Making Fresno's Dangerous Streets Safer for Pedestrians

In this episode of Fresnolandia, we sit down with Laura Gromis, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council of Central California and a member of Fresno’s Active Transportation Advisory Committee, to talk about the city’s efforts to make streets safer for people who walk and bike.

At the center of the conversation is Fresno’s Vision Zero initiative—a new strategy to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. We explore what’s driving this policy push and what it means for neighborhoods across Fresno.

A recent report from Smart Growth America ranked Fresno as the 7th most dangerous metro area in the nation for pedestrians, with 196 pedestrian deaths in Fresno County between 2018 and 2022. That puts Fresno in troubling company among Sunbelt cities where car-centric design often leaves walkers and bikers behind. So what’s being done—and will it work?