Update (3/17/22, Davis Vanguard):
Council Moves Forward with New Mace Redesign

City’s latest proposal for Mace is all about cars

Article posted 1/18/2022

Mace Blvd in South Davis is often clogged with car traffic on Thursday and Friday afternoons, when I-80 jams up at the 113 interchange merges, and navigation apps direct traffic to take Tremont Rd and then Mace. [This issue was described by Streetsblog in 2019.] Understandably, the residents seek relief.

On January 6, the City released an updated conceptual design for Mace Blvd between Montgomery and Cowell to address residents’ concerns. Bike Davis board members have reviewed that design and we are dismayed that the proposal focuses on providing more space for vehicles, making this street worse for people who walk, bike and live there. See the design drawings and notes on the City’s website here. Bike Davis believes Mace could be better for everyone.


Our First ask: extend the current 2-way protected bikeway from San Marino to Cowell

The 2-way protected bikeway on the west side of Mace currently becomes a 1-way bikeway, north of San Marino Drive.

Bike Davis, along with many residents, had one main ask: to extend the current 2-way protected bikeway on the West side of Mace, two blocks from San Marino to Cowell. That important feature was included in the City’s and County’s proposals from July 2020, but it has been taken away in the latest proposal.

Extract from the City's July 2020 proposed design, showing a 2-way bikeway on the west side of Mace between San Marino Dr and Cowell Blvd

Here is why extending this two-way protected bikeway is so important:

  1. The current design expects school children living west of Mace and going to Pioneer School to cross Mace at El Macero Dr or San Marino Dr, even though a crossing guard is only stationed at Cowell Blvd. It’s unconscionable that elementary school students would be asked to cross a 4-lane road without adult assistance, but that’s what the design proposes. Ironically, the work on Mace began as a Safe Routes to School project, and received funding for that.

  2. The proposed design assumes that people biking north to the Nugget shopping center will first cross Mace at San Marino Drive, continue in the East side protected bikeway, then cross all four traffic lanes of Mace again at Cowell. These repeated crossings discourage northbound biking by making it inconvenient and uncomfortable. The proposed design adds northbound and southbound traffic lanes on Mace, making these crossings even more unpleasant.

  3. In addition, Bike Davis has observed that many northbound riders choose to stay on the west side of Mace all the way to Cowell, either to cross at the protected intersection there, or because they’re going to the Nugget shopping center and want to avoid crossing Mace twice.

This bikeway is designed for one-way southbound movement, but it will continue to be used as a two-way bikeway and needs to be widened to be safe and comfortable for all to use. Instead, the City’s plan proposes to narrow this bikeway!

Our second ask: Build protected intersections at El Macero Dr, San Marino Dr

The intersections of Mace at El Macero and San Marinoare not currently designed as protected intersections:

  • they do not have setbacks between the travel lane and the bikeway,

  • they force people on bikes who are making right turns to merge with traffic during their turn

  • they have wide turning radii that encourage drivers to make faster right turns from Mace into those side streets.

These intersections pose a great risk to people using the protected bikeway. They need to be designed to follow theguidance from NACTO on protected intersections.
NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials) is a recognized national reference for designing great facilities that work for all users. NACTO’s Urban Street Design Guide is endorsed by the City of Davis.

To understand how a proper protected intersection works to the benefit of all users, watch this video of the award-winning Walnut Ave protected bikeway in Fremont, California. This protected bikeway was designed using the NACTO guidelines and was name "Best New Protected Bikeway" by CalBike when it was completed in 2020.

Here is what you can do to help

  • Attend the January 20, 6pm Community Meeting and make your voice heard. Here is the zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88351932143
    The project team and decision makers need to hear from local residents how a two-way bikeway with protected intersections will improve their experience on this street.

  • Share this page with your friends and neighbors and ask them to speak up on this important issue.

What else needs to be improved?

Bike Davis is also requesting the following modifications to the proposed project:

  • Project phasing: we request that the project starts by piloting “metering lights” on Mace & Montgomery or Mace & Tremont to reduce the volume of freeway bypass traffic. In addition, we request that the City and County work with Caltrans to remove or meter the two I-80 carpool on-ramps at Mace that make this 'freeway bypass route' attractive to navigation apps. The project team can then determine if those improvements can remove the Waze-generated traffic from the neighborhood, or if further changes are needed to keep freeway traffic on the freeway.
    The City’s current plan starts by increasing the number of travel lanes on Mace, a $1.7 million modification that can’t be undone and will accommodate and attract more vehicle traffic, and then pilot the impact of metering lights. That approach is illogical and wasteful.
    Plus, Mace was clogged with traffic when it was 4 lanes (see satellite image below from a Thursday in August 2018). There’s no reason to believe that it won’t clog again.

Above: Traffic queues up on Mace on a Thursday evening in August 2018, when the street had 2 northbound lanes of traffic and drivers already used it as a freeway bypass route.

Congestion on I-80 typically starts at the 113 interchange, where I-80 abruptly drops from 6 lanes to 3 lanes, causing major friction and slowdowns. Navigation apps then direct drivers to alternative routes (Tremont Rd to Mace, or Hwy 113 to Covell) ; as these drivers re-enter I-80, they cause further friction and slowdowns upstream on the freeway, making the freeway slower and the alternative routes even more attractive. This vicious cycle needs to be addressed at its root by 1) working with Caltrans to reduce the number of lanes on I-80 at the 113 junction, and 2) making alternative routes less attractive to drivers.

  • Mace Blvd between Cowell and El Macero: we are requesting keeping one southbound travel lane on that segment. The City states two lanes are needed "for the benefit of public safety and farm vehicles". In fact, having two southbound lanes will encourage higher driving speeds, leading to more frequent and more severe collisions. To accommodate emergency vehicles and farm vehicles, Bike Davis recommends keeping one travel lane with a wide striped shoulder that would only be used when needed.

  • Mace and Cowell intersection: we are requesting taking out the “splitter islands” inside the bikeway, while keeping the islands between the bikeway and the vehicle lane. The islands inside the bikeway create unneeded trip hazards for people bicycling. The current proposal is to replace the cobbles inside the islands with stamped concrete, a large expense that brings little to no benefit.
    At this intersection, we are also requesting tighter turn radii for most vehicles. This will discourage drivers from making high-speed right turns, and will make the intersection safer for people using the crosswalk.