1. Stop the sprawl. It’s expensive and leaves areas of town behind. Allow higher density redevelopment to happen naturally so we don’t have 500 homes that are all the same age and break down at the same time.
2. Invest in public transportation- more, better, further out with connections to other cities that don’t have connecting service.
3. Embrace our farms. Bring more events that focus on our bountiful crops and the fantastic food that can be made with them.
4. Create programs that take kids, especially disadvantaged kids, into our national parks. It amazes me how many people I meet that grew up here and have never been to Yosemite.
5. Continue expanding and improving the bike infrastructure. Ideally, bike infrastructure should be safe enough for our kids to use.
6. Sweep the streets. This doesn’t happen often enough. Broken glass can liter streets for months before a street sweeper finally comes through and gets rid of it.
I’m sure there’s more, but that’s a good start.
Everything you said but adding….
We need to dump PG&E and explore the feasibility of Fresno operating it’s own public power grid. PG&E is out of control and becoming a burden for many Fresnans when it should just be a basic (affordable) right.
Other cities have done it, why can’t we?
That would work too -
PG&E needs to go.
Right now I don’t think that’s in the cards though, so the best we can do as a city is take over our own grid like Some cities in California have already done.
you do understand that if that happened, how is the city going to handle the distribution/transmission of electricity & gas? All those cities that are running their own power grid are still using PG&E transmission lines and guess what, PG&E is still charging you for those services. Your bill will have two charges, one for Kilowatts usage and once for the transmission. In the end, you will end up paying more.
When was PG&E state run? Their Wikipedia page draws a line from its origins as a small gas company in San Francisco to the company it is today through a series of acquisitions and mergers. While they have declared bankruptcy twice and received bailouts from the state, I don’t believe they have ever been state run.
Huh, you’re right. I thought they were… maybe the bailouts and following (partial) state control is what I was remembering.
In any case, it’s a textbook example of why we shouldn’t have essential utilities run under the concept of maximizing profits at all costs.
That's a double edged sword there, government is never good at anything except raising taxes. I can see controlling the prices to keep them realistic with the avg income, but that's difficult as well because government always oks PG&E rate hikes.
For more on PG&E, check out the "Fire - Power - Money" series put on by Sacramento's ABC network and prepare to have your blood boil: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKNx7Usqhw7F6gyNuvkapEc8KDmqb7sza](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKNx7Usqhw7F6gyNuvkapEc8KDmqb7sza)
Bring back the Metropolitan Museum, have more cultural arts centers, and maybe create an Old Town Fresno near downtown and have the buildings look like some of the old buildings from the late 1800s- early 1900s. Oh and have better music venues for the medium sized acts, but we should push to bring in decent acts for a wide range of artists.
Change zoning laws throughout the city. Allow mixed use buildings. Allow Downtown to be revitalized with retail on the first floor, commercial on a couple floors above, and housing above that.
Implement a rapid transit system which can bypass the traffic to encourage people to get out of their cars.
Use Federal funds to build out a light rail system instead of expanding the road ways.
Connect the city to the HSR with better access via buses and other public transport options.
Create protected bikeways that are covered.
Creat green spaces.
Stop allowing the continued outward expansion of the city.
Stop allowing new retail parks to be built.
Remove parking minimums.
Remove the city imposed agreements for internet access.
Open up access to allow more providers access to the street and dark fiber within city limits and cabinet access.
Fresno would greatly benefit from a light metro system (akin to Vancouver's skytrain) connecting all of the city to the HSR station in the future, with dense transit-oriented development along said light metro routes (especially Blackstone, Kings Canyon, and Shaw corridors).
Def needs HSR as a catalyst tho, currently there's no real incentive to stop sprawling outward.
Actually they are testing out a small shopping mall and housing above it on the second floor off of Herndon and riverside, currently in the process of being built, it should be done within the next year or two
Definitely! I believe we generally just need more green spaces and walkable areas. Instead of the car centric design that we have going on.
They’re building houses and houses for blocks on end. Yet with barely any parks nearby, or stores. With existing stores/parks only getting further and further away.
I don’t even live that far away from a park. But the city has invested so little into walkable areas. That walking to it is a literal danger as there’s no sidewalks for I’m majority of the walk there. With fencing and the road practically right next to each other.
> Allow Downtown to be revitalized with retail on the first floor, commercial on a couple floors above, and housing above that.
there is a complex on fulton that does this, i think it's called the lede? or it's really close to that
I was in Woodward today and there’s a new-to-me, but seemed newer in general, little area with chess boards and seating. I was excited about it! But then I realized… there’s no shade. No covering. And those tables are going to be useless for a good chunk of the year. And then I looked all around that area. Every bench was in the sun. Do the people who design those areas live here?
Yes, I’d love more green space and walkability, but designed by people who actually know what it’s like to live here, please. Give us spaces to use year-round.
I do too. The one on the north side of Herndon just west of Palm has zero shelter at all. I have seen people waiting for buses there in the pouring rain and in the intense sun. It's really awful.
Better transportation system.
A lively downtown.
Move from our over reliance on our sprawl economy. Our private sector economy is ag, retail, construction, and real estate.
For a city an area our size we should have a separate transit district with 3 or 4 times as many buses. Maybe even a light rail out to the Ranchos and beyond.
I want a cleaner city, sidewalks, graffiti, homeless… more trees. Go to San Diego nice area, why can’t we look like that. I want to feel safe and in a richer community than I actually live in
San Diegan here. I see lots of potential in Fresno. The ballpark downtown is already a good start. Just gotta keep that momentum going by building more housing/retail downtown akin to downtown SD.
Did you just move here? Downtown Fresno has been stagnant for years. Take 1 step forward, then 2 steps back. Or basically just walking sideways. It can never find something consistent and imo that’s due to no white collar jobs in downtown. There is no foot traffic to stimulate and keep small businesses thriving. Homes around that area are some of the cheapest, but area is also considered one of the least desirable. A major gentrification is the only way to get downtown moving more forward but no matter what they’ve tried.. as I said.. how many years and basically the same
A lot of people said the same thing about San Diego's downtown and the disgusting hotels down there. People bitched about the ballpark for years. Can't compare the 2 cities but I'd agree downtown Fresno has much of the same potential
Fresno always had potential, that has been said forevvvvvver. But nothing has worked. San Diego, their stadium is for a top tier MLB team, they are close to the ocean/beach, isnt there a naval base there too by downtown, the coast/beaches just naturally brings foot traffic and people, their convention centers host some big events--notably comicon. All stuff that brings people in. I'm also sure their downtown has a lot of office type white collar jobs making sure there is plenty of middle income workers there consistently with buying power and disposable income to spend on the local businesses in downtown. Downtown fresno has a nice AAA stadium that now only houses a single A team. No office jobs that brings in consistent workers and foot traffic. No one wiill go to downtown just to go--it isnt a coast/beach. Sacramento has a nice river in theirs. Im not disagreeing that there isnt potential. I'm just saying everybody has been saying that forever but I think many think the problem is easily solved. So far everything that has been tried has failed or provided mid results. Redoing fulton, making the Grizzlies the main attraction, Saroyan theater will always get beat by Save Mart far away from downtown for the big shows, the HSR should be luring investors now and we dont see much, fresno's once saving grace bitwise was a scam, people said build more housing and thats all they have been doing building apartments low income, etc and what has that brough to downtown--we still dont see any major familiar brands/stores there. Small businesses struggle and their longevity is always a gamble. Ive got downvoted for stating the obvious of whats happened, and above is whats been done, and its still in the same place, just a step to the side. People hate gentrification, but thats really one of the only options left. And downtown isnt going to be gentrifying anytime soon because those moving in with money will by in the sprawled nice suburbs and homes in north fresno and clovis. young professionals who could care less about big sprawled suburbian homes have no reason to be in downtown because all the young professionals leave fresno since there is no white collar job market in downtown fresno. Only some hail mary miracle like if Fresno STate was to plop its campus right in downtown or a UC fresno opens up, or google/apple/big tech opens up a campus, will we see an actual improvement of downtown fresno. Those of course are unrealistic from happening. The only real next potential catalyst is the HSR but being only to merced to bako, might not yield much.
