Old North Davis Neighborhood Association

What’s wrong with 5th Street

What we can do about it
And how it has worked in other communities

2-14-09 V 2.0
We have a serious safety problem that affects all users of the street.
10% of all the accidents in the entire City of Davis happen
on the 5th Street corridor between A Street and L Street.
YEAR 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 TOTAL
CITYWIDE (on street) 547 510 383 347 348 2,135
Injuries 256 233 238 228 233 1,188
Fatalities 1 1 0 1 1 4
Bicycle 75 64 55 56 86 336
Pedestrian 18 12 12 16 12 70
City Bike & Ped Total 93 76 67 72 98 406
5th ST CORRIDOR 79 40 35 35 30 219
Injuries 38 20 19 22 19 118
Bicycle 9 4 7 2 6 28
Injuries 9 3 6 2 6 26
Pedestrian 5 2 0 1 2 10
Injuries 5 2 0 1 2 10
5th Bike/Ped 14 6 7 3 8 38
Injuries 14 5 6 3 8 36

24 bicyclists and pedestrians have been hit by cars in under

4 years since the signal timing was changed at F and G.
 Probability of Pedestrian Fatality
vs
Vehicle Speed Upon Impact
25 mph 35 mph

Probability
of death
Survive
Risk of
fatality

Die

Impact speed (KPH)

 Adopted General Plan
Primary Bicycle
Network Map

5th Street bike lanes

on the map, but
not on the street! Qui ckTi me™ an d a
decompressor
are ne eded to see thi s p icture.
Adopted General Plan Two-lane truck
Truck Route Map routes in Davis.

Q u i c kT i m e ™ a n d a
d e com p re s so r
a re n e e d e d to se e th i s p i cture .
 Other Arterial Streets in Davis with a Similar Design
Carrying Ten Thousand Vehicles a Day (ADT) or More
--One through lane in each direction
--Center left turn lanes or left turn pockets at intersections
--Bike lanes on both sides
--(Some with and some without curbside parking)

Pole Line Rd
12,000 ADT--3,400 ft long
10 crashes in 2007,
Anderson Rd 5th Street 8 of them at 5th Street
11,000 ADT 15,400 ADT
3,500 ft long 4,000 ft long
11 crashes 35 crashes in 2007
In 2007

B Street
15,100 ADT
2,000 ft long
7 crashes
In 2007
Cowell Blvd
16,100 ADT--2,800 ft long
3 crashes in 2007
 The Solution?
Get the turning cars out of the stream of traffic. This is done by eliminating one lane in each
direction, and creating a median with room for left turn pockets. Bike lanes can fill the edges
of the street. Initially this can be done by simply repainting the street. It all fits between the
existing curbs. A second phase could introduce raised and landscaped medians, which
would extend to the crosswalks to improve pedestrian safety.

No ramp from sidewalk into the crosswalk

No painted crosswalk for blocks
No respect from drivers
After waiting several minutes, she pushed
the stroller 600 feet to a signal

How the street could be

improved, just with paint
Three crash types can be reduced by going from
4 lanes to 3 lanes: The first – rear end collisions

4-lane street, the car waiting to 3-lane street, the car waiting to
turn left is hit from the rear turn left is safe in the turn lane
Aftermath of rear-end collisions on 5th Street
 Three crash types can be reduced by going
from 4 lanes to 3 lanes: Second – side swipes

4-lane street, to avoid the car waiting 3-lane street, the turning car is safe
to turn, unsafe lane change is made and through traffic is in one line
Aftermath of a lane change collision between C and D Streets
Three crash types can be reduced by going from
4 to 3 lanes: Third – left turn & crossing broadsides

4-lane street, the stopped red car 3-lane street, turning cars face each
blocks the view of the yellow car other and oncoming cars are visible
Turn and crossing accidents at 5th and E Streets
The aftermath of an unsafe crossing at 5th and J Street
This was the second wreck on 5th Street in an hour
 Sample 4 lane to 3 lane reductions in Seattle
(Six out of two dozen conversions to date)
Note that the converted streets carry more traffic

Roadway Date ADT ADT Collision

Location Change Before After Reduction
Greenwood Ave N 24 to 10
Apr-95 11872 12427
N 80th St to N 50th 58%
N 45th Street 45 to 23
Dec-72 19421 20274
Wallingford Area 49%
8th Ave NW 18 to 7
Jan-94 10549 11858
Ballard Area 61%
Martin Luther King Jr W 15 to 6
Jan-94 12336 13161
North of I 90 60%
Dexter Ave N 19 to 16
Jun-91 13606 14949
Queen Ann Area 16
59%
24th Ave NW %
14 to 10
Oct-95 9727 9754
NW 85th to NW 65th 28%
Previously 4 lane California Street in
Mountain View, after a lane reduction
 Pedestrian crossing
78
Feet

