\u201cI think of him every time I drive by,\u201d said Zuniga, who uses they\/them pronouns. \u201cI also think of the kids I see trying to use crosswalks on West Avenue while cars speed past them, often missing them by mere feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Pedestrian dangers threaten many of Fresno\u2019s neighborhoods. But how do you tackle these in a city that\u2019s been car-centric longer than residents like Zuniga have been alive?<\/p>\n
A little over two years ago, Zuniga found a place to start: the Community Land Use Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Academy\u2019s multiweek courses, run by Fresno nonprofit the Every Neighborhood Partnership<\/a>, teach residents how to navigate the complicated channels of local bureaucracy to change their neighborhoods for the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n No matter what\u2019s happening in Sacramento or Washington, we will continue to do what we\u2019ve always done: hold our local officials accountable and report the stories that shape daily life in Fresno. <\/p>\n Become a monthly member today during our crucial end-of-year campaign so that we can continue to tell hyperlocal stories you won’t find anywhere else. All donations are matched through December 31.<\/p>\n The courses specifically emphasize the importance of land-use decisions \u2014 like where cities allow parks, liquor stores, freeways, homes and other developments to be built \u2014 and how residents can take that power into their own hands.<\/p>\n \u201cWe go through a stem chart of what our local land use processes look like,\u201d said Ivan Paz, project manager for the Community Land Use Academy, \u201cwith the city council, planning commission, and then the mayor and all of his departments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo they get familiar with that, and they realize: Okay, now I have a point of reference of where to start if I have a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n For Zuniga, they came out of the course ready to take action to improve road safety in their neighborhood \u2014 specifically by campaigning for speed humps<\/a> in front of their house on Harvard Avenue, across from Homan Elementary.<\/p>\n The speed humps, which the city installed after months of door-knocking and navigating bureaucratic forms<\/a> from Zuniga, were one important step toward safer conditions for pedestrians.<\/p>\n But they hope to build on that success. And with their neighborhood\u2019s proximity to the 99 and other busy roadways, there\u2019s no shortage of next steps on the road safety front.<\/p>\n \u201cI still have the addresses of all the people who we contacted,\u201d Zuniga said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have two schools,\u201d including both Homan and Golden Charter Academy, they added, \u201cso I think there\u2019s a lot of potential to get some organizing going on around this neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n What is the Community Land Use Academy?<\/p>\n Since its launch in 2023, the Community Land Use Academy has trained 11 cohorts and cumulatively over 100 residents.<\/p>\n The instructors lead eight-week bootcamps as well as 10-week, more in-depth \u201cPlanning & Development Academy.\u201d They also offer the eight-week course entirely in Spanish and a three-week introductory session that\u2019s online only.\u00a0<\/p>\n On top of teaching enrollees how to navigate the city\u2019s bureaucracy, some of the academy\u2019s classes will walk residents through a real-world case study together, like how to address a vacant lot in a neighborhood, or how to push for better-connected bike lanes.\u00a0<\/p>\n No matter what issue they\u2019re looking at, everything Paz and his colleagues teach is through the lens of building on the existing strengths within a neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cThe solutions to a community\u2019s problems are usually going to be found within the community,\u201d Paz said. \u201cThat\u2019s our philosophical starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n Alumni of the program have taken what they\u2019ve learned and used it to make changes to their neighborhoods, from fast-tracking the demolition of a blighted property in the Lowell area to adding much-needed green space near Webster Elementary School, according to Karl Gurney, who helps develop the Academy\u2019s curriculum.<\/p>\n In the grand scheme of things, Paz and Gurney hope that helping residents push for better land use decisions can help solve more entrenched city issues, like crime.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have an alley that connects to a liquor store, and then the streetlight goes out,\u201d Paz said, \u201cit\u2019s going to attract the same type of crimes right there. Drug deals, fights, prostitution \u2014 things like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you advocate to get that light fixed, then it may not be the complete solution,\u201d he added, \u201cbut it\u2019ll reduce the amount of times that that type of crime happens.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s all part of creating a neighborhood \u201cthat cares for itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for Zuniga and the Homan neighborhood?<\/p>\n Zuniga enrolled in one of the first Community Land Use Academy cohorts.<\/p>\n Afterward, they found themself knocking on doors, not just collecting signatures but also connecting with more of their neighbors and discovering \u201cnew allies.\u201d<\/p>\n As for whether there\u2019s a difference in how people drive in the Homan neighborhood since the speed humps got installed in January of this year, Zuniga says \u201cdefinitely.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love when they\u2019re driving too fast and their cars scrape,\u201d they said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you get.\u201d<\/p>\n Although the speed humps were a win, Zuniga\u2019s still worried about their neighborhood.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not always a safe place to walk in, not just because of pedestrian danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n Its proximity to the 99, a major north-south corridor for heavy duty trucks traversing the Golden State, and several unpaved diesel truck lots in the surrounding area leave it with abysmal air quality. It\u2019s in the 96th percentile statewide in terms of the concentration of fine particulate matter, according to CalEnviroScreen<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gas stations have also replaced some of the neighborhood\u2019s much-needed third spaces \u2014 most recently, the Lucky\u2019s Donut House on Shields and West avenues<\/a> \u2014 and threaten to add to existing pollution from cars and trucks.<\/p>\n The consequences of those patterns of freeway and business development in their neighborhood are deeply personal for Zuniga.<\/p>\n Their mother is diabetic, and Zuniga is taking time off work to take care of her after a series of surgeries to prepare for dialysis. Zuniga said they see their mother and other family members\u2019 struggle with diet-related illnesses \u201cas a direct reflection of our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople like to talk about personal responsibility,\u201d they said, \u201cbut how much of that really matters when your neighborhood is filled with fast food, polluted air, and no safe place to walk?\u201d<\/p>\n They envision a neighborhood where someday everyone can feel safe taking a walk outside for some exercise \u2014 and breathing the air outside when they do.<\/p>\n To that end, they\u2019ve thought about trying to get mini roundabouts installed at more of the residential intersections around Homan. They\u2019re also dreaming of a community garden.<\/p>\n But none of this is their full-time job. It\u2019s going to take time.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t consider myself an activist, or anything like that. It\u2019s just, I do what I can, when I can,\u201d Zuniga said, \u201cand when I find out.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing civically engaged is hard. It\u2019s \u2018work on top of work,\u2019\u201d they added, \u201cand navigating the local bureaucracy often feels like a labyrinth.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to see another memorial for a pedestrian on a telephone pole.\u201d<\/p>\n How to join CLUA?<\/p>\n The Community Land Use Academy\u2019s courses are free.<\/p>\n The instructors just wrapped up their most recent 10-week course earlier this month.<\/p>\n People interested in enrolling in a future course can fill out this online interest form<\/a>, which is written in both English and Spanish.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025_homanneighborhood-2.jpg\")
A resident of the Homan Elementary School neighborhood successfully campaigned for the city to install \u201cspeed humps\u201d on Harvard Avenue, not far from where a student was killed crossing the street years ago. Julianna Morano | Fresnoland<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025_homanneighborhood-4.jpg\")
Ivan Paz, project manager for the Community Land Use Academy, pictured during a class session Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. Julianna Morano | Fresnoland<\/p>\n