| Category |
| Community Services |
| Website |
| http://cityofdavis.org/city-hall/city-council/commissions-and-committees/bicycling-transportation-and-street-safety-commission |
| Staff Liaison |
| Brian Mickelson, Assistant City Engineer - Transportation Manager |
| Phone Number |
| (530) 757-5686 |
| [email protected] |
| Meeting Times |
| Second Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m |
| Meeting Place |
| Community Chambers Conference Room, 23 Russell Boulevard |
| Number of Members |
11 Regular members, 1 Alternative member
|
| 1 Ex-Officio member = UC Davis Bicycle Coordinator |
From the city website:
In 2014, the former Bicycle Advisory and Safety and Parking Advisory Commissions were restructured to form the Bicycling, Transportation, and Street Safety Commission. Responsibilities of the prior commissions were consolidated and expanded in the Bicycling, Transportation, and Street Safety Commission per the below resolution:
Resolution 14-033 - Establishing the Bicycling Transportation and Street Safety Commission
The City of Davis Bicycle Advisory Commission is one of the city's commissions that serve and advise the City Council. Since Davis' motto is "Most bicycle friendly town in the world", it should come as no surprise that our City Council appoints community members to ensure that we never endanger our friendly relationship with the bicycle.
According to its official charter, Resolution No. 07-040, the commission's purpose "is to develop options to achieve the goals of the city’s Comprehensive Bicycle Plan, and to recommend changes to the plan, as necessary, to achieve its purposes."
The Bicycle Advisory Commission (BAC) has recently advised the City Council on bike lane double striping, the 5th Street redesign, the Street Smarts program, increased bicycle parking, the Davis-Woodland Alternative Transportation Corridor and the creation of a Safe Routes to Schools program.
Two columns on The Davis Voice in early 2010 first publicized an ongoing discussion about the future of transportation planning in Davis. The concept being discussed is the creation of a Mobility Commission. This commission would fold together the Bicycle Advisory, Safety & Parking, and Unitrans commissions to emphasize a more holistic planning approach to transportation. The current City Council has expressed support, but the details of the proposal have yet to be finalized.
Commission members
- John Berg – Chair
- Earl Bossard
- Elisabeth Bourne
- Daniel Fuchs
- Mike Mitchell - Vice Chair
- Raoul Renaud
- Jim Skeen
- Jon Watterson
- Doug Waterman
- David Takemoto-Weerts (ex-officio)
- Brett Lee (Regular Council Liason)
- Robb Davis (Alternate Council Liason)
Past Commission members
- Daniel Kehew
- Robb Davis
- Sarah McCullough
- Lise Smidth
- Anthony Palmere
- Ken Gaines
- Robert A. Clarke – Interim Staff Liaison
- Jack Kenward
- Joe Krovoza
- Angel.York
- Alan Jackman
- Virginia Matzek
- Kelli O'Neill
- Darin Wick (Alternate)
February 2007 Bicycle Transportation Plan Update
In February 2007, the Commission published an Op Ed piece in the Davis Enterprise inviting citizens to participate in the revisions to the current plan
What's your recommendation to improve cycling in Davis? The City of Davis Bicycle Advisory Commission (BAC) would like to know. The BAC has just embarked on a major revision of the city's Bicycle Transportation Plan, which will be a map to the future of cycling in Davis, and is a critical component to secure funding for needed projects.
Davis' first Bikeway Plan was issued in 1991, as a natural progression from the General Plan of that period, adopted in 1987, which mentioned bicycles no less than 23 times in 5 of the 7 elements contained in the plan. Expanding the bikeway network in Davis was the main purpose of this plan, which derived from the decision to accommodate bicycle transportation (council election of 1966). The current version of the Bike Plan can be found online at http://cityofdavis.org/topic/bicycles.cfm. This version is a minor revision of the plan issued in 2001.
Since 1966, Davis has been a leader in developing bicycle facilities, resulting in being recognized as the most bicycle friendly city in the country by the League of American Bicyclists. The Platinum Award was presented to Davis in 2006.
However, Davis cannot rest on its laurels –bicycle ridership has slipped over the last 10-15 years from 20-25% of all trips to 17%. The purpose of the Bicycle Transportation Plan is to improve bicycle transportation in Davis, by providing a list of projects needed to encourage ridership. In many cases, a project is not eligible for State funding unless it is listed in the Bicycle Plan.
Davis has been growing the past 40 years and will continue to grow into the foreseeable future. 6,000 freshmen come to UC Davis each October, most of them using bicycles for the first time since they were in junior high school. Clustered in dorms on campus, they relearn their riding habits in a highly protected environment unfettered by consistent enforcement and bring those habits into the wider community when they move off-campus after their initial year here. And those numbers will grow to 8,000 a year in just a few years.
And then there are the permanent residents attracted to Davis from their former homes in regions where few bicycles interface with their automobiles. As the number of new residents increases, they, like the new students coming each year, bring life-long driving habits acquired in bicycle-free situations.
