Bicycle And Pedestrian Advisory Committee (4/27/22) Vision Zero Presentation + Collision Report

 Here’s what you need to know:

• The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee approved the presentation of the Vision Zero at the next City Council meeting
• The Proclamation for the May Bike Month will be read at the next Council meeting
• It was reported that there have been 926 collisions in Fresno from January 1 to March 31, 2022, of those 36 pedestrian related and 23 bicycle related. 

    Purpose of Agency

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) shall advise and recommend policies for the planning, development and maintenance of pedestrian and bikeway systems for safe and enjoyable circulation for both utilitarian commuting travel and recreation within the City. 

Duties

• Review of the general, community, and specific plan elements relevant to bicycle and pedestrian matters
• Review existing bicycle and pedestrian conditions
• Review and advise regarding all road and construction projects as they affect bicyclists and pedestrians
• Review and make recommendations regarding project development & funding
• Provide input regarding enforcement issues with regard to bicyclists and pedestrians
• Participate in educational efforts to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Members

• Felipe Arballo, Chairman 
• Melanie Ruvalcaba, Vice Chair 
• Matthew Woodward, Member 
• Destiny Rodriguez, Member 
• Laura Gromis, Member 
• Lucio Avila, Member 
• Steven Bradley, Member 
• Susan Smith, Member

The Scene

Chairman Felipe Arballo called the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. The meeting was streamed live virtually through Zoom. The members of the committee participated in the meeting via Zoom as well. Members present included Chairman Felipe Arballo, Matthew Woodward, Laura Gromis, Steven Bradley, and Susan Smith. City of Fresno staff present included Carla Gonzlez and Jill Gormey. 

Public Comment

There was no public comment. 

Task Force Reports

• Vision Zero Task Force

Member Matthew Woodward said “This is the Vision Zero Fresno: A Paradigm Shift for Safer Streets presentation. The majority of this information will be included in a staff report. We have had way too many accidents on the streets, which demands action. Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. The traditional approach states that traffic deaths are inevitable, perfect human behavior, prevent collisions, individual responsibility, and saving lives is expensive. Vision Zero states that traffic deaths are preventable. Fresno is by far the largest city in California that does not have a Vision Zero program. This new $5 billion competitive grant program is available from the Department of Transportation. There is an increase in traffic collisions and deaths because people were walking more during the pandemic.”

Steps to Vision Zero:

1. Educate ourselves and others on Vision Zero fundamentals:
   1. Traffic deaths and severe injuries are acknowledged to be preventable
   2. Human life and health are prioritized within all aspects of transportation systems
   3. Acknowledgement that human error is inevitable, and transportation systems should be forgiving; 
   4. Safety work should focus on systems-level changes above influencing individual behavior
   5. Speed is recognized and prioritized as the fundamental factor in crash severity
2. Assess your community’s traffic safety situation and develop a High Injury Network using a data and driven equity-based approach
3. City commitment is required – Vision Zero Resolution by Mayor, City council and agency leaders
4. Build a common understanding of challenges and opportunities – form a Vision Zero Task Force
5. Develop, implement, and monitor a strong Vision Zero Action Plan

Systemic Risk Factors

• Unsignalized three-way intersections with one local street leg intersecting arterial or collector street
• Signalized intersections where at least one approaching roadway has a posted speed of 40 mph or higher. 
• Expressways and arterials with 4+ lane cross sections and posted speeds of 40 mph or greater, including roadways with and without raised medians 

Vision Zero Task Force

• Create a multi-stakeholder Vision Zero Task Force that includes perspectives from representatives in public health, transportation, policy makers, police, community, and advocates, among others.
• Conduct meaningful community outreach prior to releasing the Action Plan, in order to inform its priorities
• Gather input from residents, particularly those in communities of concern 

Chairman Felipe Arballo asked “How much time do speakers have to present? Are you prepared to present it in 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes if they ask?” City staff Jill Gormley said “It depends on the discussion and overall interest.” Arballo said “We have two City officials on record that have said we need Vision Zero. Present it to them and see what they do since they formed this committee.” Member Susan Smith said “I think you should list the cities in California that have a Vision Zero program.” The motion passed with 6 ayes, 0 nays. 

• PSA Task Force

City staff Carla Gonzlaez said “CMAC sent over the draft for the PSA. I sent them my comments.” Chairman Felipe Arballo asked “Can the draft be sent to the members for their review?” The committee said they did four PSA’s for the year. 

• Annual Awards 

Chairman Felipe Arballo said “I am disappointed and was shocked that the Mayor and the Council did not nominate anyone for one of these awards. It came back to us for the nomination.” A member said “Tony deserves this award for all of his involvement and work for the bicycle and safety work.” 

City staff Jill Gormley asked “What is the process for the award? Because it seems like we are throwing names at the last minute.” Member Laura Gromis said “I think the role of the task force is to disseminate the information for the nominees. I am sorry to hear that we did not get any nominations for this award.” Chairman Felipe Arballo said “We are still in our infancy, last year we didn’t even have a formal process. This year, we had a more formal process and we still did not receive any nominations.” Anthony Molina said “Both of the nominees are good candidates for the award. I looked at the process and it made sense to me.” Chairman Felipe Arballo said “What if we wait until October for Pedestrian Awareness Month and give out the award then? We can then follow a formal process.”  

Member Reports and Comments 

• Member Matthew Woodward: “I met with Councilmember Karbassi and he said he will be meeting with me quarterly instead of monthly because he is running for Senate. He wanted to be the Council representative so I thought he would have more time to meet more frequently.”
• Member Laura Gromis: “Councilmember Maxwell said May is Bike Month. There are two developments. The little boy that died at Friant from a pedestrian collision has a lot of people rallied up.”
• Member Susan Smith: “Nelson Esparza had a meeting. He noticed there are a lot of trails that are connected and is starting to see this now.”
• Chairman Felipe Arballo: “For Bike Month, Carla and I were talking about presenting our award on May 26th. We’ll ask that Councilmember Karbassi sponsor the award plaque. Carla worked on a Proclamation for Bike Month, which will also be presented at the next City Council meeting.”

City staff Carla Gonzlez said “If we go back to in-person meetings, we ask that we all be present and not be 50/50 in-person and through Zoom.” Member Matthew Woodward said “My only thing is if we can have the meetings recorded so I can reference back.” City staff Jill Gormey said “It gets hard when members are both meeting in-person and virtually.” Member Laura Gromis said “I can not meet in person for another 11 months. With the American Disabilities Act, there has to be opportunities for participation and reasonable accomodations.” 

Adjournment

With no further discussion, Chairman Felipe Arballo adjourned the committee meeting at 7:41 p.m. 
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at Documenters-admin@thefresnoland.com with “Correction Request” in the subject line.