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Davisite Banner. Left side the bicycle obelisk at 3rd and University. Right side the trellis at the entrance to the Arboretum.

Category: Bicycling

  • “Lawrence” To Her; “The Legend” To Many

    By Bertie Brouhard

    “Her” is his wife of 60-plus years; his rock, his foundation, his compass, his true love who always addressed or referred to him as “Lawrence.” To most he was Larry Burdick. But to the many who knew and appreciated his special gift; especially those in his vast bicycling community which included The Davis Bike Club” he was “The Legend.”

    Born and raised in Haileyville , Oklahoma, where he played high school football after graduation he  joined the Army. Stationed outside Davis at what was later DQ University he met Delores “Dee” from Knights Landing. They raised two sons on L Street and Dee retired from jobs in food service and Larry from a long career in the Nutrition Dept. at UCD. 

    Our college town with its rapidly expanding university is crammed full of residents who are well read, published, educated, traveled, heeled and thought of. However, it lays claim to only a few true “Legends.” Newsworthy, famous maybe, but not “Legendary.”

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  • Make It Happen for Yolo County Launches Fall Campaign to Sponsor Former Foster Youth Studying at UC Davis

    Make It Happen for Yolo County board member Marilyn Stebbins and intern Kegen Wells help a UC Davis Guardian Scholar furnish her apartment this summer. The nonprofit has launched a campaign to sponsor former foster youth studying at UC Davis this fall.

    (From press release) Local nonprofit Make It Happen for Yolo County is offering opportunities for the community to sponsor UC Davis Guardian Scholars – students who have experienced foster care – as they move into housing this fall. Sponsorship levels run from $200 to $2,500 and provide essential furniture, household goods, cleaning supplies, bicycles and more to ensure former foster youth studying at UC Davis are not burdened financially, physically or emotionally by furniture poverty as they pursue higher education. The campaign will run through mid-October. Learn more and make a donation: https://www.mihyolo.org/donate-index-impact.

    “Having a fully furnished, safe and functional home is a fundamental need for these resilient students,” said Cathi Schmidt, executive director, Make It Happen for Yolo County. “Each community member can choose from a variety of levels to provide a tax-deductible gift this fall that will turn a student’s empty living space into a place of comfort, dignity and belonging as they work toward achieving their degree.”

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  • There’s no place to park there

    By Bertie Brouhard

    [Note: We at the Davisite hope to feature Bertie’s columns going forward with the permission of the author and the DE]

    There? Where’s “there?” Are you driving to the Marina in San Francisco? Sutter Hospital in Sacramento? Yosemite Valley? South Shore at Lake Tahoe? 

    Not just major attractions in big urban centers, but I hear the complaint about midtown Sacramento or Golden One and certainly for many places in our fine city of Davis. “There’s no place to park!” 

    All I have are my observations which I capture visually as a street photographer and hopefully entertain you with words in this column. And I love automobiles having been born into, raised by and shaped in an exciting, vibrant car culture.

    My dad cherished his Scotch-plaid-seated Chrysler, his yellow Buick Special Convertible with the red leather seats, his sporty white V-8 Studebaker Hawk and his grumbling Hemi Dodge Charger. In 1976, when my family of four left Cleveland for Colorado Springs in our new red Plymouth Volare station wagon, I was riding higher than ever.

    We’ve since travelled in Chevy station wagons, a Dodge Caravan and several boring but practical sedans. Currently, I have a Mini Cooper and a Dodge Promaster RV. 

    Now proudly 80, I recently passed the eye test and had my driver’s license renewed for five more years. I don’t intend to renew it again! 

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  • Why Traffic “Improvements” Destroy Cities

    By Tim Keller

    I would like to briefly weigh in on one of the elements of the debate currently being waged online regarding Measure V.

    Opponents complain that the new residents will clog our streets with “traffic” while supporters of the project point out that Village Farms will pay for “traffic improvements” that will mitigate or perhaps even improve traffic. 

    It is my distinct impression that both sides of that debate are missing the most important question: What exactly are “traffic improvements”?

    In practice, “traffic engineering” is usually shorthand for constructing LARGER intersections: adding pavement, turn lanes, traffic lights, slip lanes, and other infrastructure intended to move more cars through an area more efficiently.

    You can optimize signal timing to some degree, but beyond that, most “traffic improvements” simply mean making more room for automobiles.  This is not necessarily something we should be cheering for.

    As urban planner Lewis Mumford warned all the way back in 1955:

    “Adding lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.”

