Tag: fresno bike trail

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Old Town Clovis Trail Gap to Finally be Closed!

On By jamesinclair

It’s finally happening!

The two blocks in Old Town Clovis where the regional bike trail disappears will apparently be completed as soon as this year.

The next city council agenda has this surprise:

City staff intends to bid and construct the Clovis Old Town trail connection on the west side of Hughes Avenue from Third to Fifth streets in the 3rd quarter of 2013.
Council document (PDF)

The gap is especially notable, because it’s in the heart of Clovis, and there is absolutely no accommodation to direct trail users through the missing area.

Here’s where the gap is, Clovis Avenue is the large road on the left. The red lines are the existing trails points, where they suddenly end. A parking lot was built on the rail right of way (ROW). Click to read more!

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An analysis of Fresno/Clovis rail-trail (4): Sierra to Alluvial

On By jamesinclair

Once again, apologies for the large gap of time between these posts about the trail, but as I’ve said before, they actually consume a very large amount of time to put together.Taking the pictures was easy (all pictures from August by the way), it’s the formatting of these posts that takes a long time. If you find them enjoyable or educational, I’d appreciate a comment.

Previously:
1) South of Shaw
2) Shaw to Old Town Clovis
3) Old Town to Sierra

This is the section I cover today
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We last left off going north, approaching the intersection of Sierra and Clovis Ave, which the trail crosses diagonally. Click to read more!

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An analysis of Fresno/Clovis rail-trail (3): Old Town to Sierra

On By jamesinclair

Sorry for the huge gaps of time between these posts, but they actually take a fair amount of time to put together.

Today we continue our look at the Fresno-Clovis Rail Trail.

We started south of Shaw, and made our way to Gettysburg.

Then we went from there onwards towards Old Town.

Now we keep going, through Old Town and then north of it to Sierra. Theoretically, the Old Town section of the trail would be the nicest and busiest, since it’s a very popular destination. Sadly, it’s one of the worst section of the trail. For one block, the trail completely disappears. There are multiple intersections that do nothing to accommodate trail users, and the trail has very little connection into the part of Old Town that people care about. Indeed, you can shop, dine and explore without even noticing the trail exists.
  Click to read more!

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An analysis of Fresno/Clovis rail-trail (2): Gettysburg to Old Town

On By jamesinclair

This is the second part of a series of posts touring and analyzing the Fresno-Clovis Rail Trail.

Part one, South of Shaw can be found by clicking that link.

Today I start where we left off last time (Gettysburg) and continue north across Shaw towards Old Town Clovis.

This section of the trail sees some improvements (more amenities) but many of the same failing as before, such as terrible road crossings. This area also introduces tunnels.

Fortunately, the many drawbacks of the trail could be easily fixed. The trail itself is not terrible – it’s wide, well maintained and feels safe and welcoming. Most of the problems I will point out are missed opportunities that a little bit of attention and investment could fix. Click to read more!

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Clovis trail statue proposal, who is it really for?

On By jamesinclair

The Fresno-Clovis rail-trail is essentially the one and only bicycle highway in the area. There are a couple of other trails, but it’s the only one connecting important nodes. As such, it’s pretty popular.

The trail passes through “downtown” Clovis, which is adjacent to the rodeo grounds. There is a section where the trail is sandwiched between parking and more parking. Most of the parking is used only for occasional events, like the rodeo, the cycling tour etc. For the majority of the year, it’s empty.

This week, an item related to the trail was up for vote at the council. Click to read more!

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Patio takeover of trail delayed, for now

On By jamesinclair

The Bee has the some good news about last nights planning meeting concerning the proposed expansion of a restaurant onto the right-of-way of the Sugar Pine Trail.

Fresno’s planning commission on Wednesday rejected a proposal to allow a northeast Fresno restaurant to put a patio into part of the Sugar Pine Trail — but said the restaurant owner could return with a new proposal.

In rejecting the proposal by Yosemite Ranch owner David Fansler, commissioners asked the City Council to clarify when and how the city should allow shared use of public spaces.

Fresno Bee

As I wasn’t at the meeting, it’s hard to get the full tone of the message, but the news is mostly positive. At least for now, there will be no takeover of the trail. Click to read more!

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Fresno building a new trail, but doing it badly

On By jamesinclair

Fresno has finally begun to take advantage of its extensive canal system by starting to build a section of a multi-use trail, one of hundreds of planned miles. But what if the trail is being built to satisfy lines on a plan, and the design choices make it clear that accessibility or ease of use was never really considered? Below, I take a tour of a recently completed section of trail and document many of the design flaws, including terrible access for those in wheelchairs.

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The Fresno area, thanks to the agricultural roots, is crossed by many canals which bring much needed water to farmers. As the city grew, and buildings replaced farms, the canals remained but the city turned their back on them. The canals weren’t seen as a place to enjoy, but as a place to be kept off limits. This is odd because the area is lacking in water features. There are no natural lakes in the region, only artificial ones, like the bird habitat at Woodward Park or the dam-reservoirs up in the mountains. The San Joaquin river marks Fresno’s northern boundary, but access to it is limited and difficult. Indeed, because of the way development was organized, it has become isolated, leading to drug use and prostitution along its banks. This only scares off people wanting to enjoy a water feature. Click to read more!

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Please do not cross at trail crossing

On By jamesinclair

A few days ago I wrote about a bike/ped trail I “discovered” in north Fresno.

As you can see in that post, I detailed how the city was apparently unaware of the trail that had been in place for over a decade. The trail does not appear in maps, and doesn’t seem to have a name.

Well, upon closer examination, it appears that the city is aware of the trail, but not in the way we would hope.

Let’s look at where the trail crosses 1st St.

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Simple enough crossing. Two lanes each way (+bike lanes) with a safe median to stop. Speed limit is 40, like most streets in Fresno.

Photobucket Click to read more!

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Fresno has a secret bike/ped path

On By jamesinclair

Alternate title: I’ve built a new trail for Fresno!

Multi-use trails aren’t exactly the most common thing to find. Most cities treat them as recreational tools, and so they’re one of the first things to be cut during times of hard budgets. And since the budget is always tough, we find ourselves with a very slow growing network. In reality, while they do serve as scenic leisure rides and walks, trails can also work as highways for people on bikes, and shortcuts for those on foot.

Because they’re uncommon compared to the endless roads and sidewalks, you would think that a city would want to highlight a trail in the city. After all, even if they only see it as a recreational asset, it’s still something worth promoting, isn’t it? Click to read more!