July 2022

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every week to help maintain or improve overall health, prevent chronic disease, and have overall more positive health outcomes.  So get on your bike and ride for those positive health outcomes, as well as to get where you need to go economically while enjoying the ride.

In this month’s Newsletter:

 

• Bike Café is on Tuesday, July 12 at 7:00 pm to discuss a new Active Transportation Bikeways Map for the City of Fresno.

• The next Fresno Bike Station Fix Your Own Bike event is on Saturday, July 16 from 8:00 am to noon in the Tower District.

• The next installment on bicycle infrastructure is on Class III bike routes.

• Several bills affecting bicycling are expected to head to the Governor’s desk.

• The next chapter from the pending book by Juan Flores is on bicycling to Tesoro Viejo in Madera County.

• The next Board meeting is on Thursday, July 21 at 7:30 pm.

FCBC Bike Café

The monthly virtual Bike Café allows FCBC members and others to socialize and discuss bike-related topics of interest. Join us on Zoom on Tuesday, July 12 at 7:00 pm as we get a preview of a new Active Transportation Bikeways Map for the City of Fresno. We will be discussing the future of how the Active Transportation layer will be maintained and published, and what you can do to contribute. A prototype map has been created that will have a function that will allow you to provide feedback and suggest additions or corrections to the data, helping GIS staff to make the layer a better representation of the actual bikeways network in Fresno.

We will also discuss future plans for possible improvements to this map. This will be an exciting opportunity to learn about what the Public Works Department and the GIS teams have been doing to improve data sharing, quality, and timeliness.  

Register here to get the Zoom link.  If you have questions about using Zoom, registration for the event, or any other questions, email us events@fresnobike.org.

Fresno Bike Station FYOB Event

The next Fresno Bicycle Station Fix Your Own Bike event is scheduled forSaturday, July 16 between 8:00 am and noon at the Van Ness Village Vendor Fair, located at 1440 N. Van Ness Avenue.  The Fresno Bike Station is sponsored by FCBC and allows bike owners to learn how to repair their own bikes with help from experienced mechanics, including FCBC member Julie Congi and TowerVelo  owner Chris Eacock.

 

Bicycle Infrastructure:  Class III Bike Routes

A class III bikeway is a shared facility with motor vehicles.  Normally there is only a green “BIKE ROUTE” sign, but there may also be shared lane, or sharrow, pavement markings and “BIKE MAY USE FULL LANE” or “SHARE THE ROAD” signs.

In general, a roadway is designated a Class II bikeway when continuity in the bicycle network is needed and there is insufficient right-of-way to place a dedicated bikeway or to designate a particular roadway as a preferred bikeway compared to other roadways.  There should be a higher level of roadway maintenance, in particular with sweeping, compared to other roadways not designated as bikeways.

An ideal Class III bikeway would be a low-volume roadway with slow speeds and few conflicts with parked cars or driveways.  In practice, Class III bikeways are usually placed where there is a gap in a network of Class II bike lanes, and speeds may not necessarily be slow.  When placed, sharrows typically show where in the roadway bicyclists should ride, and they should be placed only on roadways with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

An example in Fresno of a Class III bike route to provide continuity in the bike network is on McKinley Avenue near Fresno High School.  There is not enough pavement width to provide a Class II bike lane.  Instead sharrows are placed.

An example of a roadway with a Class III bike route to designate a preferred bikeway is San Pablo Avenue between Belmont and Olive Avenues.  This roadway also provides access to the Ted C. Wills Community Center.

Legislative Update

 

As the California Legislature adjourns at the end of August, there are only weeks left for proposed legislation to make it to the Governor to veto or sign bills.  Here are four of the more significant proposed bills related to bicycling:

•  Assembly Bill (AB) 1713 proposes the “safety stop,” or Idaho stop, to adult bicyclists.  A similar bill was vetoed by the Governor last year because of concerns of children having sufficient judgment when not to stop.  The bill was reintroduced this year and only applies to adult bicyclists. The bill is in the Senate Appropriations Committee, where any bill that has a fiscal impact is analyzed.

• AB-1909 - the Bicycle Omnibus Bill, would allow expanded use of e-bikes on trails and bicyclists to follow pedestrian signals at traffic signals, require motorists to move over when passing bicyclists, and prevent local jurisdictions from requiring licenses for bicycles.  The bill is in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

• AB-1946 requires the California Highway Patrol to develop e-bike safety training and post it on the internet by September 1, 2023.  The bill was passed in the Senate and returned to the Assembly for concurrence on the amendments made in the Senate.

