Davis Residents Walk Together To Curb Crime
DAVIS (CBS13) — At least two-dozen people took part in a safety walk in downtown Davis Wednesday night. They started downtown at the Amtrak station made their way around the city. The walk started when it was dark -- the time of day associated with some recent safety concerns.
Divided in teams, concerned residents, police, business owners, and city leaders hit the pavement.
Davis resident John Troidl says one problem is cyclists breaking the law.
"The bike riders that have no lights on their bike, no helmet, they just blew through a stop sign. When it's dark, drivers can't see them, that's a real problem," he said.
Another concern is inadequate lighting.
"We have heard from students about how dark the alleyways are and how dark parts of our downtown are, so they feel unsafe biking down here so we want to take a look at street conditions to see how we can improve that," said Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel.
From burned-out lights to other concerns, several issues were given the spotlight by residents as they walked the streets with flashlights in hand.
"There's a fair amount of downtown street lights; we're looking for tripping hazards, bushes that need to be trimmed back, places where people may hide...may not be well-lit," said Davis City Councilman Lucas Frerichs.
Chief Pytel says they've seen a recent spike in property crime and sexual assaults. In a string of recent burglaries, homeowners who were out of town have returned to find their doors kicked in and cash, jewelry and safes missing.
"We know a lot of the fights happen in darker areas. The more lights around and people around, the less people will engage in bad behavior," he said.
