Shifting Gears Fresno pushes for more 'bike freeways'

A group of local community organizers will propose its strategy on how and where to create more “bike freeways” for bicyclists in Fresno at a meeting at City Hall this week.

The reason is these bike freeways (or “Class-I” trails as known by city engineers) can make riders feel safer as they are not riding next to traffic on surface streets.

In 2010, Fresno was awarded the bronze medal recognition by the Legion of American Bicyclists (LAB) for leading the state for the creation of new bike lanes.

However, those bike lanes are the striped lines you see on streets all over town, not the separated bike freeways.

That’s what the group — Shifting Gears Fresno — wants to change.

In a study by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, Fresno was the worst in the state and sixth in the nation in bike fatalities, averaging nearly 21 deaths per 10,000 riders.

That’s a number too high for Fresnans, lead organizer Marcus Ruiz Evans said.

Ruiz Evans wants to not only make rides safer for bicyclists, but utilize these bike freeways to connect more parts of inner-Fresno using the existing system of canal banks.

“We want a system that more people can participate in,” he said.

The City of Fresno already has plans for new bike trails on canal banks, but Shifting Gears wants to help with the creation of more bike trails in areas of need.

Shifting Gears Fresno will present its plan to the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) at its monthly meeting at City Hall on Wednesday.

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the fourth floor conference room 4017.

This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Shifting Gears Fresno pushes for more 'bike freeways'."