FRESNO COUNTY – Cities in Fresno County now have a framework to use if they want to create a space within their communities that would give people a way to get around town through a variety of options.

This is thanks to the Fresno County Mobility Hubs Feasibility Study that was conducted over the last two years and funded by a grant from the California Department of Transportation. At its March 26 meeting, the Fresno Council of Governments Policy Board heard a presentation on the overall study and accepted the final draft of the document.

Fresno COG Executive Director Robert Phipps explained to the policy board, which is made up of representatives from Fresno County and its 15 cities, that the board’s action was related solely to accepting the study, not adopting mobility hubs. The study outlines the ideal locations for mobility hubs, but it does not dictate that they would have to be pursued in a specific fashion. 

“It’s setting the stage for that to occur should the cities and transit agencies choose to work in tandem to do that,” Phipps said. “(This) doesn’t commit your jurisdictions to anything in particular, it’s simply the best guidance that we can offer at this time.” 

Fresno COG Principal Planner Simran Jhutti said COG worked on the study alongside the county’s three transit agencies: Fresno Area Express, Clovis Transit and Fresno County Rural Transit Agency. Consultants included Walker Consultants, Alta Planning and Design, LSA and Southwest Strategies. 

The study began in 2024 and was made possible through a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning grant of $700,000 and a local match of $140,000, Jhutti said. 

Mobility hubs

Ben Weber, a planner with Walker Consultants, said the objective of the study is to ultimately improve multimodal transportation options around the county, particularly in disadvantaged communities. 

To start the overall project, Weber said the consultants had to ask themselves what mobility hubs are. 

“They are not an off-the-shelf transportation solution, and there aren’t that many examples of these in North America or even around the planet — the idea of really integrating, deliberately, all these different transportation modes into a community place,” Weber said. 

The study defines a mobility hub as a central location that brings together transportation options and community amenities “designed to improve access, equity and quality of life.” Mobility hubs have flexible and scalable designs, which allow them to serve a variety of communities. 

Mobility hubs, according to the study, offer multimodal connections, acting as center points for bus, microtransit and rideshare services along with bike and scooter rentals and electric vehicle charging. They can include community amenities such as public art, outdoor seating, library locations, event space and even retail and medical services. 

Regarding the overall feasibility of implementing mobility hubs, the study determined that mobility hubs “offer great potential” to improve transportation options but would not come without implementation challenges. 

These challenges could include the complexity of coordinating a network of hubs across multiple agencies and jurisdictions, the broad geography of rural Fresno County, decreased federal funding opportunities and more. 

However, opportunities to develop mobility hubs were also identified. The study said multiple funding pathways exist through state grants and regional partnerships and local governments have been developing ambitious transportation plans to help with decarbonization. Further, it noted there was enthusiasm from community members who participated in the study. 

Local conceptualization

The study developed four mobility hub “concepts” to show how the idea would work in practice across Fresno County. It identified two urban sites, one in Fresno and one in Clovis, and two rural sites in Parlier and San Joaquin. 

In developing the concepts, the study’s consultants hosted multiple community outreach meetings, analyzed existing conditions of potential sites, designed each proposed site and produced a cost estimation of implementing a mobility hub. 

In Parlier, the study identified the parking lot on the west side of the police station at 8770 S. Mendocino Ave. as one possible location. The study lists a baseline concept and an enhanced concept, showing what the city of Parlier could do if it limits the mobility hub to property already owned by the city or if it attempts to acquire property next to the location. 

Through the baseline concept, the study outlines how the city could install solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations primarily for FCRTA fleet use. The concept also included short-term bicycle parking and a bus shelter. 

Through the enhanced concepts, the city could incorporate public electric vehicle charging, carsharing parking, a pocket park and traffic control changes in the area to improve transit vehicle access.

All elements of the baseline concept were estimated to cost approximately $1.8 million, while adding on the enhanced concept elements would increase the estimated cost to a total of approximately $3 million.

In San Joaquin, the study identified a vacant lot in downtown, located at 8747 S. Main St., bordered by commercial businesses. The branch library is nearby and the location would provide regional connectivity to State Routes 33, 145 and 180, according to the study.

In the baseline concept, the city could install solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations and a backup battery for FCRTA and public use. The study said the baseline concept mimics the features and site design proposed by FCRTA in a microgrid and resiliency hub feasibility study. FCRTA has secured a grant to fund the first phase of building a microgrid at this site. 

According to the study, an enhanced concept would incorporate additional “placemaking” features, like a small food cart or retail opportunities and benches, picnic tables and play equipment. Cost estimations — which the study points out are approximate, planning-level figures — put the baseline concept at $1.6 million and the enhanced concept at a total of nearly $2.3 million. 

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua asked specific questions about how the sites for their cities were selected and if the study considered improving efficiencies related to paratransit services. 

Fresno County Transportation Authority Executive Director Moses Stites, who worked on the study as the former executive director of FCRTA, said those were discussion points brought up at the beginning of the study but are more detailed elements of planning that would need to be explored in following studies. 

“This is a concept that you folks can take back to your cities, update your general plans, your specific plans, your community plans, and … this is really a guidepost or a model that you can incorporate,” Stites said.

Stites said FCRTA recently received a Caltrans grant that will be used for a microgrid feasibility study, which can dive further into what cities would need to actually implement the higher-level ideas identified in the mobility hubs study.

“I think you’ll have another opportunity, another bite at the apple, when that other grid analysis comes out, and … I think you’ve got a good base boilerplate to carry forth to however you want to use it in the future,” Stites said.

Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez said he participated in some of the meetings for the San Joaquin mobility hub and saw “great involvement” from the community. 

“Every one of those meetings had a lot of people, so I think people are very excited about those projects,” Martinez said.