Live-tweet thread from Ramiro Merino:
Tonight I’ll be covering the @CityofFresno’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting for @fresnoland. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m.
You can watch the meeting via @CMACTV live-stream:
https://cmac.tv/series/bicycle-and-pedestrian-advisory-committee/
The meeting minutes for the February 23rd, April 27th and May 25th (canceled) meeting dates were approved.
You can review the meeting minutes at:
https://fresno.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=925231&GUID=67321722-504F-4EA8-9E20-7675D65C7860
Jesus Avitia with the City of Fresno said “There have been minimal changes to the Blackstone & McKinley Grade Separation Project document.”
Committee member Matthew Woodward asked “Why are there no stairs in the design? The intent of the plan is to get people to walk around the area more.”
City staff Jesus Avitia said “The stairs would have to be put in place by future developers, which will be up to them to determine how to add access on Blackstone and McKinley.”
City staff shared a rendering of the proposed Blackstone & McKinley BNSF Railroad Grade Separation Project.
City staff said “The staircases are not in the initial design because it does not fall within public right of way, due to future development in the area.”
The Zoom chat box was disabled due to inappropriate comments.
Resident Tony Molina asked a safety question regarding the intersection of McKinley and Blackstone. City staff said they will look into this and get clarification.
The meeting has moved to the Bike Link presentation, presented by Steven Grover with eLock Technologies.
Steven Grover said “These lockers are more environmentally sound because they use sole panels.”
Committee member Susan Smith asked “Is this appropriate for the airport?”
Steven Grover said “The vast majority of these lockers re located near tránsito stations, bus stations and airports.”
For three days of locker usage, it would cost about $3 to store items in the locker.
Steven Grover said “The revenue for park and rental goes to user support and administrative services. It is not a money maker per say.”
Committee member Steven Bradley said “I feel safe when storing my bicycle in these lockers.”
Committee member Laura Gromis asked “How much does this cost?”
Steven Grover said “The cost of steel has increased, between 3,500 to 4,500 depending on the configuration. Most of our clients are public agencies and they get grants to pay for this service.”
Chairman Felipe Arballo said “We are still some time away from the high-speed rail project but this would be perfect for the hub area in downtown Fresno.”
Committee member Matthew Woodward said “Bike security has been an issue near Fresno State, where I attend. I hope the City of Fresno, City Council members or Public Works Department can look into this and install them in high-need areas.”
Chairman Felipe Arballo asked for a couple of committee members to be a part of the Semi-Annual Report Task Force. Committee members Destiny Rodriguez and Susan Smith volunteered to be a part of this task force.
There was a discussion on the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget Task Force. Committee members Susan Smith and Laura Gromis volunteered to develop the FY 2022-2023 budget.
Committee member Matthew Woodward said “I would like for us to develop the Event Planning Committee. The committee would meet with City Council and staff and participating organizations to collaborate on events. I am hoping we can build ground for a bigger Bike Month.”
Chairman Arballo said “I support this idea but we do not have a budget for this. I don’t want you to put time and energy on this and be disappointed. You can put together a calendar of events and propose it to organizations, but someone has to pay for it.”
Committee member Laura Gromis said “I think we can still have an event planning committee and plan out the whole year. We can also have a specific task force for the events like Bike Month.”
Resident Tony Molina said “For many years, the Bicycle Coalition has been doing this for years and part of it is getting sponsors. I would love to be a part this.”
Committee members Matthew Woodward and Laura Gromis will also be a part of the Event Planning Committee.
Committee members Destiny Rodriguez and Laura Gromis had no report.
Committee member Susan Smith said “I have taken the City bus to get to jury duty. Downtown is the place to start for these larger employers. This is where I would love to see more people riding public transit.”
City staff Carla Gonzalez clarified and said “Transform Fresno and the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce will be focusing on bringing electric bikes to southwest Fresno. They will be presenting to BPAC at the July meeting.”
Committee member Matthew Woodward asked “How can we make up the two meetings we missed on so far this year?” Chairman Arballo said he is also curious about this. City staff Carla Gonzalez said she will check in with the City Attorney.
The Fresno Police Department Enforcement & Collision Report was shared with the committee.
Committee Steven Bradley said he was told to get out of the way, despite being on his bike in the bike lane.
City staff Carla Gonzalez said “The City has applied to a lot of grants.”
Link to the BPAC Work Plan:
https://fresno.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10999568&GUID=F6A8B40B-5CC9-48D1-8ED9-D8E25C0ECFD4
City staff Scott Sehm provided an update on the Palm and Belmont bike lane project.
“There are a lot of houses that do not have driveway parking so we designed it where we did not take away on-street parking.”
Scott Sehm said “The intersection of Belmont and Palm Avenue has a lot of empty space so we designed bicycle lanes.”
He said “I’m sorry for the brevity of this presentation but I hope you understand the gist of it. A lot of what we did here, we also designed for Barstow. We are making changes based on the perceived feedback on Maple Avenue. Every street is different and have different meeds.”
“We presented this to the Council and the project was approved. A bid has been awarded to the contractor and we hope to start the construction this fall.”
Committee member Matthew Woodward said “I am concerned with H Street not being bike friendly since Google says it is, but if you were to take the street, you will come across 4 lanes of traffic and big rigs.”
City staff Scott Sehm said “The plan is for H Street to be bike friendly and have bike corridors once the high-speed rail project is complete.”
City staff Carla Gonzalez said she will look into this.
Resident Tony Molina thanked Scott for the work and said he looks forward to riding a bike once this project is completed.
Committee member Matthew Woodward suggested for someone to ride a bike along Palm Avenue and take pictures before the project starts.
City staff Scott Sehm said “The white post is for bikes, not cars. We are thinking of making the posts along Palm Avenue green.”
With no further discussion, the @CityofFresno’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.
The next BPAC meeting is scheduled for July 27.
For more public meeting coverage from the @fresnoland Documenters, visit:
Originally tweeted by Ramiro Merino (@Ramiro_Merino_) on June 23, 2022.