THE FALLOUT: For commuters and lots of others

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Graphic: Caltrans Fix50.com logo
Graphic: Caltrans Fix50.com logo

WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY WORKSHOP

"Workplace Flexibility: The Nuts and Bolts," an overview of UC Davis policies and practices regarding telecommuting, flextime and options for compressed workweeks. Noon-1 p.m. Thursday, March 27; please note that the brown bag has been moved to a larger space, Meeting Room D at the Student Community Center. Everyone’s invited, without preregistration. Presented by Human Resources as part of the Career Catalyst Brown Bag Series.

Fix 50 and UC Davis: The latest information, plus helpful links.

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Originally published March 11. Updated at noon March 20: Next week's brown bag on workplace flexibility has been moved to a larger space, Meeting Room D at the Student Community Center. The brown bag is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 27. No preregistration.

By Dave Jones

When Caltrans closes the W-X freeway viaducts in Sacramento (scheduled from May 2 to June 17), the Davis and Sacramento campuses will see all kinds of fallout — and we’re not just talking about commuters who will face delays of at least an hour.

Do you see yourself on this list? If so, then you could be affected ... and you may want to start considering your options (see the box at right for information on a workplace flexibility workshop).

Now, here's the list (no doubt incomplete):

  • Commuter students, trying to get to class on time.
  • Commuter students, praying to get to their finals on time.
  • Professors, hoping their students arrive on time.
  • Commuter professors, trying to get to school on time.
  • Staff trying to get to work on the Davis or Sacramento campuses from northeast Sacramento and beyond (via Business 80), east Sacramento and beyond (U.S. 50), south Sacramento and beyond (Highway 99), and downtown Sacramento (U.S. 50).
  • Staff who live in West Sacramento or points farther west, trying to get to work on the Sacramento campus  (via U.S. 50).
  • Staff who live in West Sacramento, trying to get home from the Davis campus, because Interstate 80 is likely to be congested as it approaches Sacramento.
  • UC Davis Extension at Sacramento’s Sutter Square Galleria, which sits almost smack-dab in the middle of the construction project.
  • Delivery drivers, headed to the Davis and Sacramento campuses.
  • Faculty and staff, waiting for deliveries.
  • Parents, dropping off their children at day care and school, then trying to get to work on time.
  • Parents, working until 5, then having to pick up their children from day care.
  • Parents whose children are ill, and mom or dad must pick them up from day care or school.
  • Shuttle bus drivers, having to get to work on time so they can start their runs on time, between the Davis and Sacramento campuses.
  • Shuttle bus riders, who don’t have to drive but will still be stuck in traffic.
  • Bicyclists, hoping there’s room for extra bikes on shuttle buses and Amtrak train cars, if more commuters opt for those alternative forms of transportation.
  • People at work on the Davis campus who have appointments in Sacramento.
  • People at work on the Sacramento campus who have appointments in Davis.
  • Prospective students (we hope they don’t think Sacramento traffic is this bad all the time).
  • Prospective transfer students, trying to get to Transfer Day, May 16. (Decision Day for undergraduates is April 5, before the W-X freeway closures).
  • Moms and dads, sisters and brother, aunts and uncles, trying to get to commencement on time (all commencements, including the School of Medicine’s, are held on the Davis campus, and all are scheduled during the W-X closures).
  • Graduating students, hoping to see their families in the audience.
  • Commencement planners, hoping everybody gets to the ceremonies on time.
  • Conference planners, hoping their speakers and other participants arrive on time.
  • Other event planners, hoping their guests arrive on time, say, for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Classroom Building and Music Recital Hall, May 2.
  • UC Davis Health System patients, trying to get to their appointments on time.
  • Pet owners, trying to get to their appointments at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
  • Plant lovers, trying to get to Rose Weekend, May 3-4, and the arboretum’s last plant sale of the season, May 17.
  • Big West track and field athletes (and spectators), who will face traffic hurdles before they get to the real hurdles at the conference championships, being held on the Davis campus, May 9-10 and 16-17.
  • Festivalgoers, coming to the Whole Earth Festival, May 9-11, and Black Family Day, May 18.
  • All daughters and sons, trying to visit their mothers on Mothers Day, May 11, and Fathers Day, June 15.

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Media Resources

Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

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