Misplaced priorities plague Fresno transportation plans
A trail system along canal banks in east central Fresno has been approved. It will run from Blackstone Avenue along Shields Avenue to Millbrook Avenue, then south on Millbrook to McKinley Avenue, then east on McKinley to Clovis Avenue. That’s along heaviy trafficked streets, except the Millbrook section, where the canal runs between the backyards of homes on both sides of the canal.
One wonders if city planners ever get away from their desks to survey their projects. Have they ever seen a dry canal with shopping carts and other debris? That certainly is a scenic route to say the least. And didn’t we have an unintended drowning this year when a gentleman was walking along a canal?
It seems we have forgotten our potholed streets and the need for a decent mass transit system. Instead, Mayor Ashley Swearengin has tapped Measure C funds for the Bus Rapid Transit project on Blackstone and Ventura avenues, which has little to do with Fresno residents who have no other means of transportation.
Also, Measure C funds are being used for a high-speed rail project, and the tearing up of Fulton Mall. How many business have been forced to close, (or had the expense of moving) and how many employees jobs have been lost because of these projects?
Jeanne Larson, Fresno
This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Misplaced priorities plague Fresno transportation plans."