Building bridges: How pandemic stimulus could boost Fresno’s river parkway effort
They come alone, in pairs and as families seeking a place to spread out and recreate.
Some carry fishing poles and tackle boxes. Others bring towels, umbrellas, coolers and inflatable rafts. Some walk dogs or pedal past on mountain bikes. Others have binoculars hoping to view an osprey that made its nest atop a telephone pole.
Don’t tell the socially distanced crowd (well, most of them) at places such as River West, Wildwood Native Park and Ball Ranch there’s no San Joaquin River access in and around Fresno.
“So glad we found out about this place,” said Fresno resident Jorge Ortiz while fishing for bass with his two sons on a recent weekend below Palm and Nees avenues.
As people stay closer to home during the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of nearby parks and open-space areas to our collective physical and mental health has never been more evident.
Fresno lacks enough of either. That much is well-established. But we do have the San Joaquin River, a resource that has been underutilized and largely ignored for generations.
Maybe, just maybe, things are about to turn.
The next few years, suggests the top employee of the state agency charged with establishing a 22-mile recreational and wildlife corridor between Friant Dam and Highway 99, would be an opportune time for investments that would make these areas more accessible and functional.
“I was watching a news discussion about how to get the economy going again and heard someone on the president’s economic team talk about stimulus and infrastructure,” said John Shelton, executive director of the San Joaquin River Conservancy. “My hope is that we can get some of that for our region.”
During its 28-year existence, the San Joaquin River Conservancy has spent some $32 million in state funds and bonds on property acquisitions. Nearly two-thirds of the 5,900 acres designated for the parkway are in public hands.
However, there’s still about $30 million left in the kitty, funds designated for additional land purchases and infrastructure improvements.
Some of that money, which Shelton has been encouraged to spend, could be used to construct a series of bike and pedestrian bridges linking conservancy properties on both sides of the river.
Several potential bridge sites
One site that has been previously studied is in the vicinity of Highway 41 in the River West Open Space Area.
A bridge in this location not only serves a recreational purpose but also would greatly enhance bike commuting between Fresno and Madera County, where there’s already a major hospital and a growing number of rooftops. Such a project may also be eligible for federal greenhouse funds.
A second bike/pedestrian bridge would be at the bottom of Gravel Haul Road below the Park Place Shopping Center. A span at that location would connect one of northwest Fresno’s busiest intersections (Palm and Nees) with conservancy-owned Sycamore Island Park, which is reopening May 15.
Where else? A bridge that already exists but needs replacing links Ball Ranch and Ledger Island, conservancy properties on opposite sides of the river a few miles north of Fresno.
In September 2018, the conservancy board entered into an agreement with the developers of Tesoro Viejo to pursue the creation of a 520-acre regional park. A new bridge would be part of that project.
Shelton also has his eye on potential bridge sites in northwest Fresno, where the aim is to establish a trail connection between Riverside Golf Course and conservancy owned land near the Milburn Overlook.
Bridges ‘a game changer’ for parkway
Bridges don’t come cheap — Shelton estimates each could cost between $4 million and $7 million — nor easy. Copious amounts of planning, environmental analysis and public review are required as well as approvals by the conservancy board and State Lands Commission.
However, the moment they’re built they transform what up until now has been a bunch of unconnected pieces of property into an actual river parkway — or at least something resembling that vision.
“They’re a game changer,” Shelton said.
With three employees, the conservancy can’t make these projects happen alone. It needs staffing support from the city of Fresno as well as both Fresno and Madera counties to submit grant applications and do preliminary environmental analysis.
Let’s hope these municipalities see the value of parkway projects — Madera seems to be ahead of Fresno in that regard. It would also help if Congressman Jim Costa fights for every scrap of federal stimulus money that comes available.
River West lawsuit settlement near
For the last several years, parkway discourse has been dominated by the seemingly endless debate over how to access River West. What once looked like progress has been stuck in neutral since March 2019 when a group of bluff residents sued four members of the conservancy board.
More than a year later, an end to the stalemate may be at hand.
“We think we’re going to be able to come to our (June 3) board meeting with a settlement package,” Shelton said. “We get the feeling we’re on the right track.”
A settlement would permit final design of the 290-acre property to go forward. Construction of restrooms, picnic areas and paved trails would follow. (Not that the lack of amenities has stopped people from visiting. Thankfully, volunteers continue to do weekly trash removal.)
The idea of a San Joaquin River Parkway through Fresno was born in the mid-1980s, and many times since it has felt like an impossible dream.
In a strange way, this pandemic could help us get there.
