5th Street redesign

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  1. The Proposal
    1. Cost
    2. Proponents claim
    3. Opponents claim
  2. History of the Fifth Street Redesign
  3. Ways to express support
  4. More information

Fifth Street through downtown Davis has four lanes, two in each direction. Between B and L Streets, it is just wide enough for the four lanes, with no space on the shoulder for bike lanes, or cars to park, and no separate turn lanes. In response, a 5th Street Redesign has been proposed.

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, the Council resolved, "...that a road diet should be implemented on the Fifth Street Corridor providing for the reconfiguration of two traffic lanes with center left turns lanes and on-street bicycle lanes between A and L Streets and directing staff to undertake implementing actions."

The Proposal

simulation_picture.pngA screenshot of the [WWW]simulation of the proposal.

The proposed redesign would change the four lanes to

Fifth Street and Russell Boulevard are the main east-west thoroughfare through Central Davis. Two car lanes in each direction extend from Arlington in West Davis, through downtown Davis, to east of Pole Line Road in East Davis. Bike paths run along the south side of the street west of A Street and east of L Street, but there are no bike lanes.

In addition to adding bike lanes, the redesign would make the street safer by placing left turning cars in left turn lanes, out of the way of through traffic. At present in the four-lane configuration, cars turning left at intersections without stoplights (C, D, E, I, J, and K Streets) block traffic in the left lane.
This lane re-configuration is commonly called a "road diet."

Cost

Proponents claim

Opponents claim

Streets parallel to 5th St, such as 3rd and 4th Streets, are much less traveled by autos and are already sufficient for pedestrian and bicycle use to or from downtown Davis or the UC Davis campus. The traffic lights are currently calibrated to turn and hold green so as to ensure a smooth flow of traffic at the intersections of F and G Streets. Those turning left at the intersections of C, D, E, I, J, and K Streets do so like drivers do on thousands of streets thus configured in towns and cities across the country. The city will save money by leaving such intersections "as is."

History of the Fifth Street Redesign

The redesign was first proposed by the Old North Davis Neighborhood Association in 2003. Split-phase signal timing at F and G Streets was implemented in Feb. 2005. That allows cars to turn left free of oncoming traffic, but it requires travelers to wait through a longer red light phase.

The road diet was studied by the city between 2003 and 2005. In the end, city public works staff recommended against the redesign to the city council. The city council voted to direct public works to continue to work on ways to make the street safer. Only very minor improvements to the street resulted, and many of the intersections still lack crosswalks.

In June 2008, the city council asked that city departments address the issue again. In September 2008, the Public Works and Planning Departments began a lengthy process to thoroughly study all the problems with this stretch of street (the "Fifth Street corridor"), gather input from all concerned community members and organizations, devise alternatives, present these alternatives, and gather input again from the community.

However, at the city council meeting on May 5, 2009, after many addressed the council asking that the process be shortened, the council voted to narrow the alternatives to only two: a four lane alternative with possible safety enhancements, and the road diet alternative, as described in the Davis General Plan.

Ways to express support

More information

Videos of simulation models from 2009 UCD Traffic Engineering study

Background reading on road diets

Comments:

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2009-08-01 01:40:51   Good page, though this is the kind of thing that will draw lots of comments. So to start off, does anyone know how bus traffic and bus stops along Fifth would be handled under a narrow design? Would busses stop in the middle of traffic to pick up passengers, or would the road have to be expanded to accommodate another lane for the bus?

Also, has any consideration been given to an at-grade crossing of the railroad tracks on L Street to Olive Drive? I'm guessing it could absorb some eastbound traffic, at the very least, from the Olive freeway exit. —BrentLaabs

2009-08-01 02:56:03   This might be under the university's jurisdiction; but the right turn the buses take from Russell Blvd to Howard Way (MU) needs to be fixed. By adding either a right lane must turn right or a dedicated right slip road would allow faster transit times, I've seen buses and cars wait at this right turn for a while. —mperkel

2009-08-01 18:30:54   This is definitely a needed change. The lights at F and G St's are horrible and soooo inefficient. —JesseUnger

2009-08-01 20:00:58   I disagree with Jesse, and think the lights at F and G Streets have been working well since they were put on a split-phase program (with left turn arrows) in 2005. There are a number of very good points about how a "road diet" has worked for different streets in different communities. When I heard the presentation this spring from a "road diet" expert, there were a few things that did NOT work for me. He mentioned the positive effects for businesses, but none of the examples given seemed at all like Hibbert Lumber and their yard. There are a lot of trucks that deliver to them, and a lot of purchases that will never be made from them by bicyclists or pedestrians. He also said that right turners on Fifth would simply find a way to interface with bikes streaming to or from the University during rush hour — and that traffic would be held up if they had to wait.
I don't know that these are crippling flaws, but they made me feel VERY uncomfortable with the demands on 5/5/09 that the process be dispensed with or shortened. I really would like to hear described what the criteria would be for success after making the changes, and what the criteria would be for failure (and reversing the process). I'd also like to hear a much-broader spectrum of opinion about the changes. My concern is that some people who drive everywhere will decide to avoid downtown and patronize businesses on the periphery instead, never expressing their reservations about the "diet." —DougWalter