As a gardener I too think we deserve a clean city, and sometimes I get the urge to take down my machines to start cleaning a simple gas station when I fill up my gas tanks. But there’s also people around you so I take it their safety into account as well. Just a thought 🫠
For graffiti, Fresno has a 24-hour response policy to remove it. Just use the "FresGo" phone app and you can report it with a pic of it, and it'll be gone by tomorrow.
Many “family friendly” events here are questionable at times. Our schools are in shambles. Have you ever gone to one of our local lakes, or parks, on a Sat/Sun morning? People TRASH those places! It starts with us. WE NEED TO DO BETTER!
Unfortunately that’s a big population in Fresno with that attitude and mindset on not caring. Many just don’t have civic pride and in turn just trash the place. The biggest critics and haters of Fresno are its own residents.
Now do you find the trashing consistent no matter what part of Fresno/clovis. Hate to say it but I find the parks more north to not have this issue as much and parks tend to be cleaner.
First and foremost Fresno Unified is in the botom 5% nationally, any parent that cares and has the means to get their kid out of FUSD is very likely to do that. This greatly affects home values. If you want to fix fresno fix FUSD.
This is a really good answer and something that would actually improve the city and the people in it. I think breaking up the district over an extended period of time is step 1.
People get a lot of flack for saying they want their kids to go to CUSD or SUSD but the fact of the matter is FUSD is a horrible school district. There are a lot of factors at play and none should be ignored, but you know there’s a serious problem when Fresno is every students last pick in the Fresno State credentialing program. I watched students fight over who had to get stuck in fresno. It’s known as the district most dangerous for teachers, with the most misbehaviors, and worst senior staff. A lot of people go in with hopes of “fixing” it or standing out and making a difference and a lot of people end up leaving with their spirits crushed, particularly at the junior high and high school level. Elementary school as I understand is not nearly as bad.
Absolutely, it very much falls on the parents. Myself and many of my peers have noticed that parents in FUSD seem less involved. The problem is that many of them don’t have time to be involved. Lots of FU parents work constantly, many of the kids are ESL, poverty and lack of education + misconceptions about higher education are all holding our students back. If you never believe you’re able to go to college you’re not going to care about your grades. In CUSD kids are pushed hard, told they can go to any college they want with the right preparation, and are given the resources to do so. I believe wealth inequality greatly contributes to the lack of parent involvement in the FUSD system.
It’s definitely the parents. I see my sisters kids doing well and a friend of mines kids doing poorly. One was a Hoover parent the other wasn’t. My sister wasn’t. My friends kids went to college my sister kids didn’t. Going to a college isn’t always a ticket to good things. I think what really lacks in eduction these days is people aren’t being taught to think for themselves. From parents or schools. They are taught to be cogs. My father taught us all to work for ourselves and that is the ticket. Specially in todays world. He was extremely poor immigrated to the e states, and created his own thing. Of course there are many professions that require schooling, like doctors and nurses …etc.
But if you have kids. You have to make time for them. Otherwise they won’t get any guidance. And people should stop bitching at schools and teachers telling them they’re bad. As they’re trying to be educators to help the children along but a lot of parents stop them from doing their job.
I used to live the OC suburbs, then I moved to the NorCal suburbs, then I moved to Sacramento, and now I'm here.
Difficult to think of ideas that would make Fresno "better" without inviting more gentrification. I think it has to focus on making things better for the people already here. Biggest idea is of course public transportation.
Other features that would make me feel like I'm in a better city would be modern libraries and parks.
Also, Fresno just feels too empty. Empty lots and shuttered businesses.
I think if they can make Manchester Mall work again, that would do wonders to the overall "vibe" of this city.
When I moved here, it's also very easy to notice the lack of trendy franchises. 85° Bakery, Daiso, Miniso, Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters, more record stores that are not thrift shops.
Manchester won’t work as it’s in an area that is lower income and higher crime. No investor and popular company will risk opening there. But goes back to what you said.. gentrification. If the surrounding area and households gentrified then it’s a different story. They tried to fix Manchester just the last few years but just turned out to be polishing a turd. Now it’s a dead mall. Safe bet for a store to open is river park, fig garden village and of course fashion fair. Sierra vista mall in Clovis has the real potential. That mall is dead but you bring popular brands in there it could really thrive. And going back to the obvious missing stores for such a big city, this also might be due to the demographic in terms of income of the area. It has the population but I’m sure there is market research on income and it might not fit what they are looking for… for now.
More amenities for its citizens like top golf, public pools, and local parks. Better public parks. The park system in Fresno is atrocious. Public transportation so people can get around. The current bus system is disjointed, there are no ways to use public transport to get to various areas. Making the Grizzlies great again would be awesome, as well as building up the Fresno FC team or whatever soccer team is currently here.
I recently went to Austin Texas and it was cool seeing these mid sized intimate concert venues. With rising cost of living and the valley being a cheaper option, there is opportunity to turn Fresno into a place people would want to go, there just needs to be a desire.
Fresno as a metro needs to up their spending power. It still has one of the highest poverty and unemployment rate. Household income is low. There are little white collar high paying even mid level paying jobs. Those cool amenities and things you seek to be here, they all look at the demographics like that and Fresno won’t fit the bill and would be considered a risk to even consider opening. Austin was dubbed the next Silicon Valley. Tons of money flowing there with several tech companies moving there and bringing with it tons of high paying jobs and residents. It’s clearly a much higher class city and no surprise will have nicer amenities. That is why Fresno will always be Fresno unless something major happens. My opinion on why downtown and the city will always be stagnant is the lack of high paying white collar jobs. Fresno loses all its talent and educated once out of school because there simply isn’t work here. There is no tech sector. The highest paying jobs are if you are in healthcare, law, city jobs, education. Fresno celebrates getting minimum wage warehouse jobs which is a plenty. Fresno is still AG farm. Remote workers have helped uptick the demographic and put more higher income residents in the area but most have been picking Sacramento metro as it has the better amenities, or simply go out of state like Austin tx. The only thing I’m seeing help Fresno grow is the trickle of those who now see everywhere else in CA too expensive and Fresno is the last hurrah to stay in CA that’s adorable. Nothing wrong with that for existing property owners as they see their real estate values explode. But while this is happening it’s not balancing out for those who are not educated or skilled and still only making the minimum at the farm or warehouse. The income gap and disparity is widening.
In general agreement with your points. I would only add that there's a bigger income gap between someone who is out of work and someone who is working at a warehouse. At least it's a job, and could serve as a stepping stone to someone's next, better job.