    Consider these two downtown intersections here in Davis:

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  • Proposals for city budget fall far short of what is needed to address severe funding gap

    [The following email from Dan Carson was shared with the Davisite for posting]

    Dear City Council and Fiscal Commissioners:

    Attached please find a city staff report authored by the City Manager and the Finance Department — dated May 19, 2026 and titled “Fiscal Year 2026/27 Mid-Cycle Budget Update” — that was recently provided to you for public hearings this week. Given the brief timeline available for public consideration of this report by the Council and the Commission, I am sharing these comments with you in the interests of ensuring that you obtain critical information needed to assess the proposed actions and their potential effect on our city’s fiscal stability and integrity.  

    Click to access 06-FY26-27-Mid-Cycle-Budget-Update.pdf

    As you know, I served as a fiscal advisor to the California Legislature for 17 years, concluding my state career as Deputy Legislative Analyst of the nonpartisan and independent Legislative Analyst’s Office before serving for nine years on the City of Davis Finance and Budget Commission and then the City Council.  

    In summary, my analyses indicates that the first steps to address the city’s budget shortfalls being proposed by city management are reasonable but will fall far short of what is needed to address a severe funding gap caused primarily by dramatic and excessive increases in employee pay and benefits approved by the Council in a series of recent multi-year labor contracts. The budget package also does not provide the level of funding needed to fix our roads and bike paths and other infrastructure and discloses that it “defers” more capital improvement projects it does not identify. I recommend the Commission and the Council take a series of actions described below to address these issues.

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  • UCD Sustainable Transportation Plan Open for Public Review Through May 4

    Students navigate a mix of bikes, e-scooters, skateboards, and foot traffic on campus—illustrating the growing complexity of how people move through the Davis campus. (Courtesy photo / UC Davis)

    (From press release) UC Davis is inviting the broader Davis community to review and comment on a draft of its updated sustainable transportation plan through May 4.

    The plan—called Moving Forward Together—has been in development for over a year and outlines more than 100 possible improvements for how people get to and move through campus, from safer crossings and separated bike paths to better transit connections. It marks the first comprehensive update since 2009, with recommendations supported by input from more than 3,000 people, along with an analysis of travel patterns, infrastructure gaps, and collision data.

    Why this plan matters

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  • A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen

    By Elaine Roberts Musser

    There was a pretty lively discussion that transpired on social media recently. Many citizens in this town don’t understand why Village Homes is getting a complete pavement makeover, while arterials are going to pot(holes).  Some suspicion was expressed that there may be political leverage involved in the decision making.  Neither do voters understand why their streets are so riddled with alligator cracks, fissures and pits, while the current City Council seems relatively unconcerned about maintaining basic city infrastructure. This is especially true when a recently approved sales tax hike was supposed to help solve the pavement problem. In fact, someone was concerned enough to reach out to both the City and the City Council for an explanation. The City finally responded.

    However, the reply seemed contradictory.  The City’s representative justified prioritizing repairing Village Homes inner streets over major arterials by saying: “Most of the streets in Village Homes are in failed condition”.  Yet later in their explanation the City made the following contrary statement: “Pavement preservation—proactive maintenance of roads in fair or good condition—helps extend pavement life and maximize the value of each dollar spent. This is why some streets may receive treatment even if they appear to be in better shape than others.” 

    The city can’t have it both ways, especially when it comes to fixing very small neighborhood streets in poor condition, at the expense of not repairing main thoroughfares in fair condition. First, considerably more citizens in this town use the thoroughfares than tiny side streets.  And secondly, those major arteries are fast deteriorating from fair condition, and are a good portion of the way to degrading to poor condition.

    As it turns out, a case was just handed down in May of this year from the California Supreme Court, which gives a harsh lesson to cities allowing their roads to unacceptably worsen. In a 7- 0 decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiff could sue the City of Oakland for serious injuries sustained as a result of bicycling on crumbled or cracked pavement. It said the City was obligated to “maintain its streets in a reasonably safe condition for travel by the public”. In a statement announcing the $7 million settlement in favor of the plaintiff, the attorney representing the injured party indicated the court’s ruling sent a clear message to California cities that “safe streets are not optional”.

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  • The General Plan won’t be a Genial Plan

     

    Screenshot 2025-07-30 8.22.55 PM"The goal is to manipulate

    Heavy hands to intimidate

    Snuff out the very idea of clarity

    Strangle your longing for truth and trust

    Choke wisdom sapience and prudence

    The war economy is inviolable violently

    Suppresses all intelligence that conflicts

    With the stakes of those who drive it."  - 

    From "Melodie is a Wound" by: Laetitia Sadier, Tim John Gane. Performed by Stereolab. Album: Instant Holograms On Metal Film. Released: 2025.  https://youtu.be/Nndpg90P2O8?

