Year: 2021

Categories : Airlines FresnoTags : 3 Comments

Even with Southwest, Fresno air service still more limited than peers

On By jamesinclair

Five years ago, I looked at how air service at FAT compared with cities similar to Fresno. I found that relative to the size of the metro area, Fresno had less passengers and less destinations served. Fresno also lacked service by both Jetblue and Southwest, but did get a larger share of airlines, thanks to the competition on flights to Mexico. Airlines would price fares high out of Fresno, and locals would save money by driving to LAX or SFO.

Well, today is a big day, as Southwest Airlines has finally started to serve Fresno.

There’s also been other changes since I wrote my post. Delta has started flying to LAX and Seattle. Both American and United have added service to Chicago. There are now 4 destinations in Mexico. Airlines have continued to add larger planes along existing routes. Click to read more!

Categories : Fresno High Speed Rail Housing RetailTags : 6 Comments

2021 Downtown Fresno Construction Update

On By jamesinclair

Would it be Stop and Move if I didn’t post my construction update over a month after taking the photos? Of course not! At least it’s not as bad as my 2020 update.

Anyway, I spent some time downtown and in the Tower District looking for new construction. 2020 was a slow year, obviously due to the pandemic, but development is showing signs of life again, and there a few new housing projects that should pop up quickly this year. If you missed it, I already posted about the new protected bicycle lane and the TOD apartments on Blackstone.

The District

We kick things off in the Tower District, which is downtown enough for me (scandalous I know). New apartments are going up on Van Ness and Alhambra, just a couple of blocks from the Tower Theater. Fresno State archives show this lot has been empty since at least 1977, and probably much longer – that’s crazy! While this is a prime location, and housing will be great to have near the bars and restaurants, they’re unfortunately only doing 18 units. Seems like a missed opportunity really. Oddly, I can’t find a rendering of this project. Click to read more!

Categories : Fresno Housing TransitTags : 10 Comments

A look at Fresno’s first transit-oriented apartment building

On By jamesinclair

About a mile north of downtown Fresno, at the intersection of Blackstone and McKinley, a really exciting project is well underway: Fresno’s first transit-oriented apartment building. Aside from looking impressive in person, I think this is the first time in Fresno history that a real apartment building is being constructed outside the downtown core. And by “real,” I mean as one urban unit. There are apartments all over Fresno, but they tend to be two-story, 2 or 4 unit blocks built among an oasis of parking and grass. Those are perfectly fine, but they’re suburban in nature. This building will have four floors, which will make it twice as tall as 98% of Fresno buildings. Click to read more!

Categories : Bicycling FresnoTags : 3 Comments

A look at Fresno’s first protected bicycle lane

On By jamesinclair

It has finally happened—Fresno has a protected bicycle lane! The new lane is located downtown, on R Street between Ventura Street and Tulare Street. The roadway previously did not have bicycle lanes, but had one lane in each direction, parking, and a central turn lane. The central turn lane was removed, the parking was moved out from the curb, and bicycle lanes were added between the curb and the parked cars. Additionally, regular bicycle lanes and sharrows were added between Tulare Street and Fresno Street, providing a link to Community Hospital.

protected map
The new lane is between the two stars

I’m not quite sure why this was chosen as Fresno’s first protected bike lane. Many years ago, there were talks of protected lanes on Fulton and Van Ness, connecting Downtown and the Tower district. Those were never built. This lane is a bit out of the way, but that may be intentional, as no one is around to NIMBY it. Now that it is in place, the city can point to it as an existing product, instead of a hypothetical, when it comes to future implementation. Click to read more!