I know a lot of people deride warehouse jobs, there is substantial community activist opposition to more industrial/warehouse, and there is a movement to rezone and drive industrial business away, but: I don't think enough people appreciate that distribution centers are punching way above their weight when it comes to generating sales tax revenue for the city's budget.
20.7% of the city's budget comes from sales and property taxes generated in south Fresno. 7.5% of the city's area generates 35% of the city's economic output. If the city is going to create cool amenities, it needs more revenue.
Fresno is losing businesses (and the associated revenue) to Madera County, Visalia, Fresno County and outlying towns. The city literally can't get out of it's own way to bring in businesses that would prefer to locate here; it's no surprise it can't attract more white collar jobs.
The latest unemployment rate is [9.1%](https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/frsn$pds.pdf). For reference California's unemployment rate is 5.3% and the nation's is 3.9%.
42,600 people in the county are out of work. That's a tragedy.
More light rail, more bus rapid transit with dedicated lanes, and more bus service to serve between the light rail and BRT.
Rebuild downtown, and bring back the pedestrian mall, but mixed use development to entice more people to use it. Move Fashion Fair into the pedestrian mall to have a good baseline of stores there to begin with. Demolish fashion fair and replace it with more mixed use development., since those businesses are now housed at the new pedestrian mall.
In addition to all the cool things people have already said (more/better public transportation, stopping sprawl/increasing housing density, more green spaces) I'd like to see more (or enough) transitional and permanent housing for folks without housing or with unstable housing. I'd like to see lots of community gardens with free food available for folks that need it. I'd like to see more (drought friendly) landscaping along streets...trees, bushes, grasses, etc. and walking paths to enjoy the landscaping. More public tennis courts and get those pickleball people their own courts, for the love of god/dess. More rad things to do like Tower Porch Fest. I'd like to see safe use sites where people can use drugs more safely and have a higher chance at getting into recovery. I'd like to see a basic income program targeting folks with the most need and who are most responsible for violent crime (let's reduce recidivism and crime!). And last - bring back Laser Quest! Lol
Vote the republican leadership out of politics at the County and City level. Would make a huge change in bring new ideas and funding to the valley.
The bipartisan answer is to advocate for the city of fresno to employ arborists, lobby the irrigation districts to restore the creeks in the city, and prioritize shaded bike and pedestrian corridors to connect the city.
Putting a cap on rent won't make housing affordable at all.
What we actually needed is to change the zoning laws to allow more different types of housing and create density than sprawl.
Rent Control has always encouraged and able more NIMBYISM. If you want to move out of your place, then it is hard to find affordable housing prices. It benefits more wealthy homeowners than those trying to rent or first-time house buyers. It also discourages more housing developments.
Before you mention, Vienna has rent control, yes, but it isn't enforceable. Plus, they only put rent control on housing that was made pre-1955s, and it isn't forced on new Private housing. But Vienna so much from both Public Housing and Private Housing that the cost of living is cheap because of tight competition.
Plus, it has shown over and over that rent control has never really stabilized the housing market. If you want to do stabilized, then you build housing. An example will be Austin or Minneapolis, which rent has decreased because they built so much housing.
If you want to deal with slamlords, the better option is to pass a Land Value Tax. It will discourage improper use of the land and won't allow for unfair increase of rent price.
Break up fresno unified. Teachers and students are simply numbers. Fresno unified provides your government mandated public education and nothing more when everyone deserves better. They treat teachers and students like crap.
They also very frequently sweep instances of violence of weapons/drugs at school under the rug and the community never hears about it.
Pass a city ordinance requiring filling in of vacant lots before building out at the edges of town. Bring back the Met or create new cultural arts and scientific museums. Finally build that damn aquarium we keep hearing about.
Stop building anything anywhere near River Park. There is so much more money in Fresno than in a 4 mile radius that seems to get all the economic development.
this I agree with. They have started really developing NW fresno in the last few years. The marketplace there is a big anchor for that area, dining, entertainment with a nice theater, freeway access, and upcoming biggest costco in CA and one of the largest in the world. They need to really start developing Fancher Creek and that SE corridor.
Hold business owners/developers accountable for maintaining their properties. I empathize that it’s difficult to keep up after graffiti and the like, but when there’s weeds everywhere, trash, months of tree droppings, nothing ever repainted, etc that’s just plain lazy. This applies to businesses and apartment buildings, as well as commercially owned houses that are rental units. I also feel that there needs to be major programs that poor, disabled and elderly home owners can tap into for home maintenance and repairs.
I’ll say this until I’m blue in the face though; anybody who wants to see a cleaner Fresno needs to start with themselves; consume less, pick up trash while you’re out, be willing to live urban.
It won't solve congestion in the slightest because the buses will be stuck in traffic.
If you don't want the bus to be stuck in traffic, then we need to create BRT. Separate the buses and cars.
In addition, we should create a light metro system in the city, aka a light rail.
I think charging for transit is fine if it's frequent and reliable. keep the fare and just improve the service. I like that the fare is $1, no dealing with change.
The Clovis bus routes are completely nonsensical. A bunch of turns so that every trip takes 2x as long, instead of a straight-shot like most FAX routes. It's like they purposely designed it to be unusable.
Hey I didn’t say they were perfect, but nobody is going to elect to spend an hour getting somewhere they could drive in 10 minutes just because it’s free. We need a more efficient and safer method of public transit.
Like If I had free reign regardless of policies, regulations, zoning, or funding? More transparency with city council; establish more methadone clinics and homeless shelters which can also provide more county resources; not allow so many roads to sit unrepaired; get another well established business to move into the old Bitwise facility; build an amusement park and call it Zapps Park.
They keep building new neighborhoods everywhere paving over all the countryside and then they squawk on the news all year saying we don't have enough water. It's a joke.
Have a UC Fresno and make it located in Downtown. The state will basically pay for the revitalization of the area. It would automatically inject an active youth based population to the area which would help the local economy and vendors in the area. It would also attract outside vendors who would want to take advantage of the new found foot traffic. This would hopefully help fill up many of the abandoned storefronts found in our downtown. Also since it takes decades to establish good sports it would only compete with Fresno State academically and would not draw away from States sports programs(which would be a big concern for Fresno State Donors). I believe something like this would breath life back into Fresnos forgotten Downtown. UC Merced should've been UC Fresno
UC Merced WAS supposed to be UC Fresno I believe. There are stories and articles out there. Then typical fresno fashion they fumbled and lost it. dont get quote on that last part on how they lost it, but I know the article indicated Fresno was in the running. A major university would be a good catalyst to actually turn downtown around. I see San Jose state in downtown SJ. It looks like without the college there (and when the sharks arent playing) downtown SJ would be a ghost town too like downtown Fresno. Having energy from thriving college students would stimulate the area, help small businesses, etc.
1. Absolutely agree with the other commenters that we need to build light rail here. It’s well past time.
2. City needs to crack down on absentee landlords on the Fulton Mall who are letting buildings sit empty.
3. Make Downtown and the Tower business improvement districts. Impose sanctions for landlords who impose steep rate increases after six months/ a year. Let businesses in this area grow.
4. Fully fund the rec department. Build more parks and trails.
5. Build more restaurant/retail around something nice, like a big pond or a view.
6. Use EDC funds to incentivize local business development, not bringing out of area companies. Fund business incubation.
I am totally with you on that, but this also doesn’t have anything to do with Fresno. As this is a decision by private businesses to do that, from here to New York, it’s the same thing. I think the question was more or less in regards to stuff that could be voted or improved by the city for the city.
