FRESNO COUNTY – The Fresno County Board of Supervisors paved the way for the county to improve bicycling and walking conditions in unincorporated areas of the county when it approved the 2024 Regional Active Transportation Plan.
Erin Haagenson, program manager for the Department of Public Works and Planning, who made the presentation to the Board at its Oct. 8, 2024 meeting, said, “The Plan is a tool or roadmap to identify ways to improve walking and cycling conditions throughout the region.”
Haagenson added that approval of the Plan will provide support for new funding applications to build accessible sidewalks, shared-use paths, bike lanes and improved crosswalks and street crossings.
The Plan was developed by the Fresno Council on Governments (FCOG) with assistance from consultants and staff from other county agencies. The California Transportation Commission (CTC) requires that any project eligible for funding under the state’s Active Transportation Program must be consistent with a 2024 Regional Transportation Plan.
Haagenson conceded that the Plan does not include all incorporated areas in the county, which Board Chairman Nathan Magsig said could total close to 100. Haagenson said the goal is to include these areas in future plans. Future plans will also include county islands.
The Plan includes the following unincorporated areas: Biola, Cantua Creek, Caruthers, Del Rey, Easton, Friant, Raisin City, Riverdale and Tranquility.
And includes the following cities: Coalinga, Firebaugh, Fowler, Huran, Kerman, Kingsburg, Mendota, Orange Cove, Parlier, San Joaquin, Sanger, Clovis, Fresno, Reedley and Selma. Haagenson pointed out that Clovis, Fresno, Reedley and Selma have their own transportation plans.
SAFER BICYCLING AND WALKING; REDUCED COLLISIONS
The goal of the Plan is to improve bicycling and walking conditions in the nine unincorporated areas. In her presentation, Haagenson noted that the majority of the areas lacked shared-use paths and sidewalks on both sides of their streets. Raisin City and Friant have no sidewalks. As for bike lanes, routes, and other cycling amenities, these were nearly non-existent in the nine areas.
Improved cycling and walking conditions will reduce collisions in these unincorporated areas. Using statistics covering the years 2016 through 2021, Haagenson noted that in the unincorporated areas of the county, there were 135 injury collisions reported that involved a pedestrian. There were over 100 collisions involving bicyclists. Of the 376 fatalities involving bicyclists and pedestrians during the time period, 11% of these deaths involved a person who was walking.
According to the Board agenda item submitted by Steve E. White, Director, Public Works and Planning, the Plan was developed to help facilitate the building of a network of paths, sidewalks and bikeways throughout the county. Specifically, the Plan was created to do the following:
- Create a network of safe and attractive sidewalks, shared-use paths, and bikeways that connect county residents to key destinations, especially local schools, parks, and transit;
- Create a network of regional bikeways that allows bicyclists to safely travel between cities and other regional destinations;
- Create better connections to transit;
- Reduce the use of vehicle miles and improve air quality by increasing walking and bicycling trips; and
- Increase safety by improving crosswalks and sidewalks and by expanding the bikeway network.
Haagenson said FCOG’s involvement was not limited to spearheading the Plan; it also provided funding for the project.
“There is a statewide grant program that funds many of these types of projects,” she said. “This year, that program was gutted. Luckily, FCOG was able to provide funding that was left over from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program.”
On a related topic, Haagenson said the county is soliciting input from residents regarding the county’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) project survey. Residents are encouraged to make as many project suggestions as they want. Community input will help shape the 2026 RTP and assist local governments to prioritize projects. Suggestions must be submitted by Nov. 4.
The project survey is available in English and Spanish; Hmong and Punjabi translations are pending. English speakers can access the survey at publicinput.com/2024rtpsurvey; Spanish speakers, publicinput.com/rtpespanol2024.
For more information, visit www.fresnocog.org/project/regional-transportation-plan.
