Active Transportation Advisory Committee Regular Meeting – June 24, 2026

The Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) met on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 5:30 PM in City Hall Conference Room #2165. The meeting covered election of a Vice Chair, detailed presentations on six grade separation projects for high speed rail, discussion of traffic control policies, dissolution of two task forces, updates on the World Day of Remembrance task force, member reports, and adoption of the Vision Zero Action Plan and Active Transportation Plan. Staff also presented the May and June traffic collision report and a dashboard for collision data.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of the agenda (unanimous).
• Approval of the regular meeting minutes of April 22, 2026 (unanimous).

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were made during the unscheduled communications period.
• During the capital projects update, Telling Molina from the County Bicycle Coalition expressed deep concern about the substandard bike lanes on Tulare and Ventura Street grade separations. He noted that the narrow bike lanes (approximately 2.5–3 feet paved width against a wall) are too dangerous to use and requested consideration of separated facilities or sidewalk-level bike paths. He also observed homeless encampments on the wide sidewalks of Ventura, further complicating use.

Discussion Items

• Election of Vice Chair (Item 5A): Laura Gromis (District 2) was nominated and unanimously elected to serve as Vice Chair for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2026.
• Capital Projects Update (Item 5B): Public Works staff (presenter Freddie, project manager for high speed rail) presented six grade separations: Tulare Street, Ventura Street, Fresno Street, West Belmont Avenue, West Herndon Avenue, and Roeding Park updates. The Tulare Street underpass has 11-foot travel lanes and a 5-foot bike lane striped, but the actual paved width available for cyclists is only 2.5–3 feet due to the wall and drainage gutters. Committee members (Paul Marquez, Jacob Bailey) called the bike lane dangerous and recommended either removing the bike lane markings or converting it to a shoulder. For Ventura Street, the same width issues apply. Fresno Street is under construction and currently has no striped bike lane; staff indicated that a wider lane might be achievable since striping is not final. Belmont Avenue overpass is designed with a 7-foot bike lane but is not fully complete. Herndon Avenue underpass includes a class I trail on the north side and 7-foot bike lanes on Golden State Boulevard. Roeding Park will have a sound wall separating the park from high speed rail; no bike path is planned on the park side. The committee emphasized the need for future grade separations to include fully separated bike facilities at pedestrian grade.
• Traffic Control and Road Closure Policies (Item 5C): Amy Scripture (Engineering Technician) briefed the committee on FresGo reporting and standard specifications for maintaining pedestrian and bicycle access during construction. Jacob Bailey raised concerns about the lack of strong language in policies for retaining pedestrian and bike access during construction projects, especially in West Fresno. Staff pointed to standard specifications (7-10.2 and 7-10.3) that require maintaining access.
• Dissolution of Task Forces (Items 6A & 6B): The committee unanimously approved resolutions to dissolve the 2025-2026 Biannual Report Task Force and the Bike Month 2026 Task Force, both having completed their work.
• World Day of Remembrance 2026 Task Force (Item 6D): Paul Marquez reported from the task force’s initial meeting on June 3. The task force is considering holding the event on a Saturday in November at Woodard Park to maximize attendance. Two policy recommendations were proposed: (1) pursue a ghost bike policy allowing memorials to remain longer than 90 days, and (2) secure funding and implementation of a Vision Zero Task Force. Diana Durham described a meeting with Councilmember Nick Richardson, who supports a permanent memorial sign program (modeled after Los Angeles) and is willing to help with design and outreach. The committee will vote on formal recommendations at the July 22 meeting.
• Member Reports: New member April Henry (District 1) introduced herself and noted that there are 30.25 miles of missing sidewalks and no bike lanes in the area west of State Route 99. Laura Gromis (District 2) reported that the City of Fresno bike ride on May 2026 attracted about 50 attendees; she also raised an alert about a proposed mine expansion near the San Joaquin River that could increase traffic and safety risks for people biking to Woodward Park. Jacob Bailey (District 3) highlighted that grade separation construction has disrupted east-west pedestrian and bicycle crossings in West Fresno and urged stronger policies to maintain safe access.
• Staff Reports: Ander Aguilar (Public Works) announced the City Council’s adoption of the Vision Zero Action Plan on May 21, 2026, and the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) on June 18, 2026. A collision dashboard is now live at fresno.gov/visionzero, visualizing data from 2019–2023. The committee viewed the dashboard’s features. For grants, staff submitted a $5 million Safe Streets for All grant for Belmont Avenue safety improvements (from Palm to Cedar) and six ATP applications: First Street protected bikeways, safe routes to school sidewalks (Nelson, Pyle, Sequoia neighborhoods), school safety traffic signals near Homan and Roeding elementary schools, the Parkway Drive pedestrian bridge over SR 99, trail wayfinding signage, and a walk/bike/roll education program.
• Traffic Collision Report: May and June data (combined) showed 1,582 total collisions from January through May 2026, an increase from the same period last year. Pedestrian collisions totaled 90 (lower than last year’s comparable figure, though exact prior number not stated), and bicyclist collisions totaled 70 (higher). Fatalities: 3 pedestrian fatalities (compared to 9 last year) and 0 bicycle fatalities (compared to 4 or 1 last year, as reported: “nine four one”). The committee noted the improvement but could not attribute it to specific countermeasures without further analysis.

Key Outcomes

• Laura Gromis elected Vice Chair for FY 2026.
• Committee expressed consensus to pursue removal of the dangerous bike lane markings on the Tulare Street underpass (to be followed up with Traffic Engineering).
• Resolutions to dissolve the Biannual Report and Bike Month task forces passed unanimously.
• The World Day of Remembrance task force will bring formal recommendations on a ghost bike policy and Vision Zero Task Force funding to the July 22 meeting.
• Staff submitted two major grant applications (SS4A for Belmont and six ATP projects); decisions expected in fall 2026.
• The collision dashboard is publicly available; staff will consider adding district boundaries and other layers.
• Next regular meeting: July 22, 2026.