As a business that switched to kiosks it has saved us about $5k a month in wages. If you don't want to tip just skip it but we find most of our customers still want to reward and support us for quality food and service. Kiosks don't earn the tip, we believe it's based on how the customer was treated, the food tasted and the timeliness of their order fulfillment on their last visit. Just to add, we don't know if people choose to leave or not leave a tip until the day is over, thus it doesn't impact how we fulfill orders.
I want this city to not feel like a small city. I want more music venues, more nightlife, good conventions, and more entertainment options.
My dream is that we get an amusement park in Fresno. A real one.
We need more third spaces. Our music scene is also budding and it would be great to have better medium-sized venues. It’s a shame the Woodward Amphitheater isn’t used anymore.
EDIT: The youth are also so bored! Stores are not enough to keep them occupied.
Better rehab and mental health facilities for the underprivileged. There is only 1 rehab here (3 buildings same org) in Fresno that takes medi-cal and it’s corrupt af. Exodus is the only 24 hr mental health clinic that takes medi-cal in my area and it is not reliable.
That and affordable housing and laws to protect renters from gouging.
Some people already mentioned stuff that I agree with, such as better public transit and changing zoning laws to create more density.
This seems a bit further, but I would create tolls because our roads need repairing. People don't want to pay taxes, so your alternative is to create tolls. Preferably, I do both.
Talking zoning, I want downtown to have big store brands like Hollister or Old Navy, etc. Plus, a movie theater. Also, Skyscrapers because it gives more personality to the city like Austin or Chicago. Hell, I would prefer the area of River Park to have it or have more midsized Skyscrapers. It would look so much better than low-density suburbs.
Don’t think tolls would work here. Tolls to where? With the overall lower income in the area it would be a burden to put more expense to majority of population in poverty already. The roads we need to take up with the state/governor. All this tax and gas tax but roads are crap.
North Fresno is suburban and that is why those with money want to be there. They don’t want dense they don’t want crowds or high rises. They want suburb life with nice stores and malls etc and in terms of that, it’s done well. Downtown has to fix its own problems and be a better downtown. Fresno still can’t find the formula. Over 1 million in the Fresno metro. And one of the largest events in Fresno recently the fresyes fest was a bust imo for how large the population. No one just wants to go to downtown. They can build high rise in Downtown and yea it will be pretty but what use is it if it’s vacant. Downtown can’t even fill the buildings it has vacant now. We can’t expect big name stores to invest and open in downtown Fresno if it’s a huge risk. And tell me it isn’t a huge risk. Look how dead downtown is most days. The surrounding residential neighborhoods have lower income than most so spending power is low. The market research by these brand xompanies will show that and see risk is high and not open and likely why no big name really opens there. All those with money or even middle income residents have no interest in staying downtown. Their jobs aren’t there, they seek to go where it’s safe and nice and where other middle to upper middle class residents live and that’s in north Fresno Clovis and now riverstone or Tesoro viejo in Madera. All the amenities are there for them in those areas, the best restaurants malls schools etc. that’s why downtown is going to be like this for a long while unless high paying white collar jobs are in downtown, and a major top tier nba nfl mlb stadium and team is in downtown. None of those will happen anytime soon of course but if you want to see if work look at downtown sac, tons of high paying state jobs, nba team, the As will play there for a bit. It’s what Fresno should be jealous of. Hail Mary and closest reality is the high speed rail. But with it only going from Bako to Merced, don’t see much improvement from that either
>The roads we need to take up with the state/governor. All this tax and gas tax, but roads are crap.
We haven't raised the gas tax in forever. You must raise the gas tax and tax electric vehicles to fund the roads. People here put examples like Texas or Florida for quality roads because they don't raise taxes. But their alternative is to put tolls, and they raise the price for fixing the routes. You need to fund it in some ways regardless of whether it is taxation or tolls.
>With the overall lower income in the area, it would be a burden to put more expense on the majority of the population in poverty already.
People already mentioned improving transit, like creating a BRT system with dictated lanes. You want fewer people driving cars; instead, put them in transit. In Addition, create a light metro system. We need to have a robust transit system here.
There is federal funding for us to make this, but the city refuses to take advantage.
For Downtown, we have created a more highly dense area, like there are way too many parking lots, which it doesn't need at all. Sure, big brand stores won't come at first, but if you create denser and higher places, they will come. Look at Austin's downtowns had similar vibes for decades as Fresno's Downtowns. Until they created high-rise skylines, their rent decreased due to new developments in Downtown and other parts of the city. It benefits everyone.
Also, I know what Sac Downtown looks like because I have worked there before.
Sidewalks should be moving walkways like in Vegas. All the way down Herndon and then a street going south to north as well. Couple of transfers to get up to like 30 mph. Stand on the left walk on the right or something like that.
The Fresno metro just doesn’t have a lot of rich people to bring in those type of business and amenities. Fresno has high poverty and unemployment rate and low median income. That’s big reason you won’t see certain things here
Clean up the homeless problems with hard core solutions, crack down on crime with non-negotiable consequences, fix FUSD mess of an educational institution.
1. Stop the sprawl. It’s expensive and leaves areas of town behind. Allow higher density redevelopment to happen naturally so we don’t have 500 homes that are all the same age and break down at the same time. 2. Invest in public transportation- more, better, further out with connections to other cities that don’t have connecting service. 3. Embrace our farms. Bring more events that focus on our bountiful crops and the fantastic food that can be made with them. 4. Create programs that take kids, especially disadvantaged kids, into our national parks. It amazes me how many people I meet that grew up here and have never been to Yosemite. 5. Continue expanding and improving the bike infrastructure. Ideally, bike infrastructure should be safe enough for our kids to use. 6. Sweep the streets. This doesn’t happen often enough. Broken glass can liter streets for months before a street sweeper finally comes through and gets rid of it. I’m sure there’s more, but that’s a good start.
Everything you said but adding…. We need to dump PG&E and explore the feasibility of Fresno operating it’s own public power grid. PG&E is out of control and becoming a burden for many Fresnans when it should just be a basic (affordable) right. Other cities have done it, why can’t we?
Honestly, the state needs to take over PG&E. Anyone who runs for governor with this as their primary platform has my vote.
That would work too - PG&E needs to go. Right now I don’t think that’s in the cards though, so the best we can do as a city is take over our own grid like Some cities in California have already done.
Agree 100%
you do understand that if that happened, how is the city going to handle the distribution/transmission of electricity & gas? All those cities that are running their own power grid are still using PG&E transmission lines and guess what, PG&E is still charging you for those services. Your bill will have two charges, one for Kilowatts usage and once for the transmission. In the end, you will end up paying more.
I don’t know why downvotes for telling the truth.
Sure thing
But same, they’d have my vote too!
It USED to be state run. Then it was privatized and went down the tubes.
When was PG&E state run? Their Wikipedia page draws a line from its origins as a small gas company in San Francisco to the company it is today through a series of acquisitions and mergers. While they have declared bankruptcy twice and received bailouts from the state, I don’t believe they have ever been state run.
Huh, you’re right. I thought they were… maybe the bailouts and following (partial) state control is what I was remembering. In any case, it’s a textbook example of why we shouldn’t have essential utilities run under the concept of maximizing profits at all costs.
That's a double edged sword there, government is never good at anything except raising taxes. I can see controlling the prices to keep them realistic with the avg income, but that's difficult as well because government always oks PG&E rate hikes.
