How much would a new light rail line to UC Davis cost? (San Francisco: transfer, neighborhoods)

[NorCal Dude]

A light rail to a college cowtown, Exurb? LOL.

They already have an amtrak station.

[marcopolo666]

It would cost too much. Use the existing providers : Amtrak and Yolobus.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

A light rail to a college cowtown, Exurb? LOL.

They already have an amtrak station.

But that ends 2,000 feet from campus. You can't expect people to walk that far. Curbside light rail service is the clear answer for all your cowtown to college town transportation needs.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I owned a condo in Davis, and went to the Sacramento City College satellite campus there, as part of my studies (went back to college later in life).

I could tell you don't know Davis. First of all, Davis does not want to be part of Sacramento. Yikes! That's what's so great about Davis - that it's not Sacramento.

You can easily walk from the train station to campus. You need to look at a map. The train station is right in downtown Davis. You could walk it easily, but everyone has bikes to get around campus with. So, you take your bike on the train.

Basically, you get off the train and you're right in downtown. You walk down 2nd Street about 5 or 6 short blocks, and you're on campus. Through a safe downtown area. But, you would take your bike, or rent one of the bike lockers at the station in Davis. Leaving one chained up might not be wise, as they do tend to be vandalized. Nothing worse than coming home to a bike without a seat on it. Grrrr.

Here's a map:

https://maps.yahoo.com/place/?lat=38...nited%20States

Please note, there's no room for a lightrail through Davis, and it's completely unneeded.

As others have said, Amtrak is the way to go. Plus, there are express buses between downtown Sacto and Davis. I used to commute to Sacto for work in the Arden Mall area.

Davis is small, and distinct and safe and attractive. Safe, in a great part because it's not easily accessible from Sacto.

Davis does not want to be part of Sacto. Heck, you sound like you've never even been to Davis.

Davis is kind of like a little Berkeley as far as radical opposition to development. It would be fun to watch the city council meetings (available on the local cable television) with a bag of popcorn and watch all of the citizens line up to speak their minds. Watching the council meetings on cable TV was one of the most entertaining things about Davis.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Davis does not want to be part of Sacto. Heck, you sound like you've never even been to Davis.

Davis is kind of like a little Berkeley as far as radical opposition to development. It would be fun to watch the city council meetings (available on the local cable television) with a bag of popcorn and watch all of the citizens line up to speak their minds. Watching the council meetings on cable TV was one of the most entertaining things about Davis.

Indeed. Any attempt to build another rail into Davis would meet a buzzsaw of opposition from the permanent Davis residents themselves.

The permanent residents of Davis have succeeded in making any development in Davis close to Bay Area price levels as a result. They want to keep the town small, but the UC Campus there is an enormous growth generator, so they are in a conundrum. Short of serious cutbacks to the UC, which they definitely don't want either.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by NickB1967

Indeed. Any attempt to build another rail into Davis would meet a buzzsaw of opposition from the permanent Davis residents themselves.

The permanent residents of Davis have succeeded in making any development in Davis close to Bay Area price levels as a result. They want to keep the town small, but the UC Campus there is an enormous growth generator, so they are in a conundrum. Short of serious cutbacks to the UC, which they definitely don't want either.

True. I hate to admit that I feel a little schadenfreude when I hear about companies leaving for West Sac, or the city scrambling to try to find a place for new development that won't drive the locals insane, or the University building massive developments on their own land while the locals don't have a say.

I lived near the current/future Cannery development while it was being discussed and it seemed eminently sensible, with all sorts of nice, Davis-like features, on land that was already developed and basically just an eyesore. There were still a lot of people who didn't want it, and I honestly don't think there was anything the developers could do to change that, short of getting rid of all the people and all the cars.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by ryuns

True. I hate to admit that I feel a little schadenfreude when I hear about companies leaving for West Sac, or the city scrambling to try to find a place for new development that won't drive the locals insane, or the University building massive developments on their own land while the locals don't have a say.

I lived near the current/future Cannery development while it was being discussed and it seemed eminently sensible, with all sorts of nice, Davis-like features, on land that was already developed and basically just an eyesore. There were still a lot of people who didn't want it, and I honestly don't think there was anything the developers could do to change that, short of getting rid of all the people and all the cars.

If they are serious about rerouting the freight rails in Davis, what do you think will happen?

http://www.davisenterprise.com/media...ment/trainw-2/

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by NickB1967

If they are serious about rerouting the freight rails in Davis, what do you think will happen?

http://www.davisenterprise.com/media...ment/trainw-2/

In what way?

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

In what way?

Well, would there be infill development in the abandoned rail corridor? Or would the Davis wannabe elites block that too?

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by NickB1967

Well, would there be infill development in the abandoned rail corridor? Or would the Davis wannabe elites block that too?

Good question. I remember hearing that City of Davis was getting a little pressure from Yolo County to allow their population to grow, under the assumption (IIRC) that the state population was still growing and that it was kind of a d!ck move to push all the growth elsewhere. If there is any pressure for the city to grow, that kind of infill seems like the way to do it. I still you'd witness some protracted battles with neighbors.