2009-08-01 21:42:36   I am very much in favor of the road diet. As it is now, I avoid 5th St when I am on a bicycle OR in a car. I take 8th St instead. And I think many others do this as well. So, the argument that putting 5th on a road diet will increase traffic on 8th doesn't really work for me. —CovertProfessor

2009-08-03 11:11:14   My concern: What would be the length of the backup in a one-lane system with the occasional holdups due to the train crossing? Right now, I have seen a lot of backup in the two lanes and am not sure it would not backup all the way to L street if confined to a single lane. Does this proposal address this situation that happens daily? —JeffWood

2009-08-03 18:24:37   I'm indifferent to a change, since I avoid 5th street like the plague, but the amount of traffic flow on 5th street versus other parallel streets is very different. At 5 pm, it is VERY busy on 5th street with two lanes. How will this change if we reduce it to one lane? People aren't going to change their habbits, just look at B st betweem 5th and 1st. I stopped biking that way because I felt unsafe with the crazy drivers at rush hour. The amount of cars has grown too large for the city to handle in its current state and reducing lanes on 5th street will make it worse.

Has anyone consulted with an applied mathematician or engineer about traffic flow? After all, this would be a good project for someone to evaluate. —BrandonBarrette

2009-08-04 06:03:55   Possible SACOG money for project approved by council [WWW]Fifth Street Project Could Get SACOG Money —DavidGreenwald

2009-08-05 16:32:07   Video simulations from the recent UCD study are now on YouTube; I added the links them (see "More information") above. —RussellReagan

2009-08-14 19:39:08   I don't think we should be selectively bike-friendly: if Davis is going to be 100% bike friendly, then all streets should have bike lanes, or at least should be accessible without fear of being hit by the crazy drivers on fifth. And as someone who lives off of 5th, a bike lane would definitely encourage people to bike downtown rather than drive, which equals decreased emissions. The only thing that would suck would be the actual construction. If they do it, I hope it's a quick process!! —JesBisagno

2009-08-15 17:48:21   As nice as it would be to have bike lanes on 5th from A to L. But as a person who lives on 8th street I have been very much bombarded with a lot of speeding cars and noise from the traffic on 8th. So limiting the lanes on 5th would only cause more aches in other places. I also bike around town and to work in downtown Davis. And have found better routes to avoid bad streets without bike lanes. —MinhTran

2009-08-15 18:30:38   Bike lanes on 5th street are absolutely needed. I've occasionally found myself biking along that street, not realizing that there were no bike lanes, or not realizing that I had just turned onto 5th. It was very dangerous. Bikes are mixed in with traffic there, and it is hard to turn.

If traffic flow is a problem, perhaps the city could try synchronizing the traffic lights, so that cars don't have to stop at every block on many streets. —IDoNotExist

2009-08-16 00:39:52   I feel bad for anyone who will try to continue down 5th street outside of B-L streets as there will be no bike lanes on that part of 5th/Russell. I'm actually not sure about 5th street east of L, but I know west of A street that there is only a path on the south side of the road, which, if you are traveling west, means you have to cross traffic to get to the path. This seems like a tease to bikers. Why not just make all of 5th street like 8th street and keep the fast moving cars on Covell where they belong instead of right down the middle of town. —BrandonBarrette

2009-08-16 01:49:41   There are bike paths on 5th east of L Street, and the one on the south side of 5th west of A street also works well. I rode to school on my bike down 5th from West Davis for several years using the bike path and didn't have trouble. I usually rode through the City Hall Parking lot. Most of the trouble I had was between B and L Street, like at G street a car turning right ran into me. I do support the bike lanes, because the street is already a bad situation. I have seen cars backed up from F street in front of the Fire Stations driveway, and this was in 2007. —NickSchmalenberger

2009-08-20 14:01:09   For the time being, I wish the City of Davis would prohibit biking on 5th street, until a decision is made. Someone is going to get seriously hurt, most likely a freshman. I can't think of a more dangerous spot in Davis to either bike or drive. I've been in Davis for many years, both as a biker and a driver and there is nothing that annoys me more than driving down 5th street at night and having to change lanes to pass two bikers without lights leisurely riding side by side. I rode on 5th once as a frosh and was scared out of my wits. If you're biking, just take 3rd or 8th until the mess on 5th street clears up.