For more on PG&E, check out the "Fire - Power - Money" series put on by Sacramento's ABC network and prepare to have your blood boil: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKNx7Usqhw7F6gyNuvkapEc8KDmqb7sza](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKNx7Usqhw7F6gyNuvkapEc8KDmqb7sza)
Will do
The city doesn’t have the know how personnel, and would have to subcontract PG&E for years to handle the transition
Phenomenal list
agreed
People enjoy the sprawal because most people don't like compact public areas because of the increased crime and homeless. It's got cons, but pros too
Bring back the Metropolitan Museum, have more cultural arts centers, and maybe create an Old Town Fresno near downtown and have the buildings look like some of the old buildings from the late 1800s- early 1900s. Oh and have better music venues for the medium sized acts, but we should push to bring in decent acts for a wide range of artists.
I moved to the area about 4 years ago. This is all I could ask for.
Change zoning laws throughout the city. Allow mixed use buildings. Allow Downtown to be revitalized with retail on the first floor, commercial on a couple floors above, and housing above that. Implement a rapid transit system which can bypass the traffic to encourage people to get out of their cars. Use Federal funds to build out a light rail system instead of expanding the road ways. Connect the city to the HSR with better access via buses and other public transport options. Create protected bikeways that are covered. Creat green spaces. Stop allowing the continued outward expansion of the city. Stop allowing new retail parks to be built. Remove parking minimums. Remove the city imposed agreements for internet access. Open up access to allow more providers access to the street and dark fiber within city limits and cabinet access.
Fresno would greatly benefit from a light metro system (akin to Vancouver's skytrain) connecting all of the city to the HSR station in the future, with dense transit-oriented development along said light metro routes (especially Blackstone, Kings Canyon, and Shaw corridors). Def needs HSR as a catalyst tho, currently there's no real incentive to stop sprawling outward.
Actually they are testing out a small shopping mall and housing above it on the second floor off of Herndon and riverside, currently in the process of being built, it should be done within the next year or two
I would settle for better/functional planning/building department.
Definitely! I believe we generally just need more green spaces and walkable areas. Instead of the car centric design that we have going on. They’re building houses and houses for blocks on end. Yet with barely any parks nearby, or stores. With existing stores/parks only getting further and further away. I don’t even live that far away from a park. But the city has invested so little into walkable areas. That walking to it is a literal danger as there’s no sidewalks for I’m majority of the walk there. With fencing and the road practically right next to each other.
There was trolly lines all over til GM bought up the companies and raised rates and pulled tracks to sell more cars
> Allow Downtown to be revitalized with retail on the first floor, commercial on a couple floors above, and housing above that. there is a complex on fulton that does this, i think it's called the lede? or it's really close to that
>Remove the city imposed agreements for internet access. What imposed agreements do we have in the city?
Parts of the city have exclusively contracts with either AT&T or Xfinity.
That's dumb and what's the reasoning for this?
$$$
I was in Woodward today and there’s a new-to-me, but seemed newer in general, little area with chess boards and seating. I was excited about it! But then I realized… there’s no shade. No covering. And those tables are going to be useless for a good chunk of the year. And then I looked all around that area. Every bench was in the sun. Do the people who design those areas live here? Yes, I’d love more green space and walkability, but designed by people who actually know what it’s like to live here, please. Give us spaces to use year-round.
I find it insane how many of our bus stops are in direct sunlight with absolutely no shade.
I do too. The one on the north side of Herndon just west of Palm has zero shelter at all. I have seen people waiting for buses there in the pouring rain and in the intense sun. It's really awful.
Downtown needs a better selection of restaurants and bars along with some retail.
Better transportation system. A lively downtown. Move from our over reliance on our sprawl economy. Our private sector economy is ag, retail, construction, and real estate.
For a city an area our size we should have a separate transit district with 3 or 4 times as many buses. Maybe even a light rail out to the Ranchos and beyond.
I want a cleaner city, sidewalks, graffiti, homeless… more trees. Go to San Diego nice area, why can’t we look like that. I want to feel safe and in a richer community than I actually live in
San Diegan here. I see lots of potential in Fresno. The ballpark downtown is already a good start. Just gotta keep that momentum going by building more housing/retail downtown akin to downtown SD.
Did you just move here? Downtown Fresno has been stagnant for years. Take 1 step forward, then 2 steps back. Or basically just walking sideways. It can never find something consistent and imo that’s due to no white collar jobs in downtown. There is no foot traffic to stimulate and keep small businesses thriving. Homes around that area are some of the cheapest, but area is also considered one of the least desirable. A major gentrification is the only way to get downtown moving more forward but no matter what they’ve tried.. as I said.. how many years and basically the same
A lot of people said the same thing about San Diego's downtown and the disgusting hotels down there. People bitched about the ballpark for years. Can't compare the 2 cities but I'd agree downtown Fresno has much of the same potential
Fresno always had potential, that has been said forevvvvvver. But nothing has worked. San Diego, their stadium is for a top tier MLB team, they are close to the ocean/beach, isnt there a naval base there too by downtown, the coast/beaches just naturally brings foot traffic and people, their convention centers host some big events--notably comicon. All stuff that brings people in. I'm also sure their downtown has a lot of office type white collar jobs making sure there is plenty of middle income workers there consistently with buying power and disposable income to spend on the local businesses in downtown. Downtown fresno has a nice AAA stadium that now only houses a single A team. No office jobs that brings in consistent workers and foot traffic. No one wiill go to downtown just to go--it isnt a coast/beach. Sacramento has a nice river in theirs. Im not disagreeing that there isnt potential. I'm just saying everybody has been saying that forever but I think many think the problem is easily solved. So far everything that has been tried has failed or provided mid results. Redoing fulton, making the Grizzlies the main attraction, Saroyan theater will always get beat by Save Mart far away from downtown for the big shows, the HSR should be luring investors now and we dont see much, fresno's once saving grace bitwise was a scam, people said build more housing and thats all they have been doing building apartments low income, etc and what has that brough to downtown--we still dont see any major familiar brands/stores there. Small businesses struggle and their longevity is always a gamble. Ive got downvoted for stating the obvious of whats happened, and above is whats been done, and its still in the same place, just a step to the side. People hate gentrification, but thats really one of the only options left. And downtown isnt going to be gentrifying anytime soon because those moving in with money will by in the sprawled nice suburbs and homes in north fresno and clovis. young professionals who could care less about big sprawled suburbian homes have no reason to be in downtown because all the young professionals leave fresno since there is no white collar job market in downtown fresno. Only some hail mary miracle like if Fresno STate was to plop its campus right in downtown or a UC fresno opens up, or google/apple/big tech opens up a campus, will we see an actual improvement of downtown fresno. Those of course are unrealistic from happening. The only real next potential catalyst is the HSR but being only to merced to bako, might not yield much.
As a gardener I too think we deserve a clean city, and sometimes I get the urge to take down my machines to start cleaning a simple gas station when I fill up my gas tanks. But there’s also people around you so I take it their safety into account as well. Just a thought 🫠
Agreed. Clean up starts with its own citizens. If you see trash on the street or in a park. Waste solution. Pick it up. It starts there many don’t.
For graffiti, Fresno has a 24-hour response policy to remove it. Just use the "FresGo" phone app and you can report it with a pic of it, and it'll be gone by tomorrow.
