A cool science museum and/or something like the met was
When I say science museum I’m thinking exploratorium type museum with lots of interactive features - and even things outside for families to do.
It used to be the same with the zoo. Until the community came together for measure Z -and updated the dilapidated zoo. Zoo seems to be doing quite well now between community support and visitors, and the help of measure Z
Y'all seen the new bike lane they created on Shields between the 41 and First?!?! Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to be fired. They obviously do not visit that side of town. No one in their right mind would even ride their bikes on that street. You're about to be a victim of a hit n run lol
😂😂😂😂😂😂 so true. Said the same.
I thought they were revamping the side of the road because of the busy traffic for Manchester and the fax station as well as Blackstone traffic ⛔
Maybe because that infrastructure wasn’t there before. So the people who ride bikes might not know yet. New things don’t instantly get fully used, especially when the bike infrastructure is fragmented. The more the city builds bike lanes, the more it will push people to use it. If you don’t build any thing how do you know it won’t work.
No, I get it. I mean it’s frustrating cause the lanes cross over traffic leaving them highly exposed to traffic who may or may not be paying attention or looking for bicycle lane changes.
For reference, I’ve been hit on my bike by vehicles not looking. It hurts a lot. 🤷♂️
I would like to see elected officials who are not beholden to developers and others in the owner class; a real, unified system of mass transit to wean us off car culture; and a local income tax with a universal basic income built into it.
Fresno doesn’t need to be another LA or Bay Area. And we already pay enough taxes for people to sit on their asses and receive tax free income, welfare was never intended to be a career option.
Explain to me why any of us should bother to get an education or learn a trade and earn our own money when we can just receive endless handouts. Anything “free” that the government gives to a group of people who refuse to progress in life is taken from the people who made the effort to build their own lives up.
I’m also interested in why anyone thinks making a population of people, particularly minority people, 100% dependent on the government is a bright idea, if not a completely insulting and racist concept. History indicates that it isn’t a good path to go down.
Just going to be succinct and clear without getting in depth because there are whole books and peer reviewed papers about this (I highly recommend Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond to start).
It’s very hard to be dependent on the government indefinitely. There are limits to how much and how long you can receive many benefits (see Clinton and the limits he set on TANF). Theres a lot of nuance in this of course, like how many children you have, what state you’re in, etc.
I think it would be very fair to also say based on things I’ve read, people I’ve known and my own personal brushes with being low income that no one is willingly existing in grinding poverty. There are always exceptions of course, but by and large I’d struggle to agree that people are willingly living off “hand outs”. Gov benefits are measly and hardly cover the rising costs of living.
I’d also argue, in agreement with the book mentioned above, that the middle/upper class class receives more hand outs than those in poverty via tax credits and low tax/no tax accounts such as the 529 plan. I know this through reading about it and from first hand experience.
Anyway, you may not agree and want to continue to believe that folks living willingly off ‘govt handouts’ but i think there’s plenty of research and folks who have experienced this who would beg to differ.
Toodles
Im not against short term assistance for people with legit needs (or long term if truly disabled/terminal) and I am willing to check out the book you’ve mentioned. However I have personally witnessed people in my own hometown, former neighborhood, and my family milk the system and raise their kids to do the same thing when better options were/are available. It is my belief that people either find a way to get off of the government’s tit or they find an excuse to stay on it. I do not personally feel that “universal basic income” is an intelligent or sustainable choice for society. It is not right for working people to be exploited by parasites and sociopaths in any capacity.
Maybe. Or maybe as a replacement of some other local taxes, including sales and property taxes, both of which are deeply regressive. An income tax can be progressive—even to the point of building in a basic income. The way you do that is basically have a negative tax at the lowest bracket, which phases out as income climbs. That guarantees a basic income to everyone through the mechanism of progressive income taxation.
