50 Years of Bicycling in Davis, California

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50 Years of Bicycling in Davis, California

• Ted Buehler
• tjbuehler_at_ ucdavis.edu
• Institute for Transportation Studies
• University of California, Davis
• Presented at UC Davis Dec 6, 06, Varsity Theater
  Feb 26, 07
• Funded by
• CalTrans
• US DoT
• UC Davis campus, 1966, Ansel Adams

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Why bicycle?

• Low cost
• Healthy
• Fun
• Benefits traffic, air pollution, other problems
• Doesnt use oil (promotes peace, not war)
• Zero contribution to global warming
• Even so, bicycle promotion is a solution largely
  overlooked by planners
• To a certain extent, even in Davis
• Though UCD is banking on people continuing to
  ride to campus.

3
Why study bicycling in Davis?

• Lots of people bike here!
• Theyve biked here for generations
• Bike lanes invented here
• Nobody studies bicycling here
• See where were going!

El Rodeo, 1970
4
My questions

• Davisis it really unique and non-replicable?
  
• What did Davis have that other cities didnt?
  (like Chico, CA, Corvallis, OR, Tucson AZ)
• Specifically,
• Who did it?
• What did they do?
• Did they have opposition?
• Could they have be even more successful?
• Did they ever nearly fail?
• How did Davis compare with peer cities then?
  Now?
• What can we learn from past success to solve
  current problems?

Freeborn Hall, UCD, 1963 Davis Bicycles
everywhere!I-80 Bike Tunnel opening, 2000
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Information sources(Thanks, everyone!)

• Key informant interviews
• Community Members
• Frank and Eve Child, bicycle advocates
• Donna Lott, bicycle advocate
• Bob Sommer, bicycle advocate
• Mark Francis, greenway advocate
• Steve Tracy, bicycle advocate
• John Lofland, historian
• Mel Ramey, engineering professor
• Jon Li, community member
• John Skarstad, Special Collections, UCD
• Public Officials
• Maynard Skinner, former mayor
• Anne Evans, former council member
• Duane Copley, past city engineer
• Dave Pelz, past public works director
• Tim Bustos, Davis bicycle coordinator
• - Rick Blunden, Caltrans bicycle program
• University Staff

• Documents reviewed
• UC Davis Long Range Development Plans, (1965 -
  2003)
• City of Davis General Plans (1958 - 2001)
• Davis/UCD Bicycle Circulation and Safety Study,
  1972
• Bikeway Usage and Design, Lott and Lott
  technical docs, 1975
• Pedal Programs, City of Davis, 1977
• UCD campus bicycle safety improvement,
  enforcement and parking report, 1980.
• Davis/UCD Joint TSM Plan 1990.
• City of Davis Bikeway Plan 1993
• Evolution of a Cyclist-Friendly Community,
  Davis, David Takemoto Weerts, 1998.
• UCD Bicycle Plan, 2001
• UCD Alternative Transportation Study, 2005
• Print media reviewed
• Davis Enterprise
• California Aggie
• Woodland Daily Democrat
• El Rodeo

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Policy and Planning its how we get things done

• Planning because its easy to change things on
  paper, but not after theyre built!
• Planning issues are tricky theres a lot at
  stake
• twisting plans makes some people lots of money
• good design is an art
• the future is always unpredictable

• Policy Making something happen requires a
  policy
• Want to change a policy? Heres how

Problem
Solution
Politics
Someone stirs the pot
Leaders willing to act
Change in Policy
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Timeline

• Before everything happened
• 1867the railroad comes through, Davisville is
  born
• 1906Davisvillethe UC Agricultural Campus
• 1959UC Davis born, Emil Mrak promotes bikes
• When everything happened
• 1964Frank and Eve Child write letter to the
  editor Frank and Eve Child, 1976
• 1966New city council elected on pro-bike lane
  slate
• 1967First bike lanes in US3rd St
• 1967 - 1972Rapid construction of bicycle
  facilitiesexperimentation and innovation
• After everything happened
• 1972 1990scity and campus expand, priorities
  given to bicycling, continuous recognition for
  success
• 1990s - 2005realize bicycling declining, efforts
  to address problems