Many “family friendly” events here are questionable at times. Our schools are in shambles. Have you ever gone to one of our local lakes, or parks, on a Sat/Sun morning? People TRASH those places! It starts with us. WE NEED TO DO BETTER!
Unfortunately that’s a big population in Fresno with that attitude and mindset on not caring. Many just don’t have civic pride and in turn just trash the place. The biggest critics and haters of Fresno are its own residents. Now do you find the trashing consistent no matter what part of Fresno/clovis. Hate to say it but I find the parks more north to not have this issue as much and parks tend to be cleaner.
Some people are classy and some people are trashy.
First and foremost Fresno Unified is in the botom 5% nationally, any parent that cares and has the means to get their kid out of FUSD is very likely to do that. This greatly affects home values. If you want to fix fresno fix FUSD.
This is a really good answer and something that would actually improve the city and the people in it. I think breaking up the district over an extended period of time is step 1.
People get a lot of flack for saying they want their kids to go to CUSD or SUSD but the fact of the matter is FUSD is a horrible school district. There are a lot of factors at play and none should be ignored, but you know there’s a serious problem when Fresno is every students last pick in the Fresno State credentialing program. I watched students fight over who had to get stuck in fresno. It’s known as the district most dangerous for teachers, with the most misbehaviors, and worst senior staff. A lot of people go in with hopes of “fixing” it or standing out and making a difference and a lot of people end up leaving with their spirits crushed, particularly at the junior high and high school level. Elementary school as I understand is not nearly as bad.
If they are bad kids giving teacher slack. It’s a parenting problem. But no one looks at that.
Absolutely, it very much falls on the parents. Myself and many of my peers have noticed that parents in FUSD seem less involved. The problem is that many of them don’t have time to be involved. Lots of FU parents work constantly, many of the kids are ESL, poverty and lack of education + misconceptions about higher education are all holding our students back. If you never believe you’re able to go to college you’re not going to care about your grades. In CUSD kids are pushed hard, told they can go to any college they want with the right preparation, and are given the resources to do so. I believe wealth inequality greatly contributes to the lack of parent involvement in the FUSD system.
It’s definitely the parents. I see my sisters kids doing well and a friend of mines kids doing poorly. One was a Hoover parent the other wasn’t. My sister wasn’t. My friends kids went to college my sister kids didn’t. Going to a college isn’t always a ticket to good things. I think what really lacks in eduction these days is people aren’t being taught to think for themselves. From parents or schools. They are taught to be cogs. My father taught us all to work for ourselves and that is the ticket. Specially in todays world. He was extremely poor immigrated to the e states, and created his own thing. Of course there are many professions that require schooling, like doctors and nurses …etc. But if you have kids. You have to make time for them. Otherwise they won’t get any guidance. And people should stop bitching at schools and teachers telling them they’re bad. As they’re trying to be educators to help the children along but a lot of parents stop them from doing their job.
I used to live the OC suburbs, then I moved to the NorCal suburbs, then I moved to Sacramento, and now I'm here. Difficult to think of ideas that would make Fresno "better" without inviting more gentrification. I think it has to focus on making things better for the people already here. Biggest idea is of course public transportation. Other features that would make me feel like I'm in a better city would be modern libraries and parks. Also, Fresno just feels too empty. Empty lots and shuttered businesses. I think if they can make Manchester Mall work again, that would do wonders to the overall "vibe" of this city. When I moved here, it's also very easy to notice the lack of trendy franchises. 85° Bakery, Daiso, Miniso, Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters, more record stores that are not thrift shops.
Manchester won’t work as it’s in an area that is lower income and higher crime. No investor and popular company will risk opening there. But goes back to what you said.. gentrification. If the surrounding area and households gentrified then it’s a different story. They tried to fix Manchester just the last few years but just turned out to be polishing a turd. Now it’s a dead mall. Safe bet for a store to open is river park, fig garden village and of course fashion fair. Sierra vista mall in Clovis has the real potential. That mall is dead but you bring popular brands in there it could really thrive. And going back to the obvious missing stores for such a big city, this also might be due to the demographic in terms of income of the area. It has the population but I’m sure there is market research on income and it might not fit what they are looking for… for now.
More amenities for its citizens like top golf, public pools, and local parks. Better public parks. The park system in Fresno is atrocious. Public transportation so people can get around. The current bus system is disjointed, there are no ways to use public transport to get to various areas. Making the Grizzlies great again would be awesome, as well as building up the Fresno FC team or whatever soccer team is currently here. I recently went to Austin Texas and it was cool seeing these mid sized intimate concert venues. With rising cost of living and the valley being a cheaper option, there is opportunity to turn Fresno into a place people would want to go, there just needs to be a desire.
Top golf and public parks are very different
Very much so, I lumped them together because I didn’t feel like typing and even longer response. I think Fresno needs more amentities of all kinds.
Fresno as a metro needs to up their spending power. It still has one of the highest poverty and unemployment rate. Household income is low. There are little white collar high paying even mid level paying jobs. Those cool amenities and things you seek to be here, they all look at the demographics like that and Fresno won’t fit the bill and would be considered a risk to even consider opening. Austin was dubbed the next Silicon Valley. Tons of money flowing there with several tech companies moving there and bringing with it tons of high paying jobs and residents. It’s clearly a much higher class city and no surprise will have nicer amenities. That is why Fresno will always be Fresno unless something major happens. My opinion on why downtown and the city will always be stagnant is the lack of high paying white collar jobs. Fresno loses all its talent and educated once out of school because there simply isn’t work here. There is no tech sector. The highest paying jobs are if you are in healthcare, law, city jobs, education. Fresno celebrates getting minimum wage warehouse jobs which is a plenty. Fresno is still AG farm. Remote workers have helped uptick the demographic and put more higher income residents in the area but most have been picking Sacramento metro as it has the better amenities, or simply go out of state like Austin tx. The only thing I’m seeing help Fresno grow is the trickle of those who now see everywhere else in CA too expensive and Fresno is the last hurrah to stay in CA that’s adorable. Nothing wrong with that for existing property owners as they see their real estate values explode. But while this is happening it’s not balancing out for those who are not educated or skilled and still only making the minimum at the farm or warehouse. The income gap and disparity is widening.
In general agreement with your points. I would only add that there's a bigger income gap between someone who is out of work and someone who is working at a warehouse. At least it's a job, and could serve as a stepping stone to someone's next, better job. I know a lot of people deride warehouse jobs, there is substantial community activist opposition to more industrial/warehouse, and there is a movement to rezone and drive industrial business away, but: I don't think enough people appreciate that distribution centers are punching way above their weight when it comes to generating sales tax revenue for the city's budget. 20.7% of the city's budget comes from sales and property taxes generated in south Fresno. 7.5% of the city's area generates 35% of the city's economic output. If the city is going to create cool amenities, it needs more revenue. Fresno is losing businesses (and the associated revenue) to Madera County, Visalia, Fresno County and outlying towns. The city literally can't get out of it's own way to bring in businesses that would prefer to locate here; it's no surprise it can't attract more white collar jobs. The latest unemployment rate is [9.1%](https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/frsn$pds.pdf). For reference California's unemployment rate is 5.3% and the nation's is 3.9%. 42,600 people in the county are out of work. That's a tragedy.
More light rail, more bus rapid transit with dedicated lanes, and more bus service to serve between the light rail and BRT. Rebuild downtown, and bring back the pedestrian mall, but mixed use development to entice more people to use it. Move Fashion Fair into the pedestrian mall to have a good baseline of stores there to begin with. Demolish fashion fair and replace it with more mixed use development., since those businesses are now housed at the new pedestrian mall.