  • 5th & J Streets – Emergency Situation

    5th&J Image

    Open Letter to Davis City Council

    Davis City Council,

    Another collision at 5th & J Street today.  Car vs. Bike.

    Right after I called for Jersey barriers again at Council last night after the last collision. 

    This is an emergency situation.  Two collisions just this week, four in one week several weeks back.  Put up the goddamned Jersey barriers already, like today, like tomorrow.  Recognize that people are getting hurt at an alarming rate here.  I made a mistake being OK that the changes are coming after calling for Jersey barriers immediately after the four accidents a few weeks back. We can't wait.

    Here's how to do it:  put Jersey barriers on the left of each directional lane leading up to the intersection, and along the left-turn lane.  The left-turn lanes will face each other, so block the west to south lane, and allow east to north.  Put a 4' gap on each side for peds & bikes at crosswalks.  Do this also at I Street and K Street.  Similar site problems, and drivers will just cut over to I or K if J is blocked.  At I and K Street reverse which left turn lane is blocked, so cars can only go west to south.  This allows people to get into the neighborhood from 5th either direction, but prevents a 'face-off' between cars in the two left-turn lanes.  Then slap a vertical yellow reflector on the east and west ends of the Jersey barriers to prevent cars from hitting them.

    This has been going on for years, but the rate of collisions has increased greatly recently.  I live near the corner of 3rd & J Streets.  3rd is a bit less busy but still an arterial.  I can't recall ever seeing a collision there.  In over 35 years.  I'm sure it's happened, but it's rare.  So it isn't just bad drivers, it's the intersection.

    People keep asking why.  5th & J has inherent site problems.  These can't be fixed with shrub trimming – there are poles and trees in just the wrong places.  Going south to cross, you have to stop back of the stop line, then pull forward up to the bike lane, stop, and then pull across.  It's the only safe way to do it, but most people who don't use it regularly don't know this, nor is stopping twice a normal way to cross a street.  You get someone who pulls forward from the stop line with their site line blocked in just the wrong places, combined with a speeding car on 5th, and BOOM.  And it happens often.

    Do it!  Fix it!  Today!  Now!  No later than tomorrow!

    Alan C. Miller

    Old East Davis

  • NE Transportation Corridor – Tonight on City Council Agenda @8:40pm

    Open Letter to City Council on NE Transportation Corridor Item 7 (8:40pm, Tues 4/1)

    City Council,

    I may not be able to attend tonight so am making email comments here.

    I appreciate your taking up the NE Transportation Corridor.  As specified, the item as written would be part of the General Plan.  From the staff report, this involves more detail than the concept suggested by the Davis Citizens Planning Group (DCPG or close to that name).  

    I also came up with the almost identical idea of a transportation corridor north and east of Covell/Mace to run through the new suburbs, as a BRT or Bus Rapid Transit corridor parallel to a bike line.  As separate citizens came up with almost identical comments, perhaps the consultants should meet soon with the citizens for initial input, rather than or in addition to the consultants having citizens comment on the consultant's plans.

    Here are the basic features that I believe I and DCPG agree on:

    • There would be minimal stops as per BRT standards (1/4-1/2 mile spacing).
    • The corridor would not be for automobiles
    • There would be and adjacent and parallel bike track on the south/west of the corridor.
    • There would be minimal intersections, with only major arteries crossing the corridor to minimize conflicts.
    • The BRT would continue into Davis on regular roads, with some upgrades for the BRT infrastructure.
    • The Route:
      • The BRT would start at shopping center south of Hwy. 80 along Mace (Nugget) for a SE anchor.
      • The route would cut east on the north side of the tracks to access the corridor.
      • The dedicated corridor would continue in an arc north and west parallel to the curve of Mace and Covell.
      • At Wildhorse, the BRT could divert south to Covell, or use the 'cut-through lot' to access Moore and run to Moore & Pole Line.
      • From there the BRT could continue through Village Homes or south on Pole Line.
      • The BRT would serve Oakshade Shopping Center
      • The BRT would then continue Covell–>F Street–>Amtrak–>First Street–>South Campus (Library Silo)–>West Village
    • Each development could proceed on its own once the basic route is confirmed through the to-be-developed areas, as long as all developers agreed to link to the future through corridor once each segment is built.
    • The new route should minimize turns and instead follow a smooth arc.
    • IMPORTANT:  Building density for each development should be at its maximum nearest bus stops and along the corridor, and step to medium and to lowest densities (per project) as one gets further from the corridor.

    I believe the transportation corridor placement needs to be negotiated and agreed to with each landowner/developer far in advance of the General Plan Update.  This will allow the corridor to be whole and usable once all developments are in place.

    Alan C. Miller