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Pre-1960

• People bicycled in Davis
• But more or less than other towns? Hard to say

Choir pose 1959 El Rodeo
Cover Page 1954 El Rodeo
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1961Mrak promotes bikes

• Mrak requested
• and succeeded
• Mraks official portrait
• Ansel Adams, 1966

• Chancellor Emil Mrak promoted bicycling in 1961
• 1963 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) key
  pro-bicycle policies

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1963 UCD Plan

• Called for
• Bike paths all over campus, well-separated from
  streets
• Safe crossings at boundary streets with bike/Ped
  underpasses
• Central campus closed to cars
• Freeway interchange at where Mondavi Center now
  stands!
• Connection to downtown via 3rd St. Mall

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1963 Crackdown!

• Citys priorities
• Crackdown on deviant bicyclists!
• Enhance police image!
• Build downtown parking lots!
• (cost of 260,000)

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1963 Crackdown!

• Note the fine print
• Would this make you want to ride a bike?
• In whose eyes was the police image enhanced?

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1964Davis General Plan

• 1964 General Plan favored bicycling,
• but fewer teeth than the police
• Good policy, but no practice

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1964Groundwork laid for a revolution?

• Everyone biked -- campus and town
• Geographya great place to bike
• Campus leaders promoted bicycling,
• but city leaders didnt
• Police crackdown in 1963 sets stage for backlash
• 1964Senator Salinger delighted yesterdays
  audience by riding the students usual form of
  transportation

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1964 1966 Citizens lobby for bike lanes

• Letter to editorbuild bike lanes and well be
  like Amsterdam!
• Citizens Bicycle Study Group formed!
• - articulate leaders,
• - a petition to council,
• meetings with city staff, police
• - letters to editor
• - persistence!

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1964 1966 Citizens lobby for bike lanes
Bicycles not big news in 64

• 1966 city council electionsbicycling the top
  issue
• July 1966, city council voted to study bike lanes
  on 3rd St, Russell Blvd, Sycamore Lane, and other
  streets

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1964 1966 Causes of success

• Well organized advocacy coalition
• Well defined problem
• Maverick solution
• Councils initial resistance helped to focus and
  magnify support
• Overpowering political victory
• Strong mandate for new policy, plans, engineering
• Bicycling soars higher than the astronauts

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1967 - 1972 Experimentation and invention
When everything happened

• Council established a mandate, city staff now had
  to act
• Staff and advocates worked together to develop
  prototypes
• CA vehicle code changes required
• First bike lanes opened fall 1967 on 3rd St. and
  Sycamore Ln.
• Open design processfree experimentation3
  different types of paths built, only one worked
  well
• By 1972, everything already happened

• Some ideas
• worked well
• Others didnt

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1967 - 1972 Experimentation and invention
When everything happened

• First bike lanes opened fall 1967 on 3rd St. and
  Sycamore Ln.
• Open design processfree experimentation
• By 1972, everything already happened

• The Enterprise was a bit skeptical

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1967 - 1972 DavisFirst or leader in

• Comprehensive system of bicycle routes built
• Bikeway/street grade separations
• Secure bike parking facilities
• Parking removed for bikes
• Greenways
• Uniform design standards for bike lanes and paths
• Subdivision codes
• Legislative approval for path construction
• Adoption of Davis bikeway standards as state and
  federal standards
• U-Fix bike shop
• Education programs
• Bike culture preserved and expanded

• Some ideas
• worked well
• Others didnt

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1967 - 1972 Spectacular successwhy?

• New coalition of bicycle advocates, including
  public, staff, elected officials!
• Public works staffengineering solution
• Free experimentation, included many failures,
  and strong successes
• Window of change remained openinnovation over
  many years
• Public enthusiasm
• Convergence with environmental movement
• 
  what happened next???
• In 1972, Davis looked a lot different than other
  towns

• lt Davis High parking lot
• UCD Library gt
• Bob Sommer photos

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1972 1990s After everything happened

• The Davis Model the formula for success
• The Four Es
• Education
• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Encouragement

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1972 1990s After everything happened

• Meanwhile, things happened elsewhere
• Innovation occurred elsewhere. Not adopted
  herenot needed?
• Yard waste containters
• Route signage
• Better engineering