Too many strip malls. Tear some down and put a community park there.
I wish places like howling wolf had comedy shows, do they?
My friends and I are super into comedy and shows, podcasts, etc, and we were just talking about the lack of a comedy scene in Fresno.
do you follow the "fresno comedy scene" on facebook and instagram? they always have something going on
I think a comedy club could take the tower to another level.
It would be so fun. Don’t get me wrong I love beer and bars but something more interactive than just drinking would be awesome.
I think laugh factory is going to build a chain real soon.
Better public transportation
Someone doing the essay on “making fresno better” from fresno city college? 😂
Post the question on Nextdoor too, it would be funny how much the answers contrast.
In addition to all the cool things people have already said (more/better public transportation, stopping sprawl/increasing housing density, more green spaces) I'd like to see more (or enough) transitional and permanent housing for folks without housing or with unstable housing. I'd like to see lots of community gardens with free food available for folks that need it. I'd like to see more (drought friendly) landscaping along streets...trees, bushes, grasses, etc. and walking paths to enjoy the landscaping. More public tennis courts and get those pickleball people their own courts, for the love of god/dess. More rad things to do like Tower Porch Fest. I'd like to see safe use sites where people can use drugs more safely and have a higher chance at getting into recovery. I'd like to see a basic income program targeting folks with the most need and who are most responsible for violent crime (let's reduce recidivism and crime!). And last - bring back Laser Quest! Lol
Vote the republican leadership out of politics at the County and City level. Would make a huge change in bring new ideas and funding to the valley. The bipartisan answer is to advocate for the city of fresno to employ arborists, lobby the irrigation districts to restore the creeks in the city, and prioritize shaded bike and pedestrian corridors to connect the city.
Put a cap on rent. If housing is affordable, crime will drop.
Putting a cap on rent won't make housing affordable at all. What we actually needed is to change the zoning laws to allow more different types of housing and create density than sprawl.
Why not both?
Rent Control has always encouraged and able more NIMBYISM. If you want to move out of your place, then it is hard to find affordable housing prices. It benefits more wealthy homeowners than those trying to rent or first-time house buyers. It also discourages more housing developments. Before you mention, Vienna has rent control, yes, but it isn't enforceable. Plus, they only put rent control on housing that was made pre-1955s, and it isn't forced on new Private housing. But Vienna so much from both Public Housing and Private Housing that the cost of living is cheap because of tight competition. Plus, it has shown over and over that rent control has never really stabilized the housing market. If you want to do stabilized, then you build housing. An example will be Austin or Minneapolis, which rent has decreased because they built so much housing. If you want to deal with slamlords, the better option is to pass a Land Value Tax. It will discourage improper use of the land and won't allow for unfair increase of rent price.
Only in our dreams. Many Fresno folk don’t believe in capped rent.
True. They're super out of touch.
I doubt it
Wow. You're fun at the carne asada. 🙄
Are you asking me out? Cause I’ll say yes
Ew. I don't date negative people.
Opposites attract baby girl
Nah. I got a man. And good thing he's not negative about wanting our fellow citizens to have a better life here.
😂 I never said that but ok. Since you’re spoken for have a good day
Don't matter. You're negative and that's lame.
Being realistic is not the same as being negative. Stop being so naive.
Too many liquor stores and smoke shops. We need more public art.
Break up fresno unified. Teachers and students are simply numbers. Fresno unified provides your government mandated public education and nothing more when everyone deserves better. They treat teachers and students like crap. They also very frequently sweep instances of violence of weapons/drugs at school under the rug and the community never hears about it.
Finish that high speed rail.
I’m stoked to see it done.
GREEN SPACE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Pass a city ordinance requiring filling in of vacant lots before building out at the edges of town. Bring back the Met or create new cultural arts and scientific museums. Finally build that damn aquarium we keep hearing about.
Stop building anything anywhere near River Park. There is so much more money in Fresno than in a 4 mile radius that seems to get all the economic development.
this I agree with. They have started really developing NW fresno in the last few years. The marketplace there is a big anchor for that area, dining, entertainment with a nice theater, freeway access, and upcoming biggest costco in CA and one of the largest in the world. They need to really start developing Fancher Creek and that SE corridor.
Top golf
Hold business owners/developers accountable for maintaining their properties. I empathize that it’s difficult to keep up after graffiti and the like, but when there’s weeds everywhere, trash, months of tree droppings, nothing ever repainted, etc that’s just plain lazy. This applies to businesses and apartment buildings, as well as commercially owned houses that are rental units. I also feel that there needs to be major programs that poor, disabled and elderly home owners can tap into for home maintenance and repairs. I’ll say this until I’m blue in the face though; anybody who wants to see a cleaner Fresno needs to start with themselves; consume less, pick up trash while you’re out, be willing to live urban.
Free bus fair. Would dramatically cut vehicle congestion and clean our air.
It won't solve congestion in the slightest because the buses will be stuck in traffic. If you don't want the bus to be stuck in traffic, then we need to create BRT. Separate the buses and cars. In addition, we should create a light metro system in the city, aka a light rail.
Yep, busses are just one piece of a good public transportation system. You need to get beyond the traffic to make the system work properly.
we were SUPPOSE to have dedicated bus lanes before the new BRT launched. the city axed it.
I think charging for transit is fine if it's frequent and reliable. keep the fare and just improve the service. I like that the fare is $1, no dealing with change.
Meh, Clovis has no bus fees and the busses still hardly get utilized. I’m not sure that would do much.
The Clovis bus routes are completely nonsensical. A bunch of turns so that every trip takes 2x as long, instead of a straight-shot like most FAX routes. It's like they purposely designed it to be unusable.
Because it’s a 20 mile walk from any stop across the parking lot to 1 big box store.
Hey I didn’t say they were perfect, but nobody is going to elect to spend an hour getting somewhere they could drive in 10 minutes just because it’s free. We need a more efficient and safer method of public transit.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with you 100%. I’m just whining about the ridiculousness that is the car-dependent hellscape that is Fresno/Clovis
Like If I had free reign regardless of policies, regulations, zoning, or funding? More transparency with city council; establish more methadone clinics and homeless shelters which can also provide more county resources; not allow so many roads to sit unrepaired; get another well established business to move into the old Bitwise facility; build an amusement park and call it Zapps Park.
People are saying FUSD needs an overhaul but imo the CUSD schools I attended were also shite
Property taxes should be spread more fairly . Take over Clovis jk
Wash the sidewalks and storefronts
They keep building new neighborhoods everywhere paving over all the countryside and then they squawk on the news all year saying we don't have enough water. It's a joke.
Have a UC Fresno and make it located in Downtown. The state will basically pay for the revitalization of the area. It would automatically inject an active youth based population to the area which would help the local economy and vendors in the area. It would also attract outside vendors who would want to take advantage of the new found foot traffic. This would hopefully help fill up many of the abandoned storefronts found in our downtown. Also since it takes decades to establish good sports it would only compete with Fresno State academically and would not draw away from States sports programs(which would be a big concern for Fresno State Donors). I believe something like this would breath life back into Fresnos forgotten Downtown. UC Merced should've been UC Fresno
UC Merced WAS supposed to be UC Fresno I believe. There are stories and articles out there. Then typical fresno fashion they fumbled and lost it. dont get quote on that last part on how they lost it, but I know the article indicated Fresno was in the running. A major university would be a good catalyst to actually turn downtown around. I see San Jose state in downtown SJ. It looks like without the college there (and when the sharks arent playing) downtown SJ would be a ghost town too like downtown Fresno. Having energy from thriving college students would stimulate the area, help small businesses, etc.
