Davis Bicycles! Council Candidate Questions

The Bicycle Advisory Commission retroactively amended the most recent Davis Bicycle Plan to recommend opening access to the Route 40 bike path from the Dave Pelz Overcrossing as a major thoroughfare for commuters between Davis and Sacramento. The Bicycle Advisory Commission identified this capital improvement as one of its highest priorities. Nevertheless, the City staff has declined to apply for CalTrans Bicycle Transportation Account grants for this project which is on land owned and maintained by CalTrans and the City of Davis respectively. With gas prices at an all-time high, the stage is set for a marked increase in commuting to Sacramento by bicycle. If elected to the Davis City Council, would you follow the recommendations of the Bicycle Advisory Commission in general; and specifically, would you allocate funds to build bicycle access to the Route 40 bike path via the Dave Pelz overcrossing to promote bicycle commuting to Sacramento from north, east and south Davis in 2008?

With gas prices and traffic congestion at an all time high we need to respect and work with commissions such as the Bicycle Advisory Commission to address needed changes and improvements in bicycle usage in and around Davis and providing increased bicycle commuting opportunities to Sacramento and surrounding areas.

I have visited this site and studied the potential connection between the Dave Pelz crossing and Highway 40. Old Highway 40 is an uninterrupted separated roadway devoted to bicycle use stretching from downtown Davis all the way to the I-80/Mace Blvd. interchange and emerging at the frontage road east of Davis. Making better use of the old Highway 40 road bed as a bicycle corridor is a very desirable goal and would dramatically improve safety and convenience for bicycle commuters -- especially those in the mid to eastern portion of South Davis. The particular challenge for this connection is the high capital improvement cost. I will definitely continue to support seeking grant funds for this project.

Furthermore, I support the overall plan the Bicycle Advisory Commission has developed and the added priorities of a bike/ped connection between downtown and Olive Drive, Bike Center downtown and a Bicycle Museum. I concurr that the complementary priorities of Education, Engineering, Encouragement and Enforcement (as well as Excitement) will propell our efforts for increased ridership.

The existing road conditions for bicycle commuters to/from Sacramento is poor. Opening access to the Dave Peltz overcrossing is a great example of how we can better utilize existing resources. I support seeking funding to follow the recommendations of the Bicycle Advisory Commission.