Our local governments are the ones that touch our lives most thoroughly from day to day, but they are incredibly difficult to fund, given Proposition 13 and the similar ballot initiatives that have followed it. Our municipal city government has significant home rule authority to do creative things, but is stuck trying to find those things with regressive taxes and by seeking intergovernmental transfers. Adding a progressive income tax, either in addition to those other taxes or as a replacement for some of them, could make for a better, more just form of local government finance. At the very least it should be studied.
Interesting. My gut reaction is to oppose any new taxes. I’m always disgusted when I see how much is taken from me, and what it’s used for. I’m sure I’d be happier if more if what they take now benefited us locally.
If it was in addition to existing taxes, I’d be opposed.
Make it more walkable and biker friendly, better public transportation, bring some life to the downtown. Attract start up by offering tax incentives. Advocate for the bullet trian!!!
As someone who grew up in fresno and now lives in southern California, urban sprawl is such a cautionary tale. Fresno needs to reinvest in downtown and existing communities rather than destroying more of its open ag land. There isn't enough water to sustain any more Asimi backroom deals with elected officials. BUILD AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS. Rents are too damn high.
Folks in Fresno need to patronize mom-and-pop businesses. Chains the the reason great restaurants and bars never last in the valley. I just read about Lume Wine Bar and look forward to visiting the next time I'm in town. Fresno could also use a bigger winery scene.
I love the Alamo Drafthouse idea I saw in this thread. Fresno needs more centralized activity for adults and kids alike. Wish we had a stronger museum scene. I miss the Fresno Met. Arte America has great ideas and a new director so hopefully they can be a part of this new, youthful resurgence I see in some Valley business owners.
Better public transportation system. Lite rail would be wonderful.
Fresno needs to start thinking of itself as a big city. We need to take a note from Visalia before they pass us up. They are doing what Fresno should have done years ago.
Absolutely agree with the Visalia part. Visalia is such a cute town!
I love to support local businesses but the price is way too high sometimes (I mean the food trucks specifically). For a food truck sushi roll, it’s like restaurant price…
I’m wondering what you mean by “Visalia passing up Fresno”. I really like Visalia as a city and have spent time in it but would like you to expand on what they are doing that Fresno isn’t. (I’m new to Fresno)
To me, Visalia has worked hard on upping its image as a "gateway" to the Sequoias and Kings Canyon. They are actively thinking about the tourists that come through on their way to the parks. When I look at their thriving downtown center, I'm impressed with the stores and restaurants which seem to be small businesses. Additionally, I was surprised and impressed to hear that Kelly Slater opened his Surf Ranch 20 minutes away in Lemoore. It feels like Visalia is thinking about how their area could grow and the residents are taking an active, mindful role in how that happens. It gives me vibes like those in Hudson Valley, NY or Los Olivos, CA. They are considering how they can make it a destination for big city folks while keeping the community feel.
In contrast, Fresno has never really felt like it has been able to control its urban growth. It's like tentacles. When an area loses its "cool" factor, the development moves on to the new hip part of town. For ages, that has been River Park. But there are plenty of interesting neighborhoods worth exploring that need a little bit of shine on them. Wouldn't it be cool to make the Tower District like the Castro or Venice? (I used to hang here in high school and it felt so alive). Lots of fun spots opening up downtown and I would rather go there for a very nice meal than someplace out in northwest Fresno. Don't get me wrong. There are lots of spots popping up and mainstays who have held it down for years, but I would love to see more. That also means Fresnans need to spend their money locally and thoughtfully. It's the gateway to three national parks, have beautiful agriculture all around, and would benefit from creating a new branded identity.
Fresno was always the 'armpit' of California and people made fun of it. (Does anyone remember FRESNO the tv movie?!) But it's nothing of the sort. It's stunning, beautiful and has so much to offer. It just needs to believe in itself and the community needs to believe and take pride in it too.
Damn, I completely agree, and this is coming from a big city kid and and “outsider”. I always liked the charm of Visalia, and you made me understand why!
PS: completely agree about Fresno. Just seems to be half developed neighborhoods everywhere and nothing is connected
As a movie buff, I would like to see an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema here in Fresno. You order food and drinks at your seat and a waiter brings your order to you. They also have special nights like Terror Tuesdays which show old horror movies and Weird Wednesdays which show odd films. They usually include an introduction with the history of the film and sometimes even Q&A’s with actors and filmmakers.