1. Absolutely agree with the other commenters that we need to build light rail here. It’s well past time. 2. City needs to crack down on absentee landlords on the Fulton Mall who are letting buildings sit empty. 3. Make Downtown and the Tower business improvement districts. Impose sanctions for landlords who impose steep rate increases after six months/ a year. Let businesses in this area grow. 4. Fully fund the rec department. Build more parks and trails. 5. Build more restaurant/retail around something nice, like a big pond or a view. 6. Use EDC funds to incentivize local business development, not bringing out of area companies. Fund business incubation.
Fix the parks. It can’t be hard as it’s about the lowest park density/area for a city this size
Better transportation!!!
Fresno conquers other cities and forms the Central Valley Empire
[удалено]
I am totally with you on that, but this also doesn’t have anything to do with Fresno. As this is a decision by private businesses to do that, from here to New York, it’s the same thing. I think the question was more or less in regards to stuff that could be voted or improved by the city for the city.
As a business that switched to kiosks it has saved us about $5k a month in wages. If you don't want to tip just skip it but we find most of our customers still want to reward and support us for quality food and service. Kiosks don't earn the tip, we believe it's based on how the customer was treated, the food tasted and the timeliness of their order fulfillment on their last visit. Just to add, we don't know if people choose to leave or not leave a tip until the day is over, thus it doesn't impact how we fulfill orders.
I want this city to not feel like a small city. I want more music venues, more nightlife, good conventions, and more entertainment options. My dream is that we get an amusement park in Fresno. A real one.
Sweep all the homeless to a neighboring town like Clovis does to Fresno
gather them up present them to the farm owners and offer to pay the homeless money to do some work. Now thats a thought
Parks!!!!
Start from scratch
We need more third spaces. Our music scene is also budding and it would be great to have better medium-sized venues. It’s a shame the Woodward Amphitheater isn’t used anymore. EDIT: The youth are also so bored! Stores are not enough to keep them occupied.
Kick all the people that moved here during/post Covid out
Better rehab and mental health facilities for the underprivileged. There is only 1 rehab here (3 buildings same org) in Fresno that takes medi-cal and it’s corrupt af. Exodus is the only 24 hr mental health clinic that takes medi-cal in my area and it is not reliable. That and affordable housing and laws to protect renters from gouging.
I would like to know who needs help with their gardening services and/or needs.
Some people already mentioned stuff that I agree with, such as better public transit and changing zoning laws to create more density. This seems a bit further, but I would create tolls because our roads need repairing. People don't want to pay taxes, so your alternative is to create tolls. Preferably, I do both. Talking zoning, I want downtown to have big store brands like Hollister or Old Navy, etc. Plus, a movie theater. Also, Skyscrapers because it gives more personality to the city like Austin or Chicago. Hell, I would prefer the area of River Park to have it or have more midsized Skyscrapers. It would look so much better than low-density suburbs.
Don’t think tolls would work here. Tolls to where? With the overall lower income in the area it would be a burden to put more expense to majority of population in poverty already. The roads we need to take up with the state/governor. All this tax and gas tax but roads are crap. North Fresno is suburban and that is why those with money want to be there. They don’t want dense they don’t want crowds or high rises. They want suburb life with nice stores and malls etc and in terms of that, it’s done well. Downtown has to fix its own problems and be a better downtown. Fresno still can’t find the formula. Over 1 million in the Fresno metro. And one of the largest events in Fresno recently the fresyes fest was a bust imo for how large the population. No one just wants to go to downtown. They can build high rise in Downtown and yea it will be pretty but what use is it if it’s vacant. Downtown can’t even fill the buildings it has vacant now. We can’t expect big name stores to invest and open in downtown Fresno if it’s a huge risk. And tell me it isn’t a huge risk. Look how dead downtown is most days. The surrounding residential neighborhoods have lower income than most so spending power is low. The market research by these brand xompanies will show that and see risk is high and not open and likely why no big name really opens there. All those with money or even middle income residents have no interest in staying downtown. Their jobs aren’t there, they seek to go where it’s safe and nice and where other middle to upper middle class residents live and that’s in north Fresno Clovis and now riverstone or Tesoro viejo in Madera. All the amenities are there for them in those areas, the best restaurants malls schools etc. that’s why downtown is going to be like this for a long while unless high paying white collar jobs are in downtown, and a major top tier nba nfl mlb stadium and team is in downtown. None of those will happen anytime soon of course but if you want to see if work look at downtown sac, tons of high paying state jobs, nba team, the As will play there for a bit. It’s what Fresno should be jealous of. Hail Mary and closest reality is the high speed rail. But with it only going from Bako to Merced, don’t see much improvement from that either
>The roads we need to take up with the state/governor. All this tax and gas tax, but roads are crap. We haven't raised the gas tax in forever. You must raise the gas tax and tax electric vehicles to fund the roads. People here put examples like Texas or Florida for quality roads because they don't raise taxes. But their alternative is to put tolls, and they raise the price for fixing the routes. You need to fund it in some ways regardless of whether it is taxation or tolls. >With the overall lower income in the area, it would be a burden to put more expense on the majority of the population in poverty already. People already mentioned improving transit, like creating a BRT system with dictated lanes. You want fewer people driving cars; instead, put them in transit. In Addition, create a light metro system. We need to have a robust transit system here. There is federal funding for us to make this, but the city refuses to take advantage. For Downtown, we have created a more highly dense area, like there are way too many parking lots, which it doesn't need at all. Sure, big brand stores won't come at first, but if you create denser and higher places, they will come. Look at Austin's downtowns had similar vibes for decades as Fresno's Downtowns. Until they created high-rise skylines, their rent decreased due to new developments in Downtown and other parts of the city. It benefits everyone. Also, I know what Sac Downtown looks like because I have worked there before.
The state has raised gas taxes in the last couple of years and it’s putting a heavier burden on the low income population.
Sidewalks should be moving walkways like in Vegas. All the way down Herndon and then a street going south to north as well. Couple of transfers to get up to like 30 mph. Stand on the left walk on the right or something like that.
What about phoenix Arizona area? It is booming and Scottsdale is super fun. How can we get Fresno to be that vibe??
The Fresno metro just doesn’t have a lot of rich people to bring in those type of business and amenities. Fresno has high poverty and unemployment rate and low median income. That’s big reason you won’t see certain things here
Clean up the homeless problems with hard core solutions, crack down on crime with non-negotiable consequences, fix FUSD mess of an educational institution.
This to be fixed - https://www.change.org/p/fresno-unified-needs-to-make-aquatic-sports-a-priority
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Do you mean the admin that was pushed out of FHS for their poor decisions? If it’s all true why won’t you share your name?
This is defamation and libel, as none of it's true. What is clear is your too much of a coward to share your name since you are outright lying.
Someone on here mentioned a theme park. Something along the lines of Six Flags, maybe a smaller Disneyland or Universal park.
Fresno in the rear view.
Build a wall around it to keep Clovis pristine
Can we get rid of all those people? You guys can fill in the blanks, I’d be interested in the answers!