Thread by @mmwpro63

Currently attending BPAC's August Monthly meeting

You Can view the Agenda right here and click the link on the first page to view the meeting: fresno.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&…

The only members vacant are Gene Richards (District 3) and the still absent District 4 seat.

Apply here if you want to fill it: fresno.granicus.com/boards/forms/5…

Joe Martinez (D1) in the chat, "Phil we will be looking to invite Vision Zero experts from San Francisco to speak at possibly next month's meeting. Is this possible?"

Also in the chat, John Shelton: I just wanted to let those know who weren't attending our meeting, the river conservancy board approved the CEQA for the River West Expansion.

Originally we had 1 parking lot, now we have 3, one along Riverview, another one From Palm.

1st item on the agenda, Task Force Reports

First up is the Semi-Annual Report Task Force.

Susan Smith (D7): Have we approved the previous meeting minutes yet?

Good catch Susan!

Motion to Approve: Steve 2nds

Hard to hear with all the background noise on Susan's end, but the motion is approved.

Now, on to the Semi-annual report

The only recent change is the number of pedestrian deaths, changing from 15 to 16.

Joe Martinez (D1) in the chat is asking if the death of Autumn Frank and her unborn child last month counts as 2 deaths rather than 1?

Phil: We can clarify with PD when they speak later. kmph.com/news/local/pre…

Questions about presenting the semi-annual staff report in front of the county.

Melanie: In order to get on the October meeting, we need to get the report to them by September 11th.

The debate continues on when the report has been given to the county in the past.

Phil, I'll try to be there to present, my time permitting because of the election. We want at least 2 people there.

It will still be online most likely.

Phil: Hopefully we can meet again before we present,

Melanie: I don't have my report ready

Phil: On to slow streets.

Tony Molina: "We have been working on getting a pilot project on Kerkhoff ave with help from the neighborhood, but haven't gotten approval yet. "

"We will be meeting with members of the neighborhood and the homeowners association soon."

"In my district, I would like to thank Mike Karbassi for meeting with members in the neighborhood along Audubon Drive to address some accidents there."

"We have a survey almost ready to send out soon."

"I want everyone to take a look at the Cycling Savvy Education Program that they implemented in Davis as a model for us. Fresno has a lack of local bicycle education."

"Since there is a bike boom going on, it would be good for us to get something off the ground."

Still Tony: "Davis offers a basic class that is pretty good."

"I'm an instructor with the @BikeLeague of American cyclists and Davis's approach impresses me."

"Feel free to take a look at what I sent via email so we can get it on the agenda next time."

Phil: "Is this something you want us to sign off on?"

Tony: "No, I want everybody in BPAC to sign-up and take the program, see what you think, so that we may be able to apply it to the city."

Melanie: "Reminder, anything you want to use for the LTF funds must be approved by the October meeting."

Phil: "We'll do what we can to get approved by October."

Phil: "I have 2 more letters of support here to send to the city for the grants."

One is the Palm Bike path (Dakota to Belmont) and the ATP.

Phil is @kieltls still available to comment?

@kieltls there has been a plan by Producers Dairy to close H Street From Palm(?) to Belmont. It's my bike route and will impact the neighborhood.

Phil: I'm unfamiliar have any of the other members heard about this?

Phil: Be sure to email me so we can have this at the next meeting to discuss.

On to vision zero.

Tony: "I would like to thank @mmwpro63 for writing the vision zero letter I have for you tonight."

fresno.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&…

Tony: "I know we've talked some about @Visionzeronet in the past and kind of dancing around the subject, but I feel with the death of Autumn Frank the time has come that we need to do something about it."

"We have been trying to get slow streets out for MONTHS NOW so that residents could have safer places to walk and bike. We need to do these things much faster."

"If anyone hasn't looked at the materials I've sent to the meeting, Vision Zero was started in Sweden years ago to take into consideration that street design creates conditions that allow human errors to become fatal."

