Tag: mayor

Categories : FresnoTags : 9 Comments

Fresno Mayoral Election – What will it mean for sprawl?

On By jamesinclair

If you support investment in a strong downtown, curtailing sprawl, focusing on infill, fighting slumlords, and supporting high speed rail, which candidate should you support in the upcoming Fresno mayoral election?

Downtown Fresno, before the removal of the Fulton Mall

The good news is that fortunately for Fresno, neither candidate is a disaster. Neither candidate has declared that downtown should be abandoned, or that bike lanes are part of a secret international agenda, for example. Unfortunately, that means that voting tomorrow becomes a little harder, because one has to conduct a little research.

The candidates are Democrat Henry Perea and Republican Lee Brand. If you only follow national politics, the choice seems simple. For whatever reason, over the last decades, the Republican Party has taken stances against sustainable transportation, High Speed Rail, and investment in infill. But we’re talking about Fresno, and it’s not so clear cut. Click to read more!

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The Smart and Final saga concludes: A victory for the Fresno master plan!

On By jamesinclair

I actually began writing this post in early April, and was getting ready to publish under a VERY different title: “Fresno caves on proposed shopping development – goodbye master plan, we barely knew you.”

But here we are in June, and what at early glance appeared to be a swift win for a suburban developer, and a loss for the residents of Fresno actually has ended up with a happy ending for all involved, well, almost all. As far as land use planning goes, this was one exciting ride.
 
It all began in mid-March, when the Fresno Bee ran an article on a proposed development on Blackstone and Clinton: Click to read more!

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Destroy pedestrian mall so drivers can cruise?

On By jamesinclair

This week was home to the annual “State of Downtown” breakfast, once again held in the Pacific Southwest Building’s ballroom, which anchors the Fulton Mall. Naturally, as has been the case the past few years, talk centered on what to do with the mall.

The mayor has been pushing for years to rip the whole thing up and turn it into yet another two way street with parking – ie, every other road in the city. She’s asking the feds for millions of dollars to get the bulldozers going, claiming that it will start revitalization downtown, even though she ignores that every other street is open to cars, and not one is doing economically better than Fulton. Click to read more!

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Fresno’s downtown parade draws 30,000

On By jamesinclair

A few months ago, the city of Fresno announced that they would cancel the annual Christmas parade because of financial problems. The parade has been held downtown for 82 years, and has always been successful, but this year the city said they couldn’t afford it.

Fortunately, the downtown PBID (Property Business Improvement District) stepped forward to save the parade, redirecting it to the Fulton Mall (a pedestrian street). Along with the parade, there was a tree lighting ceremony at city hall, extreme sports presentations hosted by the downtown casino, and many activities for children and families (face painting and such). Click to read more!

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Why do people think that parking in downtown Fresno is hard?

On By jamesinclair

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a forum downtown about development in south Fresno. The mayor of Fresno, Ashley Swearengin, spoke.

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Unfortunately, we had to sit and wait because the mayor was late. Honestly, it’s not a big deal, we only had to wait around 10 minutes, and other speakers were given the opportunity to “cut in line” and say their part first.

My concern was the excuse given by the speaker.

“Apparently she is circling the block trying to find a parking spot, I’m sure you all understand.”

Actually, no. The vast majority of those in attendance were lower income hispanic or asian immigrants concerned about their neighborhood. I’d bet a large percentage took the bus to get to this event. Click to read more!

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Building Healthy Communities (BHC) forum tonight

On By jamesinclair

Short notice, but I’ll try to attend. This Friday, the Fulton Corridor plan will be released by the city, so we may get a preview. I guarantee many questions will be about the Fulton Mall, especially after the FBID voted to destroy it.

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In this time of economic hardship and change, we recognize the importance of being engaged in major decisions impacting the future of the city and their neighborhoods. For this reason, on Tuesday, October 11 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Convention Center there will be an important action meeting with the Mayor, Councilmembers and City staff focused on the city plans for downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Click to read more!