Improvements for Unitrans, pedestrian safety and more
By MATTHEW MCELDOWNEY — city@theaggie.org
On March 24, Davis announced that the city has received over $7.5 million in grants from federal programs and the county since June 2024 — the complete list of these grant programs is accessible through the city’s press release.
The city will receive grants to build charging infrastructure for Unitrans’ electric buses, according to the press release from Public Information Officer Barbara Archer. Davis anticipates that Unitrans will be able to utilize 16 more charging stations by 2026, improving their ability to service the students and residents of Davis moving forward.
Archer added that these grants will also be invaluable for improving road safety for pedestrians, bikers and vehicles. To do so, the city plans on utilizing affiliate funding from the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program for a crossing relocation and grade separation project (implementing overpasses or tunnels to separate rail and road traffic).
“This project will help to reduce conflicts between both passenger and freight trains and roadway users, improve goods movement reliability, ease traffic congestion and reduce environmental impacts,” the press release reads.
Other safety projects will implement buffered bike lanes from Russell Boulevard to Arlington Road as well as install rapid flashing beacons and high-visibility pedestrian markings in several high-traffic areas. The city is also looking to use grant funding to install camera recognition technology to survey high-traffic or near-collision areas. These improvement projects will look to prevent serious injuries and traffic fatalities throughout Davis.
In addition, Archer mentioned in the statement that Davis will be receiving funding for citywide electric grid improvements. The $400,000 grant will fund energy-related education and research in addition to funding the installation of smart thermometer technology in over a hundred heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in Davis.
Davis will also be receiving funding to upgrade the city’s transformers and build additional electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. This is on top of reimbursements for the city’s purchase of a total of 25 EVs.
Lastly, the city will receive the maximum $250,000 from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program.
“The purpose of the grant is to assist agencies in addressing cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems, and improve security of critical infrastructure and resilience of the services these entities provide to their communities,” the press release reads.
The city of Davis Mayor Bapu Vaitla expressed recognition for the efforts of the city’s staff in securing the funding necessary for these improvement projects.
“We are always looking for ways to leverage partnerships, funds and resources,” Vaitla said. “These grants will help support a broad range of services that will go a long way into reinforcing the city’s commitment towards climate action, fiscal responsibility and public safety.”
Written by: Matthew Mceldowney — city@theaggie.org