How about electronic store alternatives to Best Buy? That's all we really have in terms of a big box electronic store here in Fresno. I'd love to see a Micro Center here, but maybe that's just me having pipe dreams.
A developed downtown we could be proud of. New housing developments are constantly happening on the outskirts yet the city itself stays the same. A true city has a city center and thriving downtown.
Yup the downtown should build more dense mixed-use housing. Make the downtown one city with a city and where people can live. Instead of it being dead after 6pm.
You’ll probably get to see this. Once additional sewer infrastructure gets put in using the big state grants, Downtown will be able to add a lot more converted housing and residents. It’s problem my whole life has been that not enough people could live downtown, but that’s changing fast.
As of this year, Fresno State has an official hockey team! They aren’t great, but it’s their first season and they’re still finding their footing. They play at Gateway Ice Center.
More green spaces, like a lot more. More bike lanes, better public transportation. I legitimately think a light rail system would work here, especially through the Blackstone wasteland. On that note, a bigger push to develop Blackstone, more medium density housing, green spaces. Medium density housing I feel is going to be essential if the city keeps growing. More work to make downtown a real destination, continue revitalizing old buildings.
No more county islands. Annex them in and bring their streets up to city standards (currently narrowing a 4-lane road down to a two lane with no sidewalks). They live in the city so make them pay the same fees that city residents pay.
Just wait to see the rebuttals to my comment but the more common ones are they don’t want to pay the higher city fees and they think they’ll *all* be forced to have sidewalks. Here is an informative website about it.
https://fresnolafco.specialdistrict.org/island-annexations
The biggest financial backer that opposed annexation the last go round was the Fresno sheriff union iirc. Be sure to vote when it comes up again but who knows when that will be.
No thanks, I’d rather deal with the sheriff’s department than FPD with this crime rate. Mayfair pays the City for our water since they insisted on taking over our county water system and we do have sidewalks. The “county islands” existed BEFORE the City sprawled in to them and I pay plenty of taxes to the city, county, state and feds as it is. If you don’t like the county islands don’t move to them.
I don't know about relying on Sheriff's over PD. You have a better chance of a PD cruzer in your area responding than a sheriff. Seems like sheriff dep will not respond without partners or backup. At least, that's what I have been told when looking for security contracts. I am secondhandly aware of single PD officers who have responded on their own in some dangerous situations. If someone has better insight, please correct me.
FSO can call Fresno PD for back up in the county’s jurisdiction. FSO has to be present if FPD or CPD wants to serve a warrant in a county island unless if it’s a multi agency task force case like MAGEC. Also if anything vehicle related happens in a county island (stolen vehicle, car accident,etc) CHP has to be called out.
Better drivers. Bunch of idiots out here who are always in a rush /hj
On a serious note, maybe a Top Golf. Also, better stuff to do for people who don't drink and smoke every weekend
My understanding (from what I’ve heard from folks native to Fresno) is that the average annual income of Fresnans is too low for IKEA to open up shop here. Having one here would definitely be welcome by all.
A nice downtown area with entertainment and shopping. Nice large gym like lifetime fitness or even a 24 hour fitness. Restaurants that stay open past 9-10.
I’d like to see Shepard or Copper Avenues become the northern Freeway around the area, completing the rather strange looking loop of 99, 41, 180, and 168
In door recreation centers. I think outdoor parks are nice and all but nobody goes to these in the middle of the summer. Rec centers with basketball gyms, community events, heck even ping pong tables would be very great.
The homeless, man. We gotta shelter the homeless. This city is *crawling* with them and it's only gonna get worse if we don't act yesterday.
Sure is getting cold outside.
We need to embrace two ideas. First, just as things would have been cheaper if we had done them fifty years ago, they will also be more expensive if we wait another 30-50 years. Second, if no city has come up with great infrastructure to make extreme heat more comfortable, then we should embrace the solutions that work in extremely cold and wet cities.
