are now working with city staff on a guidance document, including visuals that will help clarify street standard requirements for street striping. This will help consultants design projects that comply with the city street standards and that work better for all street users, especially people on bikes.
This visual prepared by Bike Davis will be incorporated in the City’s guidance document on Street Standards
Four F street crosswalks
The Old North Davis Neighborhood Association (ONDNA) had long been requesting crosswalks across F Street at 6th and 7th Streets, to make these intersections safer for people walking. F Street got re-paved and re-striped this Fall, but we noticed that the project drawings did not include any new crosswalks at those locations.
We asked staff to consider adding these crosswalks as part of the project, and thanks to our insistence and to the previous work of ONDNA, they agreed. People can now walk more comfortably between the Old North Davis neighborhood and the G Street shopping center (Co-Op, Upper Crust, Ken’s Bikes, etc).
Russell re-envisioned
The “Re-imagine Russell Blvd” project started out in early 2021 with great ambition to make the corridor a “space where great connections happen”, but the concepts presented in October fell short of those initial goals. We wrote a letter to the project team and city council to show why the project was being planned mostly for the ‘status quo’, and to ask for alternative designs that would fulfil the project’s vision. Read our letter here.
Sample cross-section proposed by Bike Davis to broaden the project’s vision
Six hundred loopers
The 2021 edition of Loopalooza was a great success, with hundreds riding the 13 miles of the Davis Bike Loop to visit stations hosted by Cool Davis, the Davis High Mountain Bike team, Peter Wagner’s famous Whymcycles, Purple Tree Cafe and more. Big thanks to our friends at the Bike Campaign who co-organized the event with us and put a lot of energy into it. We look forward to the 2022 edition!
Riders enjoying Peter Wagner’s Whymcycles during the 2021 Loopalooza
Seven films fantastic
What do women in NYC, men in Rwanda, BLM protesters and Ghanian refugees all have in common? They were all featured at the 2021 Sac-Davis edition of the Bicycle Film Festival! The festival was a big hit, with two hundred attendees enjoying great bike films from the comfort of their homes last winter. We collaborated on this event with Sacramento Area Bike Advocates (SABA), and got the support of over 40 local businesses: big thanks to them!
Eight to Sacramento
November brought a big win for inter-city bicycling: the Yolo County Board of Supervisors endorsed Alternative 8 (an overcrossing) in the County Road 32A project, which aimed to relocate an unsafe railroad crossing. Bike Davis supported this design alternative as the most favorable for people riding their bikes between Davis and Sacramento. Read our thank-you letter here.
There is still a long way to go before this project is built, and we will continue to work closely with City and County staff to ensure that the final design will include a safe and comfortable facility for people biking.
Yolo County Transportation District also just received a $1.2M USDOT grant to plan an inter-city bicycle network in Yolo County. We plan to advocate for improving bicycling between Davis and neighboring cities (West Sacramento and Woodland especially) as part of this plan.
Fun birds & bees ride
We teamed up with the Davis Bike Club to co-host a fun ride and visit the UC Davis Bee Garden and the Raptor Center, travelling along quiet tree-lined paths and streets. Riders enjoyed birds, bees, cows, sheep, lizards, horses, llamas, and new friends. It was a great ride - we’ll do it again!
Ten Downtown Discounts
Ten? Actually - nineteen Downtown Davis Businesses are offering you some great discounts when you visit them by bicycle! From Mishka’s Cafe to Fleet Feet to the Aggie Inn, find out how you can save when you bike and shop local. Visit this website to sign up for the “On Your Left Savings Pass” and start saving.
This is brought to you by Visit Davis.
Eleven empowered students
Bike Davis provided bicycles, locks and lights to UC Davis students in need through the BikeEmpower program, a collaboration with UC Davis’ Bicycle Program and Aggie Compass. UC Davis is also providing helmets and basic trainings to program recipients. Bike Davis is funding this program through a grant from Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, which will provide funding for the first hundred bicycles in the program.
Hat tip to the Bike Campaign who was instrumental in repairing bikes that were donated to the UC Davis Bicycle Program.
Twelve months G car-free
Have you enjoyed G Street for an outdoor family dinner at Woodstock’s, a beer with friends at the Beer Shoppe, or just as a space to relax and enjoy your morning coffee from Temple? We certainly have. Back in June 2020, Bike Davis and Cool Davis helped the Downtown Davis business Association (DDBA) identify the needs and appetite of local merchants for using outside public space to re-open their businesses. The block of G Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets had the highest number of businesses interested in using street space, and we are thankful for all the work that City staff, DDBA and local businesses did to make this happen.
Now, 18 months after that block was first opened to people, the City and local businesses are making more improvements, with support and direction from City Council. In particular, we are thankful for Mayor Partida and Councilmember Arnold’s strong support for keeping this block as a people-first space. They both spoke eloquently about what this space means for them and the community, and highlighted the importance of keeping this block free of car traffic at the Nov 2nd City Council meeting. You can thank them for their support with an email to gpartida@cityofdavis.org and warnold@cityofdavis.org.