Improving our streets, working groups, and more!

We've been doing a lot of good work lately to improve your ride. To continue building momentum, we're starting some important working groups: a great way to contribute to our work.
Let's continue to grow this movement together!

Collaborating with City staff to improve our streets

5th Street bike lanes from L to Pole Line by Fall!

A few months ago, we became interested in a sewer renovation project on 5th Street between L and Pole Line. Why? Because that street segment is a key gap in the bicycle network, and we saw a big opportunity to pilot a new street configuration. City staff had considered adding bike lanes to that segment in 2019, but that project was put on hold because of COVID budget cuts.

City staff was on a tight timeline, so Bike Davis quickly hired a top Dutch designer (BikeMinded) to prepare a conceptual design and present it as a pilot project to staff. Staff saw that this proposal could be implemented within the project timeline, and refined it to a final concept. The project was presented to BTSSC on June 10, and should be put in place this fall, at the tail end of the sewer renovation project. See the final concept here and read the staff report here.

The sewer project also includes re-surfacing 5th Street from G St to L St this summer. City staff had planned to re-stripe that section to match existing conditions, but thanks to our input, the section will have wider bike lanes than currently exist, and some buffer space between the bike lane and travel lane. See the upcoming configuration for that segment in our memo.

This was a great collaboration and we appreciated staff's willingness to quickly adapt their plans. If that project is meaningful to you, feel free to send a note of appreciation to staff and City council (pwetweb@cityofdavis.org, citycouncilmembers@cityofdavis.org , you can copy info@bikedavis.us if you'd like)

Re-striping, pavement rehabilitation, and street standards...

... yes, those words get us excited! When the City is working on its roads, we have a great opportunity to make them better for people biking, walking and driving by applying Davis' Street Standards.

Our street standards were revised in 2016 with a lot of involvement from the community, including Bike Davis. The revised standards provide right-sized vehicle lanes (10 ft wide) and more comfortable bike lanes, as well as bike lane buffers where road widths allow. Together, this reduces speeding and crashes, and it makes biking safer and more comfortable.

However, the details of the standards sometimes get missed, so we worked closely with staff to ensure all their street projects would comply. As a result, we now have about 2 miles of streets that are more comfortable and safer for people biking and walking. These include segments of E 8th Street (from Pole Line to Loyola), Pole Line Rd (5th to Covell) and Cowell Blvd.

There are even more pavement rehabilitation projects slated for this summer, and we are collaborating with staff on those as well to ensure the best outcome possible.

A recently re-surfaced street with a comfortable, clearly marked bike lane

We need your help with our work!

Working groups

In July and August, we are rolling out our first three working groups as a way for our members to contribute to our work and to help us grow. These three groups are just the start and will hopefully lead to many more. If you don’t see a group working on active transportation topics that interest you, feel free to make suggestions! We are beginning with groups focused on green waste, bike access for all (BikeEmPowered), and bike theft.

More details on Working Groups…

Letters needed in support of a separated bike path along County Road 32A, deadline Sept. 13

Bike Davis has worked since 2012 to improve the bike route between Davis and Sacramento, specifically along County Road 32A between the railroad crossing at Road 105 and the causeway bike path. We finally have a breakthrough! In conjunction with the railroad crossing relocation (previously described on this news blog), Caltrans and Yolo County are proposing bicycle infrastructure improvements that will provide extra space for bicycles and a separated Class I bike path along CR 32A.

To fund the proposed bike infrastructure, Caltrans and Yolo County are applying for an Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant from the State of California, separately from the crossing relocation project. This means that the bike infrastructure could move forward independently of the more expensive and complicated crossing relocation. The bike path from the point where the new railroad crossing will be built, to the Yolo Causeway could be installed long before the crossing is relocated.

Competition for ATP funding is intense and written letters of support make a huge difference in obtaining funding. Every letter counts in the grant evaluation process. This is where you come in!

If you care about a safe bike route from Davis to the Causeway, please email a letter of support to Alexander Fong at Caltrans and cc Todd Riddiough at Yolo County (emails below). The message should be sent by the new extended deadline of Sunday, September 13. Letters should be addressed to Laurie Waters as shown in the template. You can send the template as-is, or for more impact let them know who you are and why you want this.

