Davis Bicycles! Council Candidate Questions

Please list some of the locations in Davis where bicyclists need a better designed, safer route than what is available. Give any specifics that you think are important, such as traffic calming, giving bikes more space on streets, etc.

While Davis is a great city in general for bicyclists, the core of downtown is at times problematic. Fifth Street in particular, between B and L, with its four lane road with limited bike paths is particularly dangerous, especially with the speed in which cars make turns and cut across the street. A re-striping program is being looked at by some. I would like to see it reduced to two driving lanes, at least a dedicated bike path on both sides, and dedicated left-hand turn lanes at each intersection. I would like to reduce the speed of traffic and increase the accessibility to bike riders. I would also like to see a dedicated bike path through the university that enters into the downtown area that makes for easy and safe bike access from the university.

I applaud the efforts by Davis Bicycles to identify trouble spots and have made it my business to ride to those locations to see the problems firsthand. Following is a listing of areas I find to be particularly troublesome.

The intersection of Mace and the I-80 interchange is frought with safety issues. We have been working to create more separation and awareness for bikes on the commute to Sacramento.

Numerous situations around town where the street narrows and the bike lane is crowded with parked cars and green waste. Two examples are B Street and Sycamore Lane.

The intersection of First and A Streets near the entrance to the UCD campus. Bikes emerging from the underpass under I-80 and coming through the parking lot need a more clear route to the campus and into the community.

Fifth Street between A Street and L Street needs an overhaul. The street does not work well for either bikes or cars. While the left turn signals at F and G streets have helped we are still experiencing vehicle accidents. I think we need to revisit the road diet approach and reexamine the modelling of traffic flow with a reconfigured street.

The southern foot of the Dave Pelz overcrossing has an abrupt turn. In addition, the bike traffic coming from the area south and west of this location has limited visibility and cumbersome approaches to the overcrossing.

The tunnel under the railroad near the Little League fields needs attention. The abrupt 90 degree turn and the absence of visibility from outside the tunnel present safety issues that we should address.

As I mentioned earlier, 5th Street between A St. & L St. needs serious work to make it a safer route for bicyclists. The downtown core area has a need for improvements for the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians that could include closing a street (possibly 3rd Street) to automobile traffic. Creating a bike path from North Star Ponds to Wildhorse should also be one of our highest priorities.

Fifth Street. Fifth Street is an embarrassment and is not currently providing an efficient throughput for pedestrians, bikes, or automobiles. Implementation of a Road Diet should be reconsidered- providing alternative transportation opportunities with well defined turning pockets can allow for similar vehicular load and through-time, while increasing safety for bikers and pedestrians. In addition to City documents, the Victoria Transportation Policy Institute is a good resource for information on the real-world benefits of Road Dieting.

Little League under crossing. This is an incredibly awkward and dangerous connection. Recent striping in the under crossing has done little to alleviate the abrupt turn and steep slope- serious reconsideration should be given to engineering design and grading.

Downtown. As the downtown core becomes increasingly congested with pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic- we must take steps to decrease collisions and conflicts between the different modes. Double striping, bot dots, and increasing signage regarding bike friendliness can help raise awareness and create visual barriers.

European-style roadway considerations. Many European countries actively design their transportation infrastructure to decrease the probability that cars making right hand turns at intersections will collide with bikes traveling straight- by moving the 'stop' line for cars back and allowing bikes to take up the first spots at stops.

Expand the definition of transportation "*Level of Service"* (LOS) to include multi-modal considerations. Currently, City transportation goals establish appropriate intersection LOS for vehicular wait times. However, Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) and Bicycle Compatibility Index (BCI) are becoming more prevalent at a national scale for establishing standards relating to bike friendliness, comfort, and establishment of appropriate roadway conditions.

University access. Implementing better native landscaping and more generous bike paths on Third Street can accomplish creating a more fluid connection between the University and City.