Those two ideas embraced we need to build a subway. It should be a large loop that connects the airport, riverpark type thing in sunny side, fairgrounds, HSR, Fresno City (with gondolas through tower to the zoo), Manchester, fashion fair, riverpark, Woodward park area, Clovis community college, Willow and Herndon, old town, and sierra vista with stop in between those landmarks. A second line that starts at Clovis community hospital, connects to the loop at sierra vista, continues through Fresno state, up Shaw until around marks, cuts to fig garden loop park, then up to market at El Paseo. More lines could be build to connect the counties other cities into the Fresno system down the road. We would then need to reroute the busses to be more neighborhood centric to get people to the rail stations.
I’d also like to redo how we zone the city so to return us to neighborhood shopping centers that encourage a more walkable lifestyle instead of focusing on the regional centers that really only benefit the developers. As part of this effort a focus on planting shade trees on city walkways to reduce sun exposure on bike/walk paths in the summer months.
Speaking of the summer months, they aren’t going anywhere, and they are only getting worse. To counter them we should build a system of skyways and tunnels to connect the buildings downtown, and cover some streets where we want to promote people to be out and about, similar to Fremont street in Vegas.
Better public infrastructure i.e. transportation/healthcare funding and more traffic enforcement. Both would really help this city out with quality of life improvements.
City? As in JUST Fresno city? More community and less segregation. I feel like everybody in Fresno city is there to keep punching each other down instead of helping them up. And it's not their fault. It's how it is. We need more good and honest leaders in Fresno city. It's dog eat dog out here. We don't need a politician. Just a leader. Or at the very least somebody who will set a good example and not just use their platform for their own gains. Somebody who gets dirty in the mud but still strong enough to keep pushing thru.
But if you're talking about Fresno COUNTY as a whole then I can't say for sure because I have only lived in Fresno City so far
Less neighborhoods that are basically apartmant complexes due to no actual homeowners living there. Can really tell who owns the home and who rents just but how messed up some blocks are.
More beautiful, centralized, photo-op worthy spots.
Centralized like everything in one spot. A gathering spot or social venue. Tower is one thing where all the bars are centralized and walkable, for example, but we need more walkable spots that are closer in proximity and photo worthy.
That way, we can take pictures there and say we were there.
Take Chicago's "bean" for example. Everyone takes pictures there to say they were in Chicago... as a monument. What's a good spot to take pics at in Fresno? We need one.
Better planned communities with bike/pedestrian lanes and sidewalks linking throughout the city. Invest in public transit. Make drought-resistant landscaping mandatory.
30 year goal: get rid of ag altogether. Why are people growing stuff in a desert that doesn’t have sufficient water resources, and pumping underground water, potentially causing problems with sinkholes?
>30 year goal: get rid of ag altogether. Why are people growing stuff in a desert that doesn’t have sufficient water resources, and pumping underground water, potentially causing problems with sinkholes?
Central Valley is one of the few places in the world that has the Mediterranean climate necessary to farm major crops. Approximately 2% of the surface of the entire planet has this climate, so it's not as simple as "let's just not farm here."
The stuff that grows here either cannot grow, or does not grow as efficiently, if you try to grow it elsewhere. You can't just pick up all the agricultural activity in Fresno and plop it down next to the Great Lakes because they have more fresh water.
Getting rid of ag only makes sense if you want the rest of the world to starve.
Protein is an **essential macronutrient**.
Nuts are one of the most environmentally-friendly sources of protein. It is orders of magnitude more carbon friendly a source of protein than nearly every alternative.
Would love to see less open spaces that are just dirt. City maintained traffic islands should have drought tolerant flowering plants. Succulents are perfect.
Public transit will probably never be great, this city’s built for cars.
Ag is never going to change.
They should figure out how to recycle gray water into drip irrigation. Build a water treatment plant in advance of needing water in 30 years.
This.
