River? What river? Fresno’s long-stalled San Joaquin parkway finally getting in gear
An elected official born and raised in northwest Fresno made a candid remark the other day that pricked my ears.
At a press conference overlooking the San Joaquin River at Spano Park near Palm and Nees avenues, Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi admitted he grew up two miles away without knowing California’s second-longest waterway was so nearby.
Anywhere else, this would be unfathomable. In Fresno, sadly, it’s commonplace. Karbassi speaks for multiple generations of locals similarly kept in the dark.
Those days are slowly, permanently coming to an end.
I sincerely believe that.
For a while now, readers have heard me (in their heads) bemoan the lack of public access to the San Joaquin River, and the bureaucratic logjams and favoritism that caused them, more times than they ever wanted.
Today my purpose is to express optimism and hope. I believe, over the next several years, we will see significant, tangible progress on the long-envisioned 22-mile San Joaquin River Parkway between Friant Dam and Highway 99.
Why do I feel that way? Because at this moment, we possess each of the three components necessary to move major projects forward and start to thread a bunch of disconnected properties into a continuous parkway: political will, public demand and necessary capital.
It takes all three.
Wednesday was hardly the first time a group of Fresno-area politicians — on this occasion, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Congressman Jim Costa and City Councilmembers Luis Chavez and Karbassi — publicly pledged their support for providing more river access.
Karbassi, who also chairs the San Joaquin River Conservancy governing board, “committed” to finding $1 million for a new traffic signal and sidewalk projects on Audubon Avenue, a condition of the August agreement over the bitterly disputed River West Fresno Open Space Area.
Dyer echoed that sentiment and raised the stakes by “committing” to a bike path, likely in the form of protected lanes, from downtown to the river via Palm Avenue.
River use, interest in Fresno soaring
The increase in political will comes at a time when more Fresno residents are discovering the river for themselves. Whether at River West below Palm and Nees, upstream at Ball Ranch or in Madera County at Sycamore Island Park and the Van Buren Unit, use of these state-owned properties soared during the pandemic. Even though most aren’t “officially” open.
People aren’t just flocking to these areas, they’re getting more involved in stewardship. Richard Sloan, co-founder of RiverTree Volunteers, told me recently so many groups are interested in doing trash pickups that he is having trouble finding spots for all of them.
“I’m swamped,” Sloan said.
The third element is funding, which has long stood as the greatest impediment to river access. But from our current perch, that hurdle finally looks surmountable.
Remember, there has always been money available to purchase properties along the San Joaquin. In fact, roughly two-thirds of the 5,900 acres designated by the San Joaquin River Conservancy Act of 1992 are already in public hands.
But before any state bonds can be used to construct trails, parking lots, bathrooms and picnic areas, there must be a 25-year funding source in place to cover operations and maintenance.
Thanks to Measure P, which sets aside an 11.25% slice for parkway trails and upkeep, there is finally a revenue stream for river access.
Construction of three vehicular access points and a 2.4-mile extension of the Lewis S. Eaton Trail at River West below Palm and Nees is projected to cost roughly $10 million.
Connecting dots along San Joaquin parkway
Not only is that money available (it still needs to be applied for and granted by the California Wildlife Conservation Board), but also millions more on top of that. And the word I keep hearing from John Shelton, the San Joaquin River Conservancy’s executive director, is that he is being encouraged to spend. Imagine, for example, multiple bike bridges joining parkway properties in Fresno and Madera counties.
Besides a mile-long segment in Friant and a shorter one near Riverside Golf Course, the Eaton Trail (the parkway’s asphalt backbone) has remained unchanged since 1998 when three miles were added north of Woodward Park.
In 2021, it’s finally possible to start connecting the dots between Fresno and Friant. The recent purchase of Sumner Peck Ranch by the nonprofit San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, combined with interest from the developers of Tesoro Viejo, should result in managed access at Ball Ranch and Ledger Island. And Shelton has already engaged with Cemex about creating a buffer zone for the Eaton Trail through the mining company’s plant and quarry sites.
The segment between Fresno and Highway 99 will be trickier, but perhaps not impossible. In February, a neighborhood meeting took place about a potential trail between the Milburn Overlook and Camp Pashayan. (This idea has Karbassi’s strong backing.) Meanwhile, thanks to interference from the State Lands Commission, connecting Scout Island to Sycamore Island Park appears doable.
Construction at River West is tentatively slated to begin in 2024. By then, I’m confident there will be additional projects in the pipeline that get us closer to that 22-mile parkway vision.
Assuring that future generations of Fresno leaders will grow up enjoying and appreciating California’s second-longest river — as opposed to being completely ignorant of it.