• Support letter (template that can be customized to send to the following)

  Email your letter of support to:

• Alex Fong (he is the keeper of these communications)
  alexander.fong@dot.ca.gov

• Todd Riddiough
  Todd.Riddiough@yolocounty.org
  (feel free to copy info@bikedavis.us so we can keep track)

References

• Proposed Design and Cross section

• Email from Caltrans to John Swann (President of Davis Bike Club) requesting letters of support

Three alternative alignments being considered for CR 32A rail crossing east of Davis; County accepting comments through Sept. 4

A study has been released describing proposals to realign County Road 32A between Road 105 and the Yolo Causeway. Road 32A is the route for bicycles between Davis and Sacramento. Road 32A is the only road east of Davis suitable as a through route for bicycling to West Sacramento and Sacramento. As we described in an earlier post, the railroad crossing along this route is a site of many close calls and a few serious collisions involving unsafe driving.

From the County’s press release on the latest study:

Yolo County is requesting interested members of the public to offer input regarding the preparation of the County Road (CR) 32A Railroad Crossing Relocation Project Study Report. Yolo County is working with the City of Davis, Union Pacific Railroad, the Bike Davis group, the Yolo County Farm Bureau, the California Public Utilities Commission and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to consider a relocation of the CR 32A railroad crossing at CR 105 to improve safety.

This study [seeks to] to establish alternatives and a preferred option for replacing the CR 32A railroad crossing at CR 105, with a new crossing within two (2) miles east of the current crossing. At-grade and grade-separated crossings will be considered. Environmental, engineering, safety, and cost considerations will be evaluated for the alternatives. Funding opportunities will be reviewed for subsequent, future construction of the selected, viable alternatives.

In addition, the study will consider the need for improved bikeway connectivity between the existing Class I Bikeway from the City of Davis, which ends at the CR 32A and CR 105 intersection, and the Class I Bikeway on I-80 over the Yolo Causeway.

• Detailed information on the study and how to provide input on Yolo County’s website

Of particular interest regarding the bike path, follow the link to “Alternatives 1, 2, and 3, under further study” which includes alignment maps showing where the Class I bike path will be extended eastward from where it currently ends next to the railroad crossing.

• Article about the release of the study in the Davis Enterprise, Friday 8/14/2020

Update on June 2020 City budget and bike project funding

At its June 16, 2020 meeting, the Davis City Council approved the budget that had been decided several days earlier, without restoring funding to five projects that Bike Davis asked for. (See previous news item below.) Thanks to all who attended and spoke at the Council meeting and those who signed out petition to save these projects from the budget axe.

Councilmember Lucas Frerichs reassured us that four other bicycle infrastructure projects, with funding mostly from outside sources, are still underway. He also pointed out that funding for the five projects mentioned in our recent alert may still be found. So we will keep up our lobbying efforts to secure sufficient funding for them.

Action Alert: Keep Bike Projects Funded!

Several projects that improve infrastructure for people walking and biking may be in jeopardy due to city budget constraints. We are calling on the Davis City Council to keep these five projects funded:

• Tulip & Ponteverde Path Extension and Intersection Improvement

• Birch Lane Elementary School Walk/Bike Safety Improvements

• H street tunnel improvement

• Fifth Street Bike Lanes, from L Street to Pole Line

• J street Cycle track, from Drexel to Covell

Please visit and sign our change.org petition where you can learn more about what’s at stake at this Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Commentary on Downtown Car Parking

Update: The deadline for the “Freedom To Park” initiative to qualify for the March 2020 ballot was 10 days after this article first appeared. As reported in the Davis Vanguard, sponsors of the initiative did not collect enough signatures for it to qualify.

by Diane Swann

In a recent commentary regarding the Freedom To Park (FTP) Initiative, supporters claimed that upon hearing all the facts many opponents were at least willing to put it on the ballot. 

The electorate is skewed toward car owners

Anyone signing the FTP Initiative just to put it on the ballot, however, may be unwittingly tilting the scale toward passage. According to the Chamber of Commerce, Davis has a population of 66,000 of which 35,000 are UCD students. Six thousand students cannot vote because they live on campus and UCD is not part of the City. Students on visas living off-campus are not eligible to vote. For many students, paying for car parking is a moot point because they can’t afford a car. The bottom line is that students are under-represented in the electorate while being over-represented among bicyclists and pedestrians. 

According to data from the Chamber the average annual family income in Davis is $134,000. Most voters will come from these affluent households that own and operate multiple cars. If the initiative reaches the ballot, it won’t be the general public asking themselves if they want a gift of “free” car parking. It will be the electorate, which is skewed toward car owners. 

