The Fresno County Transportation Authority Board is tackling a crucial aspect in ensuring students remain safe and in the classroom.

Board members allocated $6 million of Measure C funds towards investments in pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements near schools across the county.

This is part of the Safe Routes to School Program, established in 2006, which aims to invest meaningful dollars towards improvements that enhance safety around schools.

“Every day, students and families in our communities rely on these pathways to get to school, work, and essential destinations,” said Lynne Ashbeck, chair of FTCA. “By funding projects like this, we’re helping to create safer, more reliable connections that improve quality of life across Fresno County.”

Board members approved seven projects collectively serving 20 schools during a Wednesday meeting. More than half of the funded projects involve pavement installation, upgrading dirt pathways that students currently use to reach school.

Safe Routes prioritizes bicycle and pedestrian friendly projects within one-half mile of a school site and is available exclusively to rural jurisdictions. The project limit is $1.5 million.

18 Project Applications Totaling $17 Million

FTCA opened a call for projects in July and received 18 applications totaling more than $17 million — nearly three times the available funding. This underscores the significant demand for school safety improvements across the county, FTCA said in a press release.

During a recent Fresno Unified School Board meeting, trustees highlighted the importance of safe routes.

“We have had a 17-fold increase in our students being hit walking to school or biking to school. We’ve had at least two deaths: one by bike and one pedestrian,” said Board President Veva Islas. “I’m very much in support of wanting to encourage our children to walk and bike to school. And they deserve the investments in order to do that safely.”

Approved Projects in Fresno County

The approved projects and funding amounts are as follows:

• City of Selma: Rose Avenue and Olive Avenue Crosswalks – $644,800
• City of Parlier: Madsen Avenue SAFE Projects – $906,588
• City of Sanger: Fowler Switch Canal Pedestrian Bridge – $906,588
• City of Reedley: T.L. Reed Safe Routes to School Project – $906,587
• City of Fowler: Safe Routes to School Project – $906,587
• City of Mendota: SRTRS Master Plan Implementation – $906,587
• County of Fresno: Cantua Elementary Pedestrian Pathway – $822,263