• AB-2028 allows school districts to allow nonprofits, clubs, and other organizations time and facilities for bicycle and scooter safety instruction in schools.  Current law allows such access only to law enforcement agencies.  The Assembly concurred with the amendments from the Senate

 

Upcoming Book on Bicycling in Fresno

Below is the eleventh chapter in the book that FCBC Board Member Juan Flores is writing on bicycling in Fresno.  The chapter is on the ride to Tesoro Viejo in Madera County.  Juan welcomes any comments, corrections, and constructive criticism at juan@fresnobike.org.  Previous chapters can be viewed on the FCBC website.

Tesoro Viejo Ride

Our ride started much as many of our rides at the Compass at the northeastern end of Woodward Park.  We traveled down the Eaton Trail that leads down to the river bottom along the side of the trailer court and traveled northeast on old Highway 41.  We turned right onto the natural preserve and made another right turn under the bridge of old Highway 41 to the trail that leads to Sycamore Island.  In the middle of Sycamore Island is an old, massive osprey nest on top of a power pole.  We were told that the ospreys have been nesting here for many years and over time have continued building the nest to its massive proportions.  We made our way across the Sycamore Island grounds and arrived at the main gate to the grounds, only to discover that the gate is locked at the end of the season.  The gate sits between two raised berms, so we had no choice but to carry our bikes up the side of the berm onto the other side of the gate.

Once on the other side of the Sycamore Island gate, we traveled northeast on Road 40.  There are two points on our route where Road 40 ends at some private properties and continues on the other side of the properties.  Rather than cut across the private properties, we made our detours and continued onward on Road 41 until we got to Avenue 12, which is an extremely busy byway that leads west to Highway 99 and provides easy freeway access for the people who live in north Fresno.  We turned left on Avenue 12 and traveled for a few miles until we got to Road 39½ and turned right, traveled a few more miles, and turned right on Avenue 14 until we got to Highway 41. This is an extremely busy thoroughfare, and there was no other way across the highway, so we crossed over and traveled along the highway, with cars zooming by, until we got to the entrance of Tesoro Viejo.

The Tesoro Viejo development has been problematic in creating a major development in a location with limited water at a time when we are struggling with having enough water for everyone, but they've managed to incorporate a nice nature easement along a drainage from the San Joaquin River.

The Tesoro Viejo ride starts out in the canyons and ends up in seasonal wetlands. There were lots of cyclists and hikers from the Tesoro Viejo complex all along the River, and we were regaled with a group of cyclists and hikers who created a twenty gun salute archway for us across the bed of one of the creek beds.

Once we got to Tesoro Viejo, we were ready for a hearty lunch after a challenging, hill-climbing ride.  Ed brought sandwiches, and we purchased dessert and coffee at a restaurant.  We enjoyed our goodies in the beautiful outdoor décor of the Tesoro Viejo Center.  After our relaxing meal, we continued onto the bike and hiking path that leads out from Tesoro Viejo.  We were once again challenged by our ride, traveled up steep paths covered with river rocks from times when the river followed a higher path, and down steep canyons.  We marveled at the beauty of the land and lamented how much these massive development projects have changed and will continue to change the land.  In the short time from some of our riding partners’ previous rides, the development’s heavy equipment had bulldozed over some of the older pathways and forced us to follow other trails.

At times, the trails were so steep that we had to dismount and walk our bikes to avoid taking a fall and getting hurt. On our final descent, we walked our bikes down a steep hill and arrived at the river bottom, where we discovered boulders along the river, grinding rocks where the original inhabitants of the land used to sit and grind their acorns, creating pockets into the boulders.  Towards the end of our jaunt we came across two bulls who were enjoying their grass meal. They eyed us curiously and we, fearful of them, slowly made our way widely around the bulls, on the boulders along the river, and across the property fence to safety.

We crossed the San Joaquin River on an old bridge that wasn’t getting much automobile use and was covered with sand from previous times that the river has risen and covered the bridge. After the bridge, it was a short ride to Friant Road, where we looped back onto Old Friant Road and past the Hallowell Environmental Center, where there was a wedding going on.  We bicycled back onto the Eaton Trail and to the Compass at Woodward Park, where our bicycling party broke up and we all returned to our homes, tired but satisfied at our enjoyable bike ride.

Next Board Meeting

The next Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 21 at 7:30 pm via Zoom.  Everyone is welcome to join the virtual meeting.  If you would like to participate in the meeting, register here, and you will immediately get the Zoom link.

Have a comment or suggestion?  Contact us at info@fresnobike.org.

https://fresnobike.org/join to become a member or renew your membership.

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