Fresno bicyclists gaining a dedicated bike route in city. Why it’s not all it could be

After years of discussion, Fresno bicyclists will have at least part of a dedicated, safer route from the north part of the city to downtown along Palm Avenue, thanks to a state grant.

However, it won’t include a segment from Shaw to Dakota avenues, an area under the jurisdiction of Fresno County, which declined to participate in the city’s plan.

A major change

Still, the city’s portion of the route will be a major change for both Palm and Belmont avenues that will include flexible, white posts to separate motor vehicles from bicyclists along with the removal of a lane of motor traffic, said Scott Mozier, Public Works director for the City of Fresno.. It’s funded by $1.4 million from the State of California.

“We’re excited to receive it,” said Mozier. “We’re ready to put the project out to bid in April and hope to have a (construction contract) in late May, and install in the summer and fall.”

It won’t quite be the vision of a north-south route proposed in 2020, however, without the county’s participation.

County concerns

Supervisor Steve Brandau, who represents the nearby county area, said the position of his constituents is clearly against losing traffic lanes, even if they support marked bike lanes of the form traditionally used in Fresno. In talks with city officials, he said:

“We let them know right off that we were not interested in a Class IV bike lane. That is where the cars park away from the curb and gutter and bicycles travel between the parked cars and the curb.

“Generally speaking, what I hear from people in the neighborhood is that they support bike lanes but not at the cost of a lane of car traffic along Palm. One concern is that if Palm is slowed down due to losing a lane for auto traffic then more commuters will cut through the neighborhood streets in order to get to where they are going.”

So the route will start at Palm and Dakota avenues and go to H Street, and a second segment will start on Belmont and lead to Blackstone Avenue.

Left turn lanes

Mozier said in addition to one lane in each direction, there will be two-way left turn lanes in the center of the roadway and a complete resurfacing of the roadways.

Palm often looks like a mini freeway during weekday commuting hours, and Mozier acknowledged than adding the bike lane would be a radical departure from past usage.

“We do anticipate some traffic calming,” he said.

This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.