DINUBA – The city is taking another step towards enhancing pedestrian safety in the community with some significant improvements to sidewalks and bicycle lanes on several arterial streets.
Using funds provided through the Active Transportation Program, Dinuba has $17 million available for the project which is currently in the early design stages and is expected to begin construction in summer 2025. The use of the funds was approved by the city council at the Sept. 10 council meeting.
“The value of this project is great,” Dinuba Public Works Director George Avila said in an interview with The Sun-Gazette. “There is a lot of sidewalk work that will be done, bulbouts that will be done, a lot of it is for the pedestrians of Dinuba.”
The project will include high-visibility crosswalks featuring repeating lights to aid drivers in knowing when a pedestrian is crossing the street. Avila said one of the major issues the city identified for public safety has been bicycle and pedestrian safety near schools where vehicle versus pedestrian accidents are most likely to happen.
“The benefit is primarily for school children walking to school, pedestrians overall, and of course, people riding their bikes who will benefit from the project,” Avila said. “We are trying to fill in as many gaps in the sidewalks as we can throughout town and improve the overall visibility and promote safety.”
The project will focus largely on El Monte Drive and Alta Drive which both feature schools, businesses and significant traffic. The project will also address deficiencies along Euclid Avenue. The project is largely driven by a goal of providing public safety while addressing a lack of safe and secure pathways in Dinuba.
“These are some significant enhancements to pedestrians and bicycle riders to have a safer pathway,” Avila said.
As part of the plan, Dinuba intends to provide “bicycle rodeos” where young riders will be educated about bicycle safety including proper ways to enter intersections and the proper use of safety equipment.
“We will be going to the elementary school and showing them how to understand signage,” Avila said. He added that part of the program is expected to include financing to provide free bicycle helmets to some riders.
“We are still in the design phase as it is a significant project,” Avila said. “There are a lot of things that still need to be designed and figured out. Once that is completed, we will put it out to bid.”
The project is the latest step in Dinuba’s push to rework heavily traveled roads and improve safety. Recently, Dinuba underwent a significant project to create a massive roundabout at Kamm Avenue and Alta Avenue to improve traffic flow and reduce accidents. Resurfacing El Monte Avenue and restriping the road have also recently been completed to ensure enhanced road safety for drivers on some of Dinuba’s most heavily-used roads.
“This grant award is a really significant win for the city,” Avila said. “The ATP program is a very competitive program. When you first apply, you compete state-wide, so bigger cities have an advantage. It has been a very big win for Dinuba.”
Dinuba has previously been awarded ATP grant funds, but they have come from local funding which results in significantly smaller amounts that often require other funding sources to complete projects. This grant, being from the state rather than local funding, is the largest and most significant investment recently to provide upgraded pedestrian safety and better driver awareness.
