Needed Municipal Improvements

This page is intended as a place to list municipal issues that need to be improved within the city of Davis. For example, improved lighting on specific streets, issues with safety, infrastructure, pollution, etc. Please identify the issue, the location, and the required improvement. This page is intended as a reference that the Davis City Council can use to address issues. (Note: This list is not intended to be political - this is for normal city functions that the Council can address directly.)

Check out Davis Wish List for wishful thinking!

• The bike path at the intersection of Lake and Arlington (the corner by the pole) is in terrible condition, and needs to be repaved.

• A dedicated bike path is needed along 5th street. Cycling is dangerous along this street.

• The intersection of Russell and Arlington requires cyclists to cross 5 total lanes of traffic (2 in one direction, 3 in another). There is no light or marked crossing here. This is very dangerous for cyclists, and is the only way to get to the northbound bike lane on Arlington.

• 1st Street and Richards Blvd is another dangerous crossing for bikes. There is a nice bike path on the side of 1st with the shopping center, but if you are coming from 1st and G, you have to cross several lanes of traffic to turn down Richards, and there is not a good way to get to the tunnel. If you continue to go straight, and then turn left at the crosswalk, you must still sit in heavy traffic waiting for the light to turn, with no bike path to protect you.

• The Covell Greenbelt paths could really use some cleaning, trying to bike, walk or run on the paths is ridiculous. There is tons of crap on the paths from the trees, and it's a pain.

Access to the buttons that activate the crossing lights for bicycles are not accessibly by cyclists in many locations (although they may be accessible by pedestrians). This is a list of locations where the buttons are difficult for cyclists to access, or where buttons are needed where they do not currently exist:

• Olive Drive and Richards Blvd, on the Southwest side (near Redrum Burger). Cyclists who need to cross to the Eastern side of Richards (where In'n'Out is located, for example) must ride up 3 feet onto the sidewalk in order to access the crossing buttons, then back their bicycles up towards the road in order to turn around and make the turn. Buttons are needed next to the street where cyclists can access them.

Additional bicycle parking is needed at the following locations:

• Along G street, near Woodstocks Pizza
  

• Near Great Wall of China II in E street plaza

• A rail crossing in the Olive drive area, if I remember correctly, as there are many folk who cross, and an official crossing would be safer, and make those crossings legal.

• Drainage along E St. in front of Cultivé Frozen Yogurt is a mess. Water collects in front of the curb along with trash and leaves and makes the whole area stink. Even when it hasn't rained in weeks the curbs can be wet, and it doesn't seem like it's cleaned frequently.

See also: Pothole Project

See also: Sidewalk Crack Project

• Stoplights along Russell Blvd are timed so that traffic often has to stop at each light. This creates significant stop and go traffic, which increases air pollution and burns more gas than a smooth traffic flow.

• Some of the stoplights along Anderson will turn green for only 2 or 3 seconds, then switch to red again, during the night. This is particularly dangerous for cyclists who need to safely cross the street. The lights often turn before a cyclist can cross the intersection. This also happens with the light at the intersection of Covell and J: the light for the traffic going across or for turning left onto J from Covell is really long, but the light for turning left onto Covell from J is very short.

• Lighting along 8th street needs to be improved. 8th street has heavy traffic, and is a major route for cyclists as well. The lack of lighting puts cyclists in danger as they bike to the eastern side of Davis