Finding automobile parking has become more problematic, and air pollution from auto exhaust has increased from the resulting congestion caused by more cars moving about the same space. News stories have become commonplace about traffic congestion, its causes and effects. Our children and elderly suffer the most from lung impairment, asthma, obesity and type 2 diabetes resulting from the lack of exercise. Cycling, instead of driving, can provide positive solutions to these problems.
The important elements of the Bicycle Plan are the four E's of cycling planning – Engineering, Education, Enforcement, and Encouragement. Past Bike Plans have focused on Engineering, with emphasis on projects to provide facilities like the Dave Pelz overcrossing over Interstate 80. Facilities are important, but the BAC would like to see more emphasis on the other parts of the equation, as well.
Let's look at each of these issues….
Engineering: Many of the projects detailed in that 1991 Bike Plan have come to fruition; some have not. We have bike lanes on Second Street to Mace and bike lanes on all of Covell. We do not have a bike overcrossing of Covell at Monarch, and we do not have a bike overcrossing of Covell near L Street. And we definitely don't have bike lanes on 5th Street from A Street to L Street, as called for in that bike plan.
The BAC is considering new projects, such as a connector from the Dave Pelz overcrossing to the Old Highway 40 bike path. Bicycle parking downtown, particularly at the train depot, is high on the agenda. What other projects would you like to see added? Are there gaps in your commute, or spots on your route that make you nervous?
Education: Anytime someone sees a cyclist running a red light, or riding on the wrong side of the street, or sees an automobile driver cutting off a cyclist at a right turn, knows the need for education of all road users. Funds – and therefore programs – for education of all road users have been virtually non-existent. With or without funding, how would you propose educating users of the streets and roads in the proper use of those facilities?
Enforcement: Enforcement goes hand in hand with education. The BAC intends to work with the Police Department to enhance effective enforcement of traffic laws. Compliance with laws increases with enforcement and education and improves safety for all road users. For example, it's been observed that bicycle light sales increase after several cyclists have been ticketed for riding without lights.
Encouragement: Bike-to-Work Week in May is an example of encouraging people to get out of their cars and bicycle to work or school. It's also a celebration of healthier ways to commute while saving money and getting exercise in the course of daily activities. Better infrastructure, such as continuous bike lanes and more bicycle parking, also encourages cycling.
There is one other important element that does not begin with the letter “E”. That is data collection. The primary mission of the BAC is to advise the City Council on matters of policy affecting bicycling in the city. Absent an ongoing program of the collection and analysis of relevant data, all proposals to change city policy become exercises in presenting and debating anecdotal evidence. We – the BAC and the City Council – need reliable data about the uses of bicycles in Davis including who rides when and why. And we also lack reliable data collected on an ongoing basis regarding citations issued by the Police Department for traffic violations and of accidents involving bicycles.
If you have ideas for projects in any of these areas, the BAC would like to hear from you as soon as possible. There will be a meeting of the BAC at the Veteran's Memorial Center on Monday evening, February 11, at 7 pm. You can also provide ideas by email – send them to [email protected]. The Davis Wiki can also be used for input. Individual members of the Commission can be contacted directly – you can find a list of members at http://cityofdavis.org/meetings/agenda.cfm?c=29. Agendas and minutes of past meetings can also be found there.
See also
2009-03-30 00:25:08 "Our children and elderly suffer the most from lung impairment, asthma, obesity and juvenile onset diabetes resulting from the lack of exercise. Cycling, instead of driving, can provide positive solutions to these problems."
Type 1 diabetes (aka juvenile onset diabetes) is not known to be caused by lack of exercise. Little is known about the cause, but researchers and doctors point to genetics and exposure to certain viruses (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-1-diabetes/DS00329/DSECTION=causes & http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disease/Diabetes.html). Type 2 diabetes (aka adult onset diabetes) is linked to obesity and lack of exercise.
The diseases are VERY different. Please stop perpetuating the myth that juvenile onset diabetes is caused by lack of exercise.
See also: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/000305.htm —nataliesadler
2011-03-13 22:58:02 @nataliesadler RE: Clarification of Type 1 diabetes versus Type 2 diabetes (neither are age dependent)
Type 1 diabetes occurs when ANY individual, regardless of age, develops the inability to produce insulin from the pancreas. Type 1 is only treatable with insulin injections or the use of an insulin pump.
For more info about Type 1: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001350/
Type 2 Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy. When you have type 2 diabetes, the body does not respond correctly to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond normally to insulin. As a result blood sugar does not get into cells to be stored for energy. When sugar cannot enter cells, abnormally high levels of sugar build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia. High levels of blood sugar often trigger the pancreas to produce more and more insulin, but it is not enough to keep up with the body's demand.
People who are overweight are more likely to have insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the body's ability to use insulin. Type 2 diabetes usually occurs gradually. Most people with the disease are overweight at the time of diagnosis. However, type 2 diabetes can also develop in those who are thin, especially the elderly. Therefore, a program of carefully monitored exercise and balanced, nutritionally-correct diet often-times resolves Type 2 sufferers.
For more info about Type 2: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001356/ —fknochenhauer
2012-09-09 11:31:28 Where have all the cyclists gone? —Angel.York
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