La Jolla Boulevard, in the Bird Rock Before

Community of the City of San Diego
--ADT was 23,000 when converted After

14
feet
Widened sidewalks and safer crossings are
popular with shop owners, cyclists...
.....pedestrians, residents and visitors
Aggressive Speeding on Edgewater Drive, Orlando Florida
Before and After Conversion from 4 Lanes to 3 Lanes

Aggressive speeding dropped in all sections of the corridor

 Edgewater Dr, Orlando, FL
Reduction in vehicle accidents

34% Reduction
146 per yr

87 per yr

Crash Rate declined by 34 percent

Injury Rate per Million Vehicle Miles on Edgewater Drive

68% Reduction

1 injury every
9 days

1 injury every
30 days

Reduced speeds produced a huge injury rate decline

Edgewater Drive: Change in Pedestrian Count

23% Increase
Edgewater Drive: Impact of Lane Reduction
Increase in Bicycle Traffic

30% Increase
 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL
Before/After Studies: Evaluation Matrix

Avoid Spillover Traffic in Neighborhoods YES

Reduce Speeding on Edgewater Dr YES

Increase Bicyclist Volumes YES

Increase Pedestrian Volumes YES

Reduce Crashes YES

Increase On-Street Parking Use Rates YES

Increase Pedestrian Satisfaction (Residents) YES

Increase Pedestrian Satisfaction (Merchants) NO

The following lane reduction case studies
shown here with permission are from the
 Preliminary, partial list of 4 lane to 3 lane conversions in the U.S.

COMMUNITY STATE STREET ADT AFTER

Seattle WA California Avenue
N 45th Street 19,400 22,800
Eastlake Avenue E 15,600 15,000
Delridge Way 18,600 14,700
Dexter Avenue N 13,600 15,000
W Gov't Way/Gilman Ave W 12,900 14,300
8th Avenue NW 10,500 12,300
Martin Luther King Jr Way 12,300 13,300
Madison Street 17,000 17,800
California Ave Extension 15,500 14,500
24th Avenue NW 9,700 9,800
12th Avenue 11,800 12,100
Greenwood Avenue 11,900 12,400
Alaskan Wy SE/Marginal Wy 10,200 10,900
Beacon Avenue S 11,300 10,600
E Pike Street 13,000
Kirkland WA Lake Washington Boulevard 20,000
King County WA Rainier Avenue South
University Place WA Bridgeport Way
Vancouver WA 4th Plain Avenue 17,000
Baker City OR Campbell Street 10-11,000
Portland OR Tacoma Street 30,000+
7th Avenue
NE Glisan
Salem OR Front Street/Hwy 22 35,000 (6to4)
San Francisco CA Valencia Street 22,000
Polk Street
Oakland CA High Street 22-24,000
Emeryville CA 40th St/Shellmound Bridge
Berkeley CA Marin Avenue
Mountain View CA California Street
El Cajon CA East Main Street
San Diego CA La Jolla Blvd (Bird Rock) 23,000
Woodland CA Main Street
 Preliminary, partial list of 4 lane to 3 lane conversions in the U.S.,
continued

COMMUNITY STATE STREET ADT AFTER

Clark County NV Lindell Road
Reno NV South Wells Avenue
Colorado Springs CO Cheyenne Boulevard
Los Alamos County NM Canyon Road
Billings MT 17th Street West 9,200-10,000
Helena MT U.S. 12 18,000
Storm Lake IA U.S. 71 8,500
Clear Lake IA U.S. 18 12,000
Ramsey County MN Rice Street 17-23,000
Duluth MN 21st Avenue 17,000
London Road 17,400
Lombard IL Route 53 18,000
Lansing MI Kalamazoo Street 10-12,000
Burcham Road 14,000
Grand River Avenue 23,000
Abbott Road 14-15,000
Hartford CN Wethersford Avenue 12,900 12,900
Franklin Avenue 11,050 11,050
Maple Avenue 10,050 10,000
Tower Avenue 11,800 12,500
North Main Street 12,050 12,450
Brooklyn NY Oriental Boulevard
South Orange NJ South Orange Street
Ocean City NJ West Avenue 15,000

Hampton VA Settlers Landing Road 21,000 17,000

Athens GA Baxter Street 20,000
Lewiston PA Electric Avenue 13,000
Orlando FL Edgewater Drive 20,000
Lake Worth FL Lake Avenue

These are just a few of the hundreds of examples by some estimates

 Old North Davis Neighborhood Association
www.oldnorthdavis.net
Presentation by Steve Tracy -- email stracy@yolo.com

A light commute day at the train station in Gouda, Holland