FTP Initiative vs Davis Downtown Specific Plan

It is in the City’s interest to have a flourishing downtown, and our city leaders are working hard to make that happen. The City of Davis hired a consultant, who along with a 15-member Advisory Committee, developed a vision for the downtown over a two-year period with opportunities for public participation. Thousands of public comments have been received. Their draft plan, The Davis Downtown Specific Plan (Specific Plan) has now been generated and the public has until January 14, 2020 to comment. 

The two competing visions, the Specific Plan and the FTP Initiative, are distinctly different and incompatible, so a choice must be made. How we allocate and use our precious land resources is a large part of the decision.

The FTP Initiative mandates a minimum of 1,888 car and bike parking spaces, which according to the sponsors is more than the City has now. The sponsors are using the FTP Initiative to require the City to replace 120 car parking spaces which they claim the City has removed. Their public statement “Now by law [the City] will have to do what they should have done…” suggests they may initiate a lawsuit to enforce it.   

In stark contrast, nothing in the Specific Plan is mandatory. The Specific Plan seeks to encourage sustainability, active transportation, and beneficial uses of public space to serve the broad population. It tailors each block’s buildings, streets, parking areas, and public areas to create a vital mixed-use downtown. By incorporating more residential space downtown, it would enable more people to live car-free. It suggests some underground parking. 

Proponents of the FTP Initiative would maximize car parking by using more perpendicular and angled parking, citing C Street behind the Farmer’s Market as their perpendicular parking model.  

A move to perpendicular car parking is not trivial, but rather calls for jackhammers. Behind the Farmer’s Market, the street has been expanded into the sidewalk area. At the same time that the sidewalks would shrink to accommodate perpendicular car parking, the FTP Initiative would require all existing on-street bike parking be moved to the sidewalk area and 250 bike racks be added. At least nine restaurants already make full use of their sidewalk space for outdoor eating. 

Both perpendicular and angled parking are incompatible with bike lanes. Two streets, Third and F, have bike lanes. Our historic Third Street bike lane is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as the first bike lane in the nation. The Specific Plan suggests ways to commemorate it, while the FTP Initiative might eliminate it. 

As the Chamber’s website notes, Davis has earned a reputation as the Bicycling Capital of the U.S. The League of American Bicyclists awarded Davis a Platinum Level Bicycle Community. But the League evaluates cities annually and that award is ours to lose. 

Use of money from paid parking

The money raised in other cities that have successfully implemented paid parking has been used to beautify the downtown and provide amenities. The FTP Initiative proponents reject the idea that this will happen in Davis. I checked with a council member on that. His response: 

“We extensively modeled the implementation of paid parking in the [downtown] lots and concluded there would likely be a net fiscal benefit to the city after paying for the costs of the parking system. In the motions approved by council we directed that the city earmark these net revenues to benefit downtown..”

The FTP Initiative can only be amended or repealed by another vote. 

Whereas the Specific Plan offers a mixed-use vision of the downtown and provides flexibility, the FTP Initiative would lock us into a parking lot model. Our future calls for new ideas and flexibility, but changes to the FTP Initiative can only be made through another vote by the electorate. The minimum number of parking spaces must be provided within one year of adoption. By the time any initiative to repeal or amend could be launched, the required changes will have been made, perhaps even in concrete. Managing parking via the ballot box is as slow and cumbersome a system as anyone could devise. 

Green pile collection schedule: alternate weeks Oct.-Feb., plus once in May

The Davis City Council voted for changes to the schedule for “Loose in the Streets” yard waste collection in February 2019. The schedule for pickups was announced on Wed., September 4. From the press release:

On-street pick-ups will now begin the week of the third Monday in October (there will be no on-street pile collection the week of October 7). On-street collection will continue every other week for 10 pick-ups through late February, and one pick-up will occur the week of the first Monday in May.

The City also promises to provide better notifications to residents regarding the dates when pickups will occur at their address.

• More details on the City of Davis website

Streetsblog publishes article on Mace Blvd. redesign

Link to article:
In Davis, a New Bike/Ped Safety Project Is Blamed for Heavy Traffic

City considering changes to greenwaste debris piles

The city is considering modifications to the “green piles” program (also called “loose in the streets collection”). You know, the piles of leaves and branches that too often obstruct bike lanes, forcing cyclists to merge with traffic, and generally discouraging bicycling. (We recently wrote an op-ed in the Enterprise about this). Public Works is requesting input from the community.