"It doesn't prevent every accident, but it..."

"... lowers speed. There's a lot we can learn from it. We are already doing the 5 E's. "

Still Tony:"The highlights are that under the traditional approach, traffic deaths are considered inevitable whereas @Visionzeronet considers traffic deaths preventable."

"In the past, we've blamed the driver, we've blamed the pedestrian, but @Visionzeronet takes a systems..."

"... approach."

"I know my time is almost up, but it takes all the related departments, Public Works, Police, City Gov, and calls for them to work together and work against internal bureaucracy to solve the problems leading to traffic deaths."

"I want to open a dialogue with the current @MayorLeeBrand and future mayor since it would require their public commitment to creating and implementing a plan."

"There's a lot there and I can't summarize it in 10 minutes, but I want to motion to create a task force in BPAC."

"I strongly Feel after 6 years with BPAC, that it is frustrating to see people die in Fresno every year, old and pregnant"

"The time has come to do something more than business as usual."

Phil: "Thank you Tony.

First Motion: Submit the letter we drafted to @FresnoBee to get public attention for @Visionzeronet in Fresno.

2nd: Joe

Steve: I haven't seen the letter yet.

Phil: Any further discussion about the 1st motion?

Melanie: I hate that we are so reactive rather than proactive as a committee and while we are getting better, these things are still happening. I support the letter 100% as long as the equity component is included.

I have some concerns about the timing because COVID has everybody's attention.

I think some councilmembers need to champion this for us so we can get it on the agenda. Since I work for the county, I'm automatically getting worried about funding. Could we use our funding...

...for this?

But, I support this 100%.

Phil: Do we have any questions before we vote and submit?

Steve: "It kinda seems like almost we couldn't get something done, but then we go and say the city council isn't doing anything about it."

Phil: I like the spirit of the letter and people have died all year and it's tragic. I love Matthew... :D and can't wait for him to try to join BPAC, but this letter comes off as a little adversarial.

However, we need to something different whenever someone gets killed.

I can't support sending the letter as is, but I do support sending a letter eventually.

:/

I appreciate the feedback @PhilArballo2020

Vote on 1st motion:

Joe: Yes

Tony: Yes

Lucio: No

Steve: No

Susan: No, Matthew is free to send this letter under his own name personally.

I was busy typing a response to Susan,

5 nos, 2 yeses.

2nd: Motion: Create A @Visionzeronet Task Force in BPAC.

Phil: I think the motion will pass and that we can work on it with the new council.

Tony: Is anyone interested in drafting a new letter to go with the Semi-...

...annual report?

I appreciate going after Council Support, but we need to be the representatives of these vulnerable community members.

Melanie: I like the idea of including some form of a letter with the semi-annual report and also with the strategic report.

If we don't get any support from the council, then we can go to the @FresnoBee .

Phil: Right, we need to build the political will to go after this. For now we can work on a generic stock email for whenever someone is killed to poke them about this every once and while.

Next item: Shelby's Grant updates: Education ideas - HAWK & Class IV

Context: Shelby is the city of Fresno's grant writer.

Shelby: I planned on using some non-infrastructure education in our schools.

Shelby: We can ask the schools to do a spirit day of sorts and Columbia elementary will with BPAC do a walk to school day and from there do it annually.

At other schools (along Palm?) They can do a saftey week where everyone safely walks to schools.

Schools are really good...

...at repeating things with little or no cost to them. When we do these events, we will be establishing these relationships with schools.

It will happen in the 3rd week of October in 2024 (Wait what??)

That's when we expect the funding to be rewarded. We would start organizing in January of 2024 meeting with teachers to gather safety materials and planning for the fall, hopefully, we will be out of COVID by then.

From my understanding, PD does safe walk events at Razey(not sure if I'm spelling that right) school, but this would be at Columbia School in Central Fresno.

Any other questions?

