California’s new “Daylighting Law” illuminates the dangers of low visibility while driving
By PIPER AWEEKA — city@theaggie.org
On Jan. 2 of this year, the city of Davis announced its plan to begin instituting California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 413, dubbed the “Daylighting Law” which will largely impact parking demarcations downtown.
By “daylighting,” the bill is referring to an unobstructed field of view for anyone approaching an intersection. In its press release, the city stated a three-phase plan of implementation. The first phase, due to begin this month, will result in parking spaces near downtown intersections painted red. Because of the goal to increase the visibility of sidewalks for both vehicles and pedestrians, the law will yield most of its impacts in Downtown Davis where traffic is most problematic.
Ryan Chapman, Davis’ assistant director of Public Works Engineering and Transportation Department, addressed the varied implementations that will take place across the city.
“The approach is designed to better accommodate the specific needs and characteristics of our various neighborhoods,” Chapman said. “For example, in the downtown area, we have all of these locations marked as timed parking, and the curb faces need to be repainted in order to not conflict with the ‘Daylighting Law.’”
While AB 413 stands to result in an elevated level of safety for pedestrians due to increased fields of view at intersections, some citizens express that some of the most dangerous situations involve not just pedestrians but also bicyclists.
Monica, an employee at popular downtown eatery Cafe Bernardo — that has an outdoor seating area bordering the corner of 3rd and D Street — said that in her experience working at the establishment, commotion most commonly involves these cyclists.
“It’s not necessarily an issue with pedestrians but more with bicyclists not stopping at stop signs,” Monica said.
Travis, a more than five-year-long employee at Starbucks, also noted the severity of issues between vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.
“The hierarchy of walking, biking and driving is not respected,” Travis said.
The implementation of AB 413 aims to result in safety for everyone and the mitigation of incidents that residents like Travis have frequently experienced.
“I have almost been hit many times,” Travis said. “Cars do not stop and look long enough.”
In the press release from the city of Davis, Phase 3 of AB 413 is projected to continue up until October 2025, with an ongoing Phase 4 involving the evaluation of feedback on how the “Daylighting Law” has fared.
Chapman expects that the plan will not only be individualized to this city but that many municipalities across California will adopt similar strategies.
“Many other cities are still planning the changes that are needed to implement this law,” Chapman said. “We do not expect that their approach will be significantly different from the city of Davis plan.”
As the bill begins to be applied in Davis, only time will tell how it will benefit the city. With concerns from both the city and citizens alike, there is a focus on increasing the safety of all of Davis’ residents and visitors, and the adoption of Assembly Bill 413 marks a first step toward an even safer city.
Written by: Piper Aweeka — city@theaggie.org