How do YOU feel about green piles as a bicyclist? Send your feedback to Public Works to share your thoughts, and ask them to consider the safety and comfort of bicyclists in their decision. You can use this sample email to pwweb@cityofdavis.org. Feel free to also copy info@bikedavis.us to keep us in the loop.

All feedback received will be presented at the next City Council meeting on February 5. Save the date if you’d like to provide public comments that night.

• More detailed information on Green Piles

Mourning our loss

We are heartbroken by the senseless violence that took Officer Natalie Corona’s life on Thursday night. It is with great grief that we lose a part of our community. Our hearts go out to her family and friends, and her colleagues in the Davis Police Department.

A win for street standards; downtown Davis car parking

A big win for safer streets

You may recall our work to ensure that future re-striping projects would follow the City's street standards, especially regarding lane widths (see previous newsletter). On June 19th we spoke at the City Council, and the Council listened. Thanks to our comments, they instructed staff to follow Street Standards on any re-striping projects. They also offered to include re-striping in the city's budget (it had been cut out since 2009).

This decision has the potential to make our streets safer for all users. Now we will continue to work with City Council and Public Works to ensure that they follow through with these good intentions.

Bike Davis Supports Paid Car Parking in Downtown Davis

Downtown doesn't have a car parking supply problem, it has a parking management problem.

The City is planning to convert about 20% of the downtown Davis car parking spaces into paid parking, to relieve pressure on the most-coveted spaces and to reduce the number of cars circling downtown to find parking. 

Bike Davis agrees that this plan will help better manage car parking in downtown for the benefit of all. We support the City's plan and have been encouraging the City to reinvest the parking revenue into more maintenance and beautification of downtown. The neighborhood of Old Pasadena in southern California has employed such a scheme for more than two decades, and the influx of funding helped transform their downtown from economically struggling area to a vibrant entertainment district.

To get more details on the downtown car parking plan, read this blog post, written by the City Public Works Department. If you support reinvesting meter revenue into downtown, let City Council know.

Re-striping and street standards; CR 32A agreement reached

Come to 6/19 City Council meeting to support cycling!

Two important bicycling items are on this Tuesday’s City Council calendar. Bike Davis has been hard at work on both in the last few months, as we've strived to improve County Road 32A for bicyclists, and to ensure proper lane widths on re-striping projects to help control vehicle speed and give bicyclists more space. Now both items are on the City Council’s calendar this Tuesday night.

Take the mic for a public comment expressing your support for these two important items!

Join us at 7.00 pm at the Council Chambers, 23 Russell Blvd, “Re-striping policy” scheduled for 8:00 pm

Re-striping to our Street Standards

Public Works has recently re-striped many streets (including F St in downtown, shown below) without adhering the City's Street Standards, which include 10-foot vehicle lanes and 7-foot bike lanes. The reason: a loophole in a staff report, which allows ignoring standards on "maintenance projects." The Council will debate a new policy to fix this loophole on Tuesday night, but nothing is won. Your voice will make a difference

A non-conforming, yet freshly re-striped section of F street

Why are 10-foot lanes important for safety? This article provides some background.

County Road 32A update

The Davis Enterprise wrote a great summary of the situation with CR 32A this weekend. All mediation parties now agree to pursue a long-term option that would replace the existing rail crossing at CR 105 and CR 32A with a safer one farther east. A preliminary analysis will determine the feasibility and best location for the new crossing.

Your support for this replacement crossing would help keep the project moving, avoid having to advocate for short-term measures, and show community support for the safety of bicyclists along this corridor connecting the east side of Davis, West Sacramento and Sacramento.

Spring 2018 Newsletter: JUMP E-bike share arriving soon

E-bike share coming to Davis in May!

JUMP electric bikes, which have been operating in Washington DC since last fall and in San Francisco since February, are coming to the Sacramento area in May - including 50 e-bikes in Davis, with more to be added in the summer. Available at $4 per hour in other cities, the "dockless" e-bikes can be unlocked with a smartphone and have electric assistance up to 20 mph. Watch this short teaser video or go to SACOG's FAQ to learn more!

SACOG (Sacramento Area Council of Governments) is coordinating this bike share program.