Laura Gromis: "Thank you for working on this. Maybe include a challenge for the different classes on who has the most participants in the Bike to School Day?"

Shelby: Thanks, we'll be sure to start 10 months in advance of whatever events we have planned.

Tony: I'll make a motion to support this.

Steve; 2nd.

Phil: Anyone not in favor?(Chuckle)

Tony: I think it's good that BPAC will be getting involved.

On to Officer Belli with his report:

We are seeing the number of casualties rising, so far we have seen 19 pedestrians and 5 cyclings. 23 Ped and 3 cyclists in 2019

We do not have all the toxicology reports yet, but we 8 peds that had PCP, 3 were sober.

What we are seeing, comparing July 2019 to July 2020...

We are at the same number of collisions, but more DUIs. Injury collisions with DUIs are up 45%.

(Some of these numbers are being listed all so quick it's hard for me to catch them all, this will be on @CMACTV later)

There has been less traffic, so more people are speeding,...

...that is my personal observation, but speed is usually the main factor in collisions in the city of Fresno.

Tony: I would like to thank officer Belli for reporting these numbers to us.

Belli: Before I go, there was a question about safe walks and I have been asked by...

@CareForKids to be in a video on safe walking to schools for their online curriculum.

Phil: On to Jill.

JIll: We have some HAWKS Signals that are finished, but not turned on yet and some Class IV's that had to go back out to bid with the council.

I was wondering if there was anything else we could do to be educating residents like those we park their cars or leave out their garbage cans.

Jill: We plan on working with our communication directors once some of the HAWKS are turned on early September.

Harman: Shields and Locan will be turned on mid-September.

Phil: We can post media reports once they see the HAWKs.

Tony: Do you have messaging that goes out on Fresgo to message residents.

Harman: usually there is for the cooling centers.
Tony: What about flyers and the....

utility bills, is there some way you can communicate to them what the HAWKS are and how to use them?

Phil: The obvious one is to let the Councilmembers know and they'll let their residents know.

Jill: On to the Workplan.

If there is anything on the list that you want to know about, let us know 2 weeks in advance so we can get that information out to you.

fresno.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&…

Steve: If there is something we think you need to be done, like a new trail that isn't listed in the current work plan.

Jill: Fresgo is a good resource to use. (Huh?)

Jill: Shelby and I we go back and look at some places to see if people are making requests in some areas.

(This is news to me)

Tony: @FresnoCOG has recently asked for public comment on the regional plan, I look forward to hearing more now that the comment period is closed.

Jill: Parks has a couple grants out there for education, I asked a few people from the parks department...

...to attend to tonight, but I got no email response.

Jill: As for Slow Streets, I have been asked to take our draft and put it into a Tray Memo. Not much has been changed since, but there is still no money for it.

They mention here that the councilmember offices will...

...fund it, but that doesn't mean it will happen.
When it does happen, but it takes a while. Everything takes a while in city government.

Tony: I've heard from other cities that it is eligible for C.A.R.E.S. (Jill has said that it isn't previously).

Jill: The issue is that if it isn't , the city will have to pay for everything once it's built.

Tony: The definition of C.A.R.E.S act eligible funding is to be used to mitigate the impacts of the COVID pandemic. People are out riding now more than ever because of the pandemic..

JIll: we've reached out to other cities and it's a mixed bag. Some have discretionary funds to spend on this, others are using CARES act for it.

Melanie: Even if they found out that it was eligible for CARES, it won't take priority over hand sanitizer, masks, rent, and more.

Melanie; We may just have to find another funding source, such as the council offices.

Me: I have $600 I would be willing to spend on this!

Jill: It is $200 for an end of a block, 2 ends of a block are $400.

(You see why I wrote the angry letter earlier? This stuff is cheap and the city has nothing to spend on it!!!!!)

Phil: We've got one more meeting and we can decide there what to do with proposed monies there.

Steve: Motion to adjourn

If there is anything I missed, it will be on @CMACTV later tonight.