[Davisgig] Introduction and some small-scale ideas

[Russell Neches]

Greetings, folks. I'm a commissioner on the newly convened City of Davis
Bicycling, Transportation, and Street Safety Commission. Details about
our commission can be found here :

        http://city-council.cityofdavis.org/commissions/bicycling-transportation-and-street-safety-commission
        
I'm also a graduate student at UC Davis, and I live downtown.

One of the more difficult issues associated with the construction of new
data networks is managing community response to disruptions, both
temporary (mostly trench digging) and permanent (mostly equipment
cabinets).

I would recommend two strategies for mitigating these issues. For trench
digging, long-term coordination with the staff's schedule for road
maintenance. The schedule is pretty complicated, and it changes
frequently depending on budgets, weather and administrative priorities.
So, it would probably be a good idea to begin roughing out the proposed
construction plan as soon as possible, and to maintain regular contact
with us. Ideally, trench digging would be coordinated with normally
scheduled road resurfacing. This would minimize the duration of the
disruption and leave behind some immediately tangible benefits to the
impacted residents afterwards.

The second problem is what to do about the inevitable profusion of
above-ground equipment cabinets. This issue has to be dealt with on a
neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. Early knowledge of where the
cabinets need to be located will be essential. Identifying alternative
locations for each cabinet will also be essential. Approaching and
listening to HOAs and local businesses about these alternatives will
also be essential.

People hate equipment cabinets, and delays associated with executing the
required due process for complaints about equipment cabinets is a major
financial risk.

Usually, the way telcom companies deal with this issue is through a
combination of sneaking and astroturfing; they sneak through the process
as quietly as possible so that residents don't know what's about to
happen, and then when people start complaining, they blitz the various
public fora with their own (usually payed) supporters.

I would rather see a technical approach to the problem. There is no
reason an equipment cabinet has to look like an ugly gray monolith. They
could be built into bike shelters, or bus stops, or park benches. They
could be art projects. Public access terminals. Weather stations. Safety
call boxes. Waste heat from the equipment inside could be directed to
something useful, like keeping a bench warm and dry in the winter. It
could keep a chicken coop, or owl nesting box warm. 

Lining up neighborhood support for these cabinets could save millions of
dollars. Of course, delivering reasonably priced gigabit internet is a
reasonable argument in favor of putting up with ugly equipment cabinets.
However, it is a long-term argument that is not likely to persuade
everyone, and the few people who remain unconvinced can cause major
delays and cost overruns. 

With a little creative design and some good-faith engagement, the
equipment cabinets for the project can be turned into political
advantages rather than liabilities. 


Russell