How California's new daylighting law impacts city of Davis
DAVIS — Cities across California are now scrambling to comply with a new state law designed to improve pedestrian and bike safety, but that means there will be fewer places to park cars.
A parking space at 3rd and F streets and one at 2nd and E streets are just some of the 56 parking spots being removed in downtown Davis.
Finding a place to park is already tough at times and places like the Davis Wine Bar say that a lack of parking spots is their number-one customer complaint.
The street parking spaces are being eliminated to comply with a new state law designed to improve safety for people walking and riding bikes. It now requires a 20-foot-long buffer zone between crosswalks and on-street parking spaces.
The goal is to remove blind spots and make it easier for cars to see pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the street.
Diane Swann has been biking around Davis for 50 years and said the new law will make street intersections safer.
"It's a problem because you can't see around that corner or cars can't see you," she said.
The new safety rules apply to every intersection in California.
In Davis, the city says about 5% of its downtown parking spaces will be impacted. Most will become red zones, although some could be turned into bicycle parking spaces or loading zones.
Many people in this bike-friendly city support the safety improvements.
"I think it's a good idea for pedestrian safety," one woman said.
However, businesses like the wine bar just hope the city will do more to keep their customers coming back.
"I have no problem removing parking spaces," said Jared Winter, a sommelier at the Davis Wine Bar. "I think the overall question is just what is their plan to drive human beings downtown."
The City of Sacramento said it has not yet identified the number of parking spaces it will be eliminating, but in San Francisco, an estimated 14,000 parking spots will be removed.
