Woodward Park is dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists. Fresno has plan to fix that

On the same day it proclaimed “World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims” in Fresno, the city unveiled a plan to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists around Woodward Park.

“Tragedies catch the attention of elected officials, myself included,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said at a news conference near Friant and Fort Washington roads Thursday afternoon.

Dyer was flanked by city councilmembers Mike Karbassi and Garry Bredefeld and members of the Fresno Cycling Club, who made Woodward Park the final stop on a ride memorializing Paul Moore. The cyclist and former Kerman school teacher was killed Jan. 12 while pedaling across the interestection of Friant and Audubon — and incident that has drawn attention to the dangers of the area.

The plan includes some immediate fixes, like adding high visibility (read: reflective) crosswalks at intersections along Friant Road. That work will start in April. Reflective back plates are already being added to stops lights along the road.

City workers were already installing the yellow markers Thursday.

Stops lights in the area will be programmed with a five- to seven-second lead time for pedestrians and so-called bike sharrows will be painted on to the roadways as a visual reminder that cyclists are present.

Additionally, the city announced right turns will no longer be allowed on red lights along Friant, which was met with loud applause.

Other changes, like moving vehicle limit lines back 10 feet from cross walks will come over the next two to 24 months. The city will also begin developing an Audubon Corridor Plan that will run from Friant Road and Palm Avenue out toward Woodward Park.

A new, free parking lot will be developed on the west side of Friant Road near Fort Washington in an attempt to pull people away from the RiverView Shopping Center.

Some things will take longer, still.

The city’s plan for the next two to four years includes installing a traffic signal at Audubon Drive and North Del Mar Avenue and adding a signal, or a roundabout, at Audubon at Woodward Park. Both sites are notoriously difficult areas to cross for cyclists and pedestrians.

Even building an overpass or an underpass along the route is not out of the question, Dyer said, but that’s a long-term consideration and “very, very expensive,” he said.

“All of those other ventures, we are committed to taking.”

Last year, 58 people died in cycling and pedestrian collisions in Fresno, Councilmember Karabssi said. That number was 3,000 across California. Long term, Fresno will be taking a lead to ensure those numbers drop, Karbassi said, citing a Vision Zero strategy that has been implemented in other cities.

“That’s the acceptable number.”

Prior to the announcement, Anthony Molina said he was in suspense waiting to hear abut the city’s plans.

“This has kind of been brewing for years,” said Molina, who is chair of the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition.

He was hoping that the city would install leading pedestrian intervals on stoplights, which has worked well to reduce crashes in cities like Austin, Texas, he said. He would still like to see the narrowing of intersections, travel lane reductions and more bike lanes installed in the area.

“Long term, there needs to be something done about the speed of traffic,” he said.

This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 3:09 PM.