Tag: downtown fresno

Google Maps Launches Areas of Interest – How Accurate is it in Fresno?

A week or so ago, Google refreshed their maps service. Most of the changes were minor – new road outlines, a different typography, and a few other minor tweaks designed to make the maps easier to understand. However, as part of that update, they introduced what could be a major new feature: areas of interest.

These areas of interest are determined algorithmically, using an
automated process to pick out areas with the most stores, restaurants,
or bars, but Google says it’s also using a “human touch” in high-density
areas — like New York City — to point people to the coolest locations.
The Verge Click to read more!

A quick look at the reconstruction of the Tuolumne bridge for HSR

One of the most obvious signs of High Speed’s Rail’s (HSR) coming arrival to downtown Fresno has been the demolition – and now reconstruction – of the Tuolumne street bridge. The bridge was two lanes wide and carried traffic eastbound over the Union Pacific right of way. It was paired with the Stanislaus Street bridge which carries two lanes westbound.  

Both bridges will be demolished and replaced by a single bridge carrying traffic in both directions. The bridge will feature wider sidewalks as well. The reason is that aside from being 50 years old (or more?), the current structure of the bridge does not allow enough room for the new High Speed Rail tracks to fit. Once the new bridge is in place, and the Stanislaus Street bridge has been demolished, more serious work can be done downtown to create the new tracks and station. Click to read more!

An overhead look at downtown Fresno before high speed rail changes everything

About a month ago, I went out and took hundreds of pictures around downtown Fresno. The intention was to post them quickly, but that obviously didn’t happen. My post about the changes at Fresno State took a few days to put together, and then I was away from the internet for a week due to a planned surgery.

This set of pictures was originally intended to show the current state of High Speed Rail (HSR) construction in Fresno. However, a lot has happened in a month, so they’re no longer current in regards to construction activity on the project itself. Instead, they will serve as a benchmark of what downtown Fresno looked like right before serious construction started in earnest, and before private investors started taking note of the prime empty lots. Click to read more!

Two new public electric vehicle charging stations open in Fresno

Two months ago, I decided to look back at the state of public electric charging infrastructure for electric cars in Fresno. Sadly, the situation was still very dire.

Fortunately, there has been some news on that front. Chargers have arrived at Fresno State and Downtown:

Fresno State is planning to give electric car drivers more
options to “charge up” under plans announced Friday to build a six-stall
charging station on campus.

University officials say the station
located west of Save Mart Center will have two quick-charge pumps — a
car’s battery could recharge in 20 to 30 minutes — plus four more for
longer charges. It’s being paid for through a $397,000 grant from the
California Energy Commission. Click to read more!

Fresno might get its first protected cycle track!

I’ve been angrily hammering away on an article about the proposed Smart and Final project, but fortunately I found something in this weeks City Council Agenda that has temporarily soothed my nerves:

=&0=& and the preparation of a feasibility study for a Class I bicycle trail along the Herndon Canal and Mill Ditch canal banks and to authorize the Public Works Director or designee to sign and execute the standardized agreement on behalf of the City (Council District 1, 3 ,4 and 7)=&1=& which promote active transportation and provide a right-of-way designated exclusively for bicycle travel adjacent to a roadway and which are protected from vehicular traffic. Types of separation include, but are not limited to, grade separation, flexible posts, inflexible physical barriers, or on-street parking. Legislature

A cycle track, in Fresno!?

Sure, San Francisco has them….

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Streetsblog

 and Los Angeles has them (as of last week)…

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 Streetsblog

and cities like Chicago, Washington, New York and Boston have had them for years, but it looks like modern engineering has finally arrived in Fresno!

So where might they be built?

…an evaluation of Class IV bicycle facilities along Van Ness Avenue and Fulton Street between Divisadero Street and McKinley Avenue.

Van Ness Avenue and Fulton Street are the preferred connection between Downtown and the Tower for both motorists and people on bicycles. They each are one way, and were some of the first Fresno streets to get bicycle lanes added after construction (most new streets are designed with bicycle lanes in mind, but only within the last 5 years did Fresno start adding bicycle lanes to existing streets). Click to read more!

Don’t miss the giant Catacomb Party this weekend!

The Fulton Mall is going to be packed to the brim this weekend (Saturday, April 4) for a large free (free!) music festival, known as the Catacomb Party, and you won’t want to miss out on it.

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A scene from the 2013 edition, http://www.catacombparty.com/

This will be the third edition of the party, and will be by far the biggest one yet. The first edition was in 2012 with a single stage, and I posted a review with some pictures here. It was repeated in 2013, after expanding to 5 stages, before taking 2014 off so the organizers could return bigger and better than ever.
 
This time around, the party has moved from in front of what was the Fresno Brewing Company (now Peeve’s) to the Mariposa Mall area, which is the central square of the Fulton Mall. That’s usually where the big stage is set up for the Cinco de Mayo festivities, and is where the Ice Skating Rink pops up during the winter. Click to read more!

Fresno’s Warehouse Row Project

As you may have guessed, I’ve been rather busy lately, and have not had much time for posts. I hope to remedy that in the near future, and do have a dozen+ ideas in line.

In the mean time, here’s an interesting look at a downtown Fresno project that went under my radar: Warehouse Row.

The project is just down the block from the Amtrak Station, and walking distance to City Hall and the Convention Center.

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There are three historic warehouses on that block, built between 1903 and 1910.

From Historic Fresno:

The Warehouse Row Buildings consist of three architecturally and historically significant buildings, the Wormser Warehouse, the Western Meat Company packing plant, and the Fresno Consumers Ice Company building. These structures, all of which date from the first decade of the twentieth century, reflect the growth spurred on by the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad and the emergence of Fresno as an important agricultural center.  Click to read more!

CityView at Van Ness (Droge) now open

Remember the photo tour from last Thursday? Well as of today, the building is open for people to move in.

The Fresno Bee posted some additional images, including some of the interior. The public spaces are looking great.

That Fresno Blog has an image of the retail space that is available. She also has news that the manager of Joe’s Steakhouse, across the street, is one of the new residential tenants. Apparently, they will extend their hours due to an expected increase in business.

Kiel Schmidt has linked to an album showing the process for the art that lines the outside of the building, which is looking great! Click to read more!

Work underway at GV Urban’s Met Block development

Way back in February of 2013, GV Urban went before the city with their newest apartment proposal. The plan involved building up the Met Block, named after the old Met Museum. The block is between Van Ness and Fulton, and between Calaveras and Stanislaus.

The plan involved keeping the Met (top corner) and restoring the only other building left standing, on the left.

Problem was, the plan sucked. GV Urban proposed sticking in the exact same template they’ve built five other times downtown, but this time with a hideous façade.

For quite possibly the first time ever, the city pushed back against GV Urban. Aside from the ugly façade, the city was concerned that such a prominent block should break GV’s 3-story barrier, as to match the height of the Met. Click to read more!

A picture review of the latest from GV Urban

So I took these pictures back in May. And this is how long it’s taken me to finally get around to this post… Better late than never right? I hope you enjoy.

I’ll start with the Crichton Place project, built on L and San Joaquin. I last posted about these in January, when they were still wooden frames.These pictures were taken shortly before they opened at the end of June. Obviously, they have landscaping now.

We start off here, not too much to say, aside from the standard too-narrow sidewalk.

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Not my favorite color scheme, but Fresno seems to love it.

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Moving back a second, this is the property off frame in the first photo Click to read more!