Evaluation of UC Davis Long-Range Transportation, Land-Use, And Housing Plans: Examining the Potential for Innovative Mobility Pilot Projects

At present, the City of Davis, surrounding communities, and the UC Davis campus are struggling with many of the same transportation problems that plague larger urban centers including increasing traffic, limited parking, and challenges to effective operation of the public transit system. The campus is expecting to grow by 6,000 students in the next ten years (plus approximately 3,000 faculty and staff) and is developing a Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) that will serve to guide this growth. This plan will include housing, traffic control, parking, alternative transportation modes, and interactions with the broader community. The development of the LRDP provides a unique opportunity for the Institute of Transportation Studies-Davis (ITS-Davis), the University of California (UC)-wide partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) program, and Caltrans to provide input and advice on mobility options that will help the campus accommodate the expected growth while minimizing negative transportation impacts. The integrated nature of the LRDP also provides an opportunity to look at transportation options from a broader perspective than is usually possible under traditional planning scenarious. Thus creating an opportunity to evaluate a variety of innovative advanced information and mobility packages that could be implemented on a pilot scale in the coming years. These advanced technologies include dynamic ridesharing, carsharing, neighborhood electric vehicles, linkages between housing and access to shared-use automobiles, integration between modes, information kiosks, and other mobility packages that might prove effective at reducing the demand for single occupancy vehicles associated with campus.