Summary: Measure C funding for a new, regional Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) program was identified in 2024 as potentially being derived from funds not being expended in existing programs from the 2006 Measure C Extension. Beginning in 2023, the Policy Board’s SRTS Subcommittee met to discuss and identify infrastructure investments to support educational institutions throughout the County, specifically in priority communities. The Measure C Safe Routes to School allocation aims to support transportation projects serving primary and secondary students in accessing public school facilities to:
- Improve safety for children walking or biking to school;
- Prioritize schools with significant safety concerns or risks to children bicycling or walking to school based on crash data, traffic analysis, or traffic behavior around primary and secondary schools; and
- Support disadvantaged and low-income communities with fewer transportation safety options to ensure all children have access to safe routes.
In November 2024, Fresno COG’s Policy Board approved transferring $6 million in Measure C funding from the Senior Scrip, carpool/vanpool and agricultural vanpool programs into a new SRTS program for one-time funding of eligible projects on a formula, pro-rata basis. In December 2024, the Fresno County Transportation Authority countered Fresno COG’s proposal with a recommendation to keep available funding among rural jurisdictions and the County of Fresno only, but to make the program competitive, requiring a call for projects.
Policy Board members discussed and conceptually approved FCTA’s counterproposal at Fresno COG’s January 2025 meeting. Codifying this action requires a formal amendment to the 2006 Measure C Expenditure Plan, which must be approved by both the Fresno COG Policy Board and the FCTA.
Following Board direction, Fresno COG and FCTA staff have developed draft SRTS guidelines and a draft application packet for the 13 eligible entities, which are attached to this staff report. Based largely on California’s Active Transportation Program, the SRTS guidelines prioritize bicycle and pedestrian-friendly projects within one-half mile of a school site and establish a project limit of $1.5 million, among other characteristics. On April 24, the SRTS Subcommittee met to review and revise the guidelines and application packet and both approved drafts have been attached to the agenda.
Staff and the SRTS Subcommittee are recommending the Fresno COG Policy Board approve Amendment No. 9 to the 2006 Measure C Expenditure Plan, which includes reallocating $6 million in Measure C funds to the new Safe Routes to Schools program, and to be distributed following the attached guidelines and application.
Action: Staff and the Safe Routes to Schools Subcommittee recommend the Policy Board approve Resolution 2025-15, adopting Amendment No. 9 to the 2006 Measure C Expenditure Plan, including the associated guidelines and application packet, and establishing the Safe Routes to Schools Program with $6 million in funding.