• The Davis Model the formula for success
• The Four Es
• Education
• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Encouragement

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1972 1990s After everything happened

• Meanwhile, things happened elsewhere
• Innovation occurred elsewhere. Not adopted
  herenot needed?
• Yard waste containters
• Route signage
• Better engineering

• The Davis Model the formula for success
• The Four Es
• Education
• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Encouragement

• And, Davis Model not always applied in Davis!
• Many practices lost by 2000
• Bike racks for all bikes
• Universal education programs
• Police outreach

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1986 The Davis Greenway

• UCD Prof Mark Francis and students proposed a
  greenway loop around the city
• Bikes/peds separate from motorized traffic
• Created a report, distributed it
• Support from council, chancellor and eventually
  Public Works
• Many segments built as rapid infill occurred in
  1990s
• Only 5 bike bridges/tunnels in 1986, 26 today

• Achievements
• Green links everywhere
• Bike tunnel under I-80
• Bike bridge over I-80

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1972 1990s Successes and limitations

• Long-standing expertise at Public Works
• Greenways a great addition, but incomplete
• UC Davis holds previous gains
• No Big Plans in the works for 2000s

• Plans lost
• Imagine a greenway link from the Arboretum to 1st
  and F!

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Davis circa 2005

• Efforts not lacking, but successes modest
• Davis Bike Club (DBC)
• - great recreation culture,
• - public outreach
• City Bicycle Advisory Committee
• - working hard, proposals to fix problems
• - doing research
• - drafting an ambitious City Bicycle Plan
  
  (send your ideas to bikeplan_at_chemdoc.com
  )
• - has yet to make a splash
• Many efforts to Fix Fifth
• Yolo United Mountain-Bikers (YUM)
• Bike Church
• Campus Bicycle User Group (BUG)

Excitement for Tour de California, 2007 I-80
Undercrossing, 2000
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Davis circa 2005

• Bike to AYSO Campaign
• Fall 2006 soccer games at neighborhood fields to
  greatest extent possible
• 2300 players encouraged to do bike recreation to
  get to their soccer recreation
• Info and bike sticker given to every player
• Results?
• 20 of players bike to games, and a smaller
  percent of parents bike
• UC Davis-led survey collects information on
  attitudes from nearly ½ of families
• Why families didnt Bike to AYSO games?
• Distance
• Multiple children at different locations
• Must carry equipment/snacks
• Time needed to get organized
• Safety (dangerous route/traffic/poor bike access)

Photos
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1990s - 2005 Bicycling in flux

• Evidence of decline
• 2000 Census data
• No other commute mode data
• Public Works staff changed in 1999
• Bicyclists report a change in attitude, design at
  city hall
• Bus ridership up with free Unitrans
  servicefewer undergrads bicycling?
• Five new parking garages!
• Bike programs cash-starved
• Bike Barn U-fix downgraded
• Are todays challenges worse than those of the
  past?
• Are they insurmountable?
• How do our problems differ from the 1960s-era?
• How do our efforts to solve them differ?

Car parking 60 million invested 1990 -
2005 Bike parking no major new investments
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1990s 2005 Bicycling in flux

• Popular scapegoats
• Young people no longer bike
• Influx of Sacramento commuters
• Outflux of university employees
• Unitrans effect
• Longer distances in longer town
• Saturationeveryone who can bike already does
• Are they valid?
• Are they insurmountable? ? ?

• ???

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1990s - 2005 Bicycling in flux

• Other possible reasons
• Loss of bicycle compatibility as road traffic
  increases
• Need for faster bikeways as city gets longer
• Loss of extensive educational programs
• Did not address theft (700,000/yr)
• Did not adopt designs and technologies from
  elsewhere
• No proactive approach to address change

Bicycle compatibility chart -1972
Bicycle left-turn lane lt Innovative and
effective in 1972 Hazardous in 2006 gt
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Post 1990s Causes of success, failure

• Retirements at public workslost advocacy
  coalition
• Resignation to problemsno new policies proposed
• Slow changehas not opened a natural policy
  window
• Some political support
• Positive changes on campus

