Bicycles are recognized the world over as a remarkable technology – simple yet excellent transportation; truly a remarkable invention. The BBC just awarded the bicycle “The Triumph of Technology” award; for the second year in a row.

Davis and bicycles are intertwined. But we need to keep up with the times – we need to actively pursue related grant funding (let’s make sure we don’t miss the CALTRANS BTA deadline this year!!) increase citizen awareness of Davis Bicycle Master Plan, explore bicycle based community partnerships, and most of all, get on our bikes to decrease global warming and build a GREENER community.

To re-establish biking in Davis, we could focus on these three areas: Educating, Encouraging, and Enabling bike usage by emphasizing and implementing the following:

SAFETY

• Aggressively implement cost-efficient and effective bike safety infrastructure- through double striping and installing Bot Dots (white, ceramic, raised dots)- both of these create a significant visual barrier for cars, thus increasing perceived and real increases in safety between different modes of transportation.
  
  
• Consideration of European-style roadway improvements. For example, many European countries actively design their transportation infrastructure to decrease the probability that cars making right hand turns at intersections will collide with bikes traveling straight- by moving the 'stop' line for cars back and allowing bikes to take up the first spots at stops.
  
  
• Helmets: education and implementation of subsidized helmet programs
  
  
• Education: increase outreach efforts including elementary school education programs and incoming university student orientation programs.
  
  
• Partnership with Local Businesses, UCD, ASUCD, GSA, City of Davis, & Davis Bike Club to Promote October as "Safe Biking Month" to reduce accidents for the beginning of UCD Fall quarter. Focus on road rules, traffic circle etiquette, and helmet use.
  
  
• Strict enforcement of traffic laws

ACCESS

• Augment our General Plan transportation "Level of Service" definition to include quantifications not just of automotive wait times at intersections, but also other modeships such as bicycle and pedestrian wait times.
  
  
• Establish Bike Parking Policies to ensure appropriate quantity and location of bike parking
  
  
• Maintain and extend our extensive system of bike paths. Establish high minimum standards for new bike infrastructure
  
  
• Removal of abandoned bicycles from racks
  
  
• Increase bike parking in downtown area and neighborhood shopping centers
  
  
• Explore other ways to ensure that Davis remains bike friendly

CELEBRATION

• Encourage monthly "Family Bicycle to School Days" – the school bus was not meant to be replaced by the minivan!
  
  
• Encourage safer biking to school through on-line bike-pool coordination via the City of Davis website.
  
  
• Recruit more bicycle-related events to the City
  
  
• "Bicycles around the world videos" –mere mortals can now create, edit and broadcast their own video – we could establish a 'Bicycles around the world' YouTube archive. We can't all travel to see how bicycles are supported in the Netherlands and elsewhere, but perhaps a bike enthusiast will strap a camera to his or her helmet and take us on a guided tour of the ins and outs of bicycles around the world in their hometown.