Several changes are pending in downtown Davis. To counter problems with public safety, the district is adding volunteer ambassadors and hopes to gain a police officer assigned to patrol the area on foot or bike; it plans a “rediscover” event for people who have concluded downtown is no longer for them; it’s tracking the effects of reduced parking, new downtown housing, potential changes from a new underpass at the train station to Olive Drive, and whether the new car-free space on G Street (pictured on a recent Wednesday afternoon) delivers benefits that outweigh the disruption it has caused.

Proposition 36, which Californians approved last November to permit felony charges and stiffer sentences for certain drug and theft crimes, is also a factor. We talk about all this with Brett Lee, executive director of the Davis Downtown Business Association and a third-generation resident of Davis, as well as a former mayor.