• lt Street parking near Davis HS, 2006
• Shields Library, gt UC Davis, 2007

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How do we compare? a few charts
Where do we want to be in 2010?How can we face
our new challenges and get there?
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How do we compare?
Where do we want to be in 2010?How can we face
our new challenges and get there?
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How do we compare?
Where do we want to be in 2010?How can we face
our new challenges and get there?
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How do we compare?
Where do we want to be in 2010?How can we get
there?
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Bicycle Capitol status Tortoise and the hare
The hare didnt do so well in the classic race
Were the best condition can hurt new
thinking how can you get better if youre
the best? little incentive to monitor,
improve Invention of mountain bikes, gortex and
hallogen lights mean Davis loses its geography
advantage. In the 21st century, high bicycle
usage a result of safe, comfortable bike routes
and services. Innovations? Look to Portland
Boulder
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Portland, Oregon

• Built bike lanes, fixed problem bridges
• Monitored progress with bike counts
• of workers commuting by bike increased from 3
  to 10 in some neighborhoods!

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Boulder, Colorado

• Maverick mayor sought to ease congestion with
  bike lanes
• Aggressively sought and fixed problems and
  barriers
• Now reporting 21.3 bicycle commute mode share!
• Twice the population of Davis, hilly terrain,
  winter weather, but now reporting a higher
  commute mode share!

Bank by bike in Boulder Maybe the
tortoises will Davis moving again
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Hares around the world Odense Denmark

• Denmarks bicycle capital was dwindling in the
  1990s
• 4 Million over 4 years
• Saw phenomenal increased in bicycling
• - Fewer accidents
• - Less driving
• - Greater satisfaction
• Compare to 15 Million cost of Daviss proposed
  downtown parking garage!

• Modern bike parking in Odense
• Bike Barometer in Odense

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Analysis The future is ours to choose!

• A whole range of futures to choose from
• from
• to

• Davis is now at a crossroads can our problems
  be overcome?
• Almost certainly!
• What do we have?
• What must we do?

• .

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To Frank Eve Child, with deepest appreciation
for all you did to help create the Davis Bikeways
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My conclusion?

• The Pastwhy did we succeed
• Davis was well-suited to become The
  Bicycling Capital
• - great geography
• - the right residents
• But, the reason Davis holds the title, rather
  than Chico or Corvalis, is because of our leaders
  and their vision.
• Had Mrak, Child and Pelz hired on at Chico State,
  Davis might well be the Square Tomato Capital
  of America.

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?, ? and ? Got every single 5th grader at Birch
Lane riding to school for one month
? Ran for city council, 2010

• The Futurehow will we succeed?
• How? Learn from
• our own past successes,
• the successes of top bicycle in Europe, and
• the success of our peer cities in the US.
• Our current problems? Theyre solvable
• address problems!
• develop popular support
• experiment with solutions
• apply solutions to problems
• Have a great time!

? Was the next Dave Pelz at Public Works
? Found funding For 10,000 new bike racks at UCD,
82 reduction in theft
? Pioneered bike traffic flow modeling at UCD
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The Future?

• This research presented at UCD in Dec 2006
• A lively discussion ensued, conclusions debated
• Names gathered for future coalition
• We met, and this talk became The Next Step,

And were starting something Lots of people have
told us its about time we did something!
Cover Page, 1962 El Rodeo
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Davis Bicycles! www.davisbicycles.org

• Mission
• Promote Davis Bicycling
• safety, education advocacy
• Join and become part of history
• help make Davis even better for bikes!
• get your name and face in the 2026 History of
  Davis presentation
• What you can do tonight
• Volunteer. Become a founding member, director,
  and tell us how you might be able to help
• Donate. We need to raise 1,000 to incorporate,
  register, etc.

How?
Well have more fun than City Council School
Board combined! Organizational meeting
Tuesday, March 13th, 700 pm location TBD
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Q A Panel

• Susan Handy
• Davis parent, UC Davis professor (ITS)
• Dave Pelz
• Davis resident, former director of Public Works,
  City of Davis
• Lise Smidth
• Davis parent, Odense, Denmark native,
• member of Davis Bicycle Advisory Commission
• Donna Lott
• Davis bicycle advocate, 1960s
• Ted Buehler
• Davis resident, graduate student