2009-08-22 06:16:48   I would like to see the actual study - as I am not convinced this will not create even more dangerous scenerios. Even in the video, which uses 25% increased traffic as peak traffic, I am not sure represents the real peak traffic load. Further, I see no train tracks in that simulation. My worry is that even in this short simulation, you see repeated areas where the left turn traffic backs up to block the traffic that would be going straight. In order to keep the single lane of traffic moving, the left turns will have to be reduced in length, and that just spells people running that light repeatedly - and that is foreseeable and dangerous - for bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. You are also going to have people 'going around' that left turn lane by entering the bicycle lane. Given the traffic that the road supports (and other roads are not going to be viable substitutes), this plan seems highly unlikely to have the desired effect - outside of a dedicated bicycle lane. I am open to being convinced otherwise. —IdeasAsOpiates

2009-08-22 07:41:46   Dear IdeasAsOpiates. In the case of a public safety crisis like the one we have on 5th Street, I will take facts and real world examples as my opiates. That said, to find the written summary of the model, please click on the link to "summary report" after you go to:

[WWW]http://www.davisbicycles.org/projects/5thstreet/study_findings.html

I would direct you in particular to the information and conclusions that begin on page 7.

As to the traffic volumes in the study, yes, they do represent a significant increase OVER the current traffic volumes. The UCD engineers used vehicle numbers in the model that are 25% higher than the current volumes during an evening commute when UCD is in full session. You are correct that this doesn't represent "the real peak traffic load" because it is in fact significantly HIGHER. And the road diet street still outperforms the current 4-lane street.

You are correct the model shows no train tracks. They were omitted in the model the City commissioned as well. It isn't possible to reflect the few random trains that appear in a week on these tracks, rarely during peak hour. We shouldn't compromise the safety of our street because of those rare events, anyway.

If you saw left turn traffic backing up in the video simulations, I think you were either looking at the video of the current 5th Street design, or focusing on F and G Streets. This simulation software is designed to evaluate through traffic on the primary corridor, in this case 5th Street. These videos were prepared using the existing signal setup for northbound and southbound traffic on F and G. Once this street is reconfigured, traffic on these cross streets should get the more conventional signals where the left turn arrows come on for a short time IF there are cars waiting in the left turn pockets. This is a very low volume of vehicles, by the way. The highest left turn count off of F or G is northbound G Street traffic turning left onto westbound 5th Street, 99 cars in the entire peak hour. 1 1/2 cars a minute will not cause much backup, or hold up oncoming southbound traffic much. The F Street left turn volume is 64 cars in the peak hour, about 1 a minute.

You also have a concern about cars hanging out of the left turn pockets when the light is red. You may have picked up this idea from the misguided Chamber of Commerce representative who ridiculed our schematic drawing of an intersection at a hearing a few months ago. He was looking at our image of the intersection of 5th and D, where the TOTAL number of cars turning left off of 5th Street in both directions during the peak hour is 27–less than one car every two minutes. I don't think that level of traffic will back up out of the left turn lane under any scenario. The highest volume of peak hour traffic turning left off of 5th Street at the F and G Street intersections is westbound G Street turning on to southbound G Street–69 vehicles in the entire hour. Again, with the light timing restored to roughly one minute for the full cycle, this is not a situation that will have vehicles hanging out of the turn pockets and blocking the single through lane.

I appreciate your last comment, Ideas, that you are open to input. You have nothing to fear from this proposed improvement to safety, traffic flow, and pedestrian and bicycle access. As hundreds of other cities have learned, there are no losers with this design. Steve Tracy. —stracy

2009-08-23 06:44:34   Brian (or someone else who opposes this thing) - you may want to reword and/or expand the section I moved your argument to. I happen to be a proponent of complete streets in general, and this redesign seems a really good idea to me based on the above-mentioned studies and relative low cost, so my current motivation for actively seeking counter-arguments is low. As Mr. or Ms. Opiates says above, I'm open to being convinced to go to the other side, but I tend to be convinced by facts (for example I don't see how the quoted $25,000 for repainting and <$500,000 for lights could reach the "untold millions" from that addition, so sources or further explanation would be good there). —BrettHall

2009-09-12 01:49:02   Does anyone know what happened at the City Hall meeting on Tuesday? Any progress? —JesBisagno

2009-09-12 03:47:24   There is currently road work on 5th street / Russell. Is this the same thing as the 5th street widening, or just regular repaving work? (There seems to be substantial repaving work going on all over the city...) —IDoNotExist

2009-09-12 08:32:43   Yes, there [WWW]has been progress! And no, the paving is separate. —CovertProfessor

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