shaw Archives - Stop and Move

Categories : UncategorizedTags : almonds assemi drought fresno gettysburg granville shaw sprawl westlake1 Comment

The Westlake sprawl project, with artificial lake, is dead!

On November 6, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Yesterday’s election news keeping you down? Maybe this surprising development will brighten your day.

This week, the Fresno Bee reported that the massive Westlake sprawl project has been put on hold – for at least a decade. The news came as a great surprise because last December the developer, Granville, began mobilizing bulldozers to flatten the land.

Developer Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes, said the timing isn’t right for his Westlake development, which lies beyond Fresno’s city limits. The cost to build is too high and he’s waiting to see the city of Fresno’s growth plan for the area before moving ahead with the project. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : bicycle campus pointe Clovis design fail fail fresno state pedestrian pedestrian lighting roundabout shaw sidewalks street light3 Comments

A quick look at Campus Pointe Development – Pedestrian oriented? Not really

On July 15, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

If you’ve been past Fresno State on Shaw any time this year, you’ve seen construction underway at Campus Pointe. It’s yet another shopping center for Fresno, in a part of town that isn’t exactly lacking in retail options. The project is a joint development between Fresno State, and the people who brought us River Park.

The “selling point” is that it is directly next to Fresno State, so it’s being advertised as a place for students to visit, and somewhere they can do so walking or biking. Sadly, the fundamentals are missing which make it a real walking or biking destination, and parking is a huge center-piece, as expected. As is the case in every Fresno development, the main street (Chestnut in this case) is fronted by parking. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : Clovis clovis avenue drive-thru mcdonalds shaw2 Comments

Mcdonald’s to “enhance” a busy intersection?

On May 4, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

The Fresno Bee this weekend provided an update on the endless pursuit to build yet another McDonald’s in Clovis.

Map showing new McDonald’, in context with three other nearby McDonald’s franchises. (yes, A and C are two different locations).

It was over a year ago that I posted about the initial application, and how terrible the design was for a busy intersection.

Aside from being surrounded on all sides by cars, the new store will front Clovis with quite a beautiful facade.

The delay in construction was caused by a private dispute among the tenants of the shopping center, and contracts related to chicken sales. The city had no issues with the design. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : blackstone brt bus rapid transit city council downtown fresno FAX fresno fresno area express kings canyon shaw the Q transit18 Comments

No one noticed, but Fresno killed its proposed BRT system

On April 21, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Nashville, and the ludicrous attempts to ban bus rapid transit (BRT) there by state legislators, has been getting all the news lately, but it’s not the only BRT system to see its future flushed down the toilet by short-sighted elected officials.

After two months of “retooling,” the Fresno BRT project returned to the City Council a few weeks ago; problem is, there was no BRT left to approve.

Back in January, the Fresno city council put a temporary hold on the $50 million BRT plan which had been in the works since 2008. Even though the process had gone through dozens of public workshops, council presentations, and other forms of outreach, the council acted as if this was the first time they’d heard about it. I wrote about their “concerns” here. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : crosswalk fresno Fresno Bee fresno pd fresno state officer cooley pedestrian pedestrian killed shaw unmarked crosswalk23 Comments

3rd pedestrian killed in two weeks, Bee jumps to blame victim

On November 21, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

In all of 2009, four pedestrians were killed in Fresno.

Over the past 3 weeks, three were killed by motorists, and one by a train. This is actually the second time this very year in which three pedestrians were killed in such a short span of time. I don’t know the total, but I would wager it’s trending higher than the 14 last year.

The latest incident happened at an intersection adjacent to Fresno State. The person killed was a high-school special ed teacher, who apparently was also studying at Fresno State. It happened on Shaw, between the college campus and the student neighborhood, filled with apartments, frats, and some restaurants. You know, the kind of place one finds heavy pedestrian traffic. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : ashlan drought granville leapfrog shaw sprawl water west fresno westlake9 Comments

Westlake: Another Granville Disaster

On October 31, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Update: Kiel Shmidt has put together an excellent map of the project, how it compared to another Granville development (Running Horse) and the city boundaries.

That map can be seen here.

The Fresno Bee has published their article on the subject, including some good pictures of the site. That article can be read here.

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In 2005, Granville proposed a giant exurban residential development west of Fresno.

Now they’re making moves to actually build it.

They’re calling it Westlake, and they want to use 430 acres to build 2,600 new homes….and a giant lake. In typical Granville fashion, they want to do this in the middle of nowhere, far from jobs, businesses, and entertainment. Well, not nowhere – the area has plenty of productive farms. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : Clovis decline mcdonalds revitalize shaw wal-mart walmart4 Comments

Walmart and McDonalds – the Clovis way of life?

On April 11, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Clovis is Fresno’s smaller, richer and more suburban neighbor. It plays a role common in metropolitan areas around the country – the Pasadena to Los Angeles, or the Cambridge to Boston for example. The cities share a common border but the demographics and income levels don’t quite match up.

To differentiate itself, Clovis positions itself as the more traditional and rural alternative to “big city Fresno.” Downtown Clovis is called “Old Town”, and two decades ago the entire district was re-themed in an old-west motif that works quite well on the single or two-story century-old buildings. Along with the annual rodeo, the farmer’s markets and other activities, Clovis tries to preserve what they tout is their “way of life”. The recent centennial for example was branded as “Celebrating the Clovis Way of Life for 100 Years.” Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : 41 caltrans crosswalk crosswalk blocking fresno on-ramp shaw widening4 Comments

Off-ramp “improvements”, terrible for pedestrians

On April 8, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

If you thought all the CA-41 on-ramp widening projects were finally finished, there’s more work planned for this year. This time, it’s an off-ramp that’s getting widened.

This project will widen the off ramp of northbound SR41 at the intersection of Shaw Avenue from three lanes to four to provide dual left and right turns. Existing equipment affected by this project will be updated and this project will also upgrade the existing curb ramps to meet ADA standards. The project will improve traffic flow and relieve congestion at the off-ramp intersection with Shaw Avenue.
Council Documents (PDF) Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : blackstone Clovis drive-thru fast food kfc mcdonalds planning revitalization shaw sprawl1 Comment

Just what Clovis needs, another Mcdonalds

On March 7, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Not content with having opened two new locations in Clovis in the past couple of years, and rebuilding the other two, Mcdonalds will be adding yet another location to the fine city.

The location will naturally be open 24/7, have dual drive-thrus, and operate in one of the most visible intersections of the city.

The new location will be at Shaw and Clovis, across from the Sierra Vista mall and the Fresno-Clovis bike trail.

New location is x, existing Mcdonalds in the immediate vicinity marked as well. A and C are the Mcdonalds outside the Wal-mart and the Mcdonalds inside the wal-mart, a theme that you find at every regional wal-mart. B is a mile away on Ashlan and Clovis and was completely rebuilt last year. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : air pollution air quality bill McEwen panera shaw starbucks tollsLeave a comment

New businesses and bad air

On August 20, 2012February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Sunday’s Bee had a couple of interesting articles which on paper had no relationship to each other, but in reality do have a strong connection.

The first was a column: McEwen: Diesel truckers should pay for bad air

The second was an article about new businesses on West Shaw: National businesses flock to Fresno’s West Shaw Avenue

In the opinion column, McEwen brings up the continuing problem of the valley’s bad air, and how it will be especially pronounced this week with “air alerts” being called.

The column hits on a few ideas I called upon a year ago such as tolling trucks and closing drive-thrus. Click to read more!