LCTI: Fresno Metro Ministry Southern Blackstone Transportation Needs Assessment Project
Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program
Community Transportation Needs Assessment
Fresno Metropolitan Ministry | Fresno Metro Ministry Southern Blackstone Transportation Needs Assessment Project
November 2020 – August 2021
Project Details
Fresno Metro Ministry needs assessment involved a variety of outreach, such as surveys sent out through the mail, email, social media, and conducted by phone to engage community groups and community members. Participants included over 14,000 residents from the three census tracts. The Fresno Metro Ministry worked with the Fresno State Transportation Institute to help with the analysis of the survey results. Fresno Metro Ministry hired temporary workers from the community to conduct door-to-door engagement and surveys. Fresno Metro Ministry published the summary report on their website and sent a copy to residents who indicated interest in the results.
Project Highlights
- There is interest in shared mobility services for certain niche applications such as a shopping shuttle, food delivery service, and bike sharing at Fresno City College.
- Innovative vehicles like the Arcimoto FUV attract attention and can be used in Fresno to fill certain niche applications.
Lessons Learned
- Only 4% of residents in the study area were interested in taking the survey, but this is consistent with the experience of others in getting survey responses for transportation in Fresno.
- Low-income residents want the same transportation freedom that comes with a personal automobile as do people with high incomes.
Funding Details
Voucher Total: $49,990
By the Numbers
Community Engagement Activities
- 10,494 Home sites visited and flyers distributed
- 1,955 Resident interactions during the course of this outreach
- 516 Flyers posted at businesses and on informational kiosks
- 2 Rounds of phone calls made with a total of 4,102 calls made
- 1 Shared mobility display event at Manchester Center
Estimated Quantifiable Benefits
- Direct Jobs: 1
- Indirect Jobs: 1
- Induced Jobs: 1
Community Details
The project focused on Central Fresno, specifically across 3 census tracts that encompass Southern Blackstone Ave. The communities within this proposed area are severely impacted by poor air quality, poverty, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing. The community is predominantly Hispanic with between 51% to 68% across the 3 census tracts. Prior surveys have shown a preference for carshare and vanpool services to provide greater connection for residents to medical facilities and shopping centers located in north Fresno. Residents have noted a desire for safe walking/biking opportunities along the Blackstone corridor that can link the vehicle sharing and BRT services.
Community Benefits
The project goal was to address community concerns about safe walking and biking, the absence of public access to electric vehicle charging stations, as well as an overall lack of car-sharing, bike-sharing, and van-pool sharing services to enhance mobility. The needs assessment helps to understand the opportunity to deploy clean mobility options for active and shared-use transportation services in these communities.
Outreach & Engagement Strategies
- Email surveys
- Social media
- Phone outreach
- Local survey worker hiring
- Door-to-door outreach
- Phone banking
Target Populations
- Unemployed/underemployed
- Low-income
- People without internet access
- Hispanic/Latino
- Spanish speakers
Partnership Structure
Voucher Recipient
Fresno Metro Ministry (Metro) is a multicultural, multifaith, 501c3 community-benefit organization with a 50-year history of addressing the social, economic and environmental determinants of health through community engagement, advocacy and programs delivering measurable results. Metro focuses on increasing access and consumption of healthy food, the quality and safety of the built and physical environment, and overall health and economic opportunities for underserved communities.
Project Partners
Contact
Joseph Oldham | (559) 797-6034 | Fresno Metro Ministry