Fresno lowers school zone speed limits to 20 mph, installs new signs

Fresno drivers passing schools are starting to see a new number on the signs: 20 mph instead of 25.

The City Council approved the change in a 7-0 vote on Feb. 26, and Fresno Public Works has begun installing replacement signs across the city. Officials said the goal is to have the new signs up by August 2026, when the next school year begins, so drivers, parents and school staff have a clearer warning before drop-off and pick-up traffic builds again.

The change affects school zones near Fresno’s 149 schools, which Public Works director Scott Mozier said will require a sign-replacement project costing an estimated $400,000 to $500,000. The lower limit is allowed under Assembly Bill 382, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2025, which lets local governments drop school-zone speeds from 25 mph to 20 mph by ordinance or resolution before the statewide requirement kicks in on Jan. 1, 2031.

Under the law, school zones are defined as areas within 500 feet of school grounds unless another distance is posted. That means the slower limit is aimed at the blocks where children and families are most likely to be walking, biking or crossing streets around campuses, including busy neighborhoods near Fresno Unified schools.

Fresno Unified welcomed the move, saying it supports improvements that will make students and parents safer walking, biking and driving to school. City leaders framed the policy as a practical safety step, but the push also reflected a more personal concern. Councilmember Nelson Esparza said his own experience with unsafe drivers while dropping off his daughter at school was not unusual, and he said he had heard the same worries from countless residents.

Other council members echoed that point with their own close calls. Councilmember Tyler Maxwell and Edgar Torres, a Jefferson Elementary alumnus, described unsafe driving near schools as a firsthand concern, reinforcing the sense that the change came from daily experience rather than a theoretical traffic debate.

Lower speed limits are intended to give drivers more reaction time and reduce the severity of injuries if a crash happens, according to safety guidance cited in the policy discussion. The city’s next test is whether motorists notice the new signs and actually slow down. Fresno has changed the rule on paper and in the street environment; the real measure will be whether drop-off traffic becomes calmer and school streets feel safer when the school year begins.