“How City Planning Can Impact Our Health” by Dr. Elizabeth Baca

A free talk co-hosted by Davis Futures Forum and Bike Davis
Wednesday, April 4, 7:00 pm, Davis City Council Chambers

Physician Elizabeth Baca currently serves as the senior health advisor in the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. In this talk she will help us understand what makes a healthy community, and will present some win-win strategies for addressing health, the economy, air quality and climate change.

There is a new theatre troupe in town...

... and they like cyclists! Bike City Theatre Company has several upcoming shows of their play "Gutenberg" in late April at Sudwerk and early May at Watermelon Music. They are planning to offer discounted tickets to Bike Davis members and people who ride a bicycle to their events. Follow our Facebook page and stay tuned for more details!

April 26, 27, 29 at Sudwerk Brewery, 2001 2nd St, Davis
May 3, 4, 5 at Watermelon Music, 1970 Lake Blvd, Davis

Big News for Davis to Sacramento Biking

"Oh what fun it is to ride on CR32A…"

Really? If you've ever ridden a bike on this road east of Davis along the north side of I-80, you know that it is one of the most uncomfortable and dangerous roads in the Davis area during commute hours… unless you enjoy being passed by cars and trucks driving at freeway speeds, while riding on a narrow shoulder.

We at Bike Davis are working hard to change that and realize the construction of a bikeway on the 2-mile stretch between the railroad crossing at County Road 105 and the Yolo Causeway. This would make for a complete, protected bike route from downtown Davis to West Sacramento, with Olive Drive, old Highway 40 and the causeway as the other segments.

How would we do that? Well, you may have heard that Union Pacific Railroad has filed a request to "close, alter or relocate" the railroad crossing, which sees many motor vehicle crashes -- mostly from westbound drivers missing the sharp S-turn. The matter has gone up to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and Bike Davis has succeeded in becoming a party in the dispute between Union Pacific and several local government agencies. Bike Davis proposes a compromise solution: keep the eastbound lane of the road open to cars, and close the westbound lane to all but bicycles and farm vehicles. You can read more about our work in this Enterprise article.

The CPUC has proposed opening a voluntary mediation between all the parties. We still don't know if that mediation process will be accepted, and what will come out of it, but we will keep you informed as things evolve.

Fall 2017 Newsletter

Fall is here! Are you prepared?

Summertime ... and the bikin' is easy." Now what? With a little preparation, the rainy days need not put a damper on your two-wheeled commute and errands. With a good rain jacket, rain pants, and fenders, you can keep rolling like it's 1968. Good bike lights and waterproof panniers are also a must-have for wet weather. You might also want to give your bike a tune-up, and adapt your riding style a bit - roads can be slippery, and cars won't see you as well. We turn to the rain experts for more detailed advice: check out this blog post from Portland. Or for some inspiration, check out this video of rainy day bike traffic in the Netherlands.

Anderson Road Project

The City of Davis is planning a major remodel on Anderson Road, from Russell to Covell, with the goal of making the street more friendly to all modes of transportation, including bikes. Two community workshops have been held so far and three types of "street treatments" have been selected. The City will continue to look for community feedback. Mark your agenda for the 3rd community workshop on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 in the evening. Stay tuned for details.

Become a bike Ambassador

We are recruiting volunteers to serve as bicycle Ambassadors for Bike Davis. Ambassadors will serve as local resources and agents of change for bicycle safety education and advocacy. They may help organize group rides, safety trainings, and will help empower bicyclists to seek improvements in biking infrastructure.

Sacramento Commute News

The City of Davis has filed a protest over Union Pacific’s application to close, alter, or relocate the rail crossing on County Road 32A, the frontage road along the north side of I-80 east of Mace Blvd. (See article in Davis Enterprise for more details.) Bike Davis is hoping that the proceeding at the California Public Utilities Commission will result in a separated bike path from the crossing to the levee. This road is a key bicycling route between Davis and Sacramento.

The “Bak2Sac” program runs until December 31, 2017. If you have friends, family, or coworkers who live in Sacramento, encourage them to take advantage of the program and receive a free train trip home in exchange for not bringing a car to Davis.
Bike Davis is in the process of renewing the program for 2018

Those crunchy leaves...

Are green piles blocking your favorite bike lanes? There is an app for that! And a website, too.
Bike lane obstructions aren't only unsafe, they are illegal per City of Davis regulations, and you can report them to the City via your phone or computer. Here are links for the app:

• on iPhone App Store

• on Android Play Store