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Fresno presents draft Vision Zero action plan, identifies high-injury corridors and May 21 adoption target
Summary
City staff and consultants presented a draft Vision Zero Action Plan funded by a federal SS4A grant. The plan sets a 2050 goal of zero fatalities and serious injuries, identifies a high-injury network (14% of streets accounting for 89% of severe crashes), and directs staff to return for formal adoption on May 21 so the city can pursue implementation grants.
City staff and project consultants presented Fresno’s draft Vision Zero Action Plan during a public workshop on April 26, outlining a strategy to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries across the city.
Public Works said the plan is data-driven and funded in part by a US DOT Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant. The five-year collision analysis (2019–2023) found 217 fatal crashes and 629 severe-injury crashes in Fresno; staff highlighted that 89% of those fatal and severe crashes occur on a "high-injury network" representing roughly 14% of the city's road mileage. Priority corridors include long arterial segments such as Blackstone Avenue, Belmont Avenue and stretches of Fresno Street; priority intersections identified include Blackstone/H. Hearnden and Shields/First.
The draft plan organizes recommendations under the safe-system approach — safe roads, safe speeds, safe vehicles, safe road users and post-crash care — and proposes a set of near-term countermeasures (road diets, refuge medians, leading pedestrian intervals, rapid rectangular flashing beacons, pedestrian hybrid beacons aka HAWK, speed management and signal timing changes). Staff noted that many fatal and severe crashes occur at or near intersections (about 86% by their analysis), and that systemic, corridor-based treatments targeted at the high-injury network can address the majority of serious crashes.
The plan includes a public-facing Vision Zero dashboard to track crashes and interventions and proposes forming a standing Vision Zero task force to monitor progress, update priorities, and coordinate interventions. Staff said the public review period is open through May 2 and that they will return to the council for formal adoption on May 21; an adopted plan will make Fresno eligible for implementation grants through SS4A and other programs.
Public comment during the workshop emphasized enforcement, school-area safety, and equity. Several council members supported revisiting automated enforcement tools such as red-light cameras and speed-camera authorities alongside infrastructure investments and asked staff to align the plan with prospective local funding measures that could flow to street-safety projects.