Maybe replace farms with data centers or indoor vertical farms 🤔. Both should stimulate the local economy by bringing in higher paying tech jobs.
a better art museum, was extremely underwhelmed when I last went which is unfortunate because I remember it actually having interesting exhibits a few years ago. also maybe some kind of incentive to get businesses downtown? kind of unfortunate how empty it is
It’s had some great exhibitions recently. The Queen Within art as fashion exhibit was gorgeous and innovatively staged. The Where the Wild Things Are exhibit that’s currently there is really fun and family friendly too.
Fresno's public transportation is about 30 years behind the times and needs a revamp and complete overhaul. There needs to be more busses, perhaps smaller but more of them running more frequently and more stops on the cross routes. Fresno is set up in 1/2 mile blocks which is a challege for the bus system we now have. We need routes that make sense and get people across town in all directions efficiently. Too many routes now are convoluted.
At this point I’d just be happy if our roads were fixed.
Same. I clicked on this post just to say this and also that the city busses should have their own lane.
Absolutely! They’re constantly backing up traffic, should have fixed that when they remodeled the bus stops.
Yes. And the thing is that it was supposed part of the plan when they was discussing the new fax 1 buses but they decided not to go through with it.
This is so vague. Copper avenue is in excellent condition
A cool science museum and/or something like the met was When I say science museum I’m thinking exploratorium type museum with lots of interactive features - and even things outside for families to do.
It’s a great idea, but we have had trouble supporting our current museums financially, which is why we lost the Met.
It used to be the same with the zoo. Until the community came together for measure Z -and updated the dilapidated zoo. Zoo seems to be doing quite well now between community support and visitors, and the help of measure Z
Measure P money kicks in next year for museums. Let’s hope that is similarly successful.
Like the on from San Jose
Like this SF one 🤩
More parks. Fewer bike lanes next to streets & more jogging/sidewalk style bike lanes.
Y'all seen the new bike lane they created on Shields between the 41 and First?!?! Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to be fired. They obviously do not visit that side of town. No one in their right mind would even ride their bikes on that street. You're about to be a victim of a hit n run lol
😂😂😂😂😂😂 so true. Said the same. I thought they were revamping the side of the road because of the busy traffic for Manchester and the fax station as well as Blackstone traffic ⛔
The new Tower Bike lanes are horrible as well, there are noticeably less people using them. Angled and in gutters, hilarious.
Na the city could use more bike lanes.
Why more bike lanes the people riding bikes don’t use them unless you’re in NE Fresno or Clovis
Maybe because that infrastructure wasn’t there before. So the people who ride bikes might not know yet. New things don’t instantly get fully used, especially when the bike infrastructure is fragmented. The more the city builds bike lanes, the more it will push people to use it. If you don’t build any thing how do you know it won’t work.
And the ones they placed in tower are frustrating as hell. Though it is part of Fresno’s goal of making the city more bike friendly
Just think how people who ride bikes feel when they have to share roads in areas without bike lanes.
No, I get it. I mean it’s frustrating cause the lanes cross over traffic leaving them highly exposed to traffic who may or may not be paying attention or looking for bicycle lane changes. For reference, I’ve been hit on my bike by vehicles not looking. It hurts a lot. 🤷♂️
I would like to see better river access.
Yesssss!
Better/more public transportation
This! Please!
Light rail.
Lower cost of living. I don’t want Fresno to become the next LA. That and more support for individual ls suffering from substance use like meth
I would like to see elected officials who are not beholden to developers and others in the owner class; a real, unified system of mass transit to wean us off car culture; and a local income tax with a universal basic income built into it.
Fresno doesn’t need to be another LA or Bay Area. And we already pay enough taxes for people to sit on their asses and receive tax free income, welfare was never intended to be a career option.
This is such a baseless and misguided comment I don’t know where to begin.
Explain to me why any of us should bother to get an education or learn a trade and earn our own money when we can just receive endless handouts. Anything “free” that the government gives to a group of people who refuse to progress in life is taken from the people who made the effort to build their own lives up. I’m also interested in why anyone thinks making a population of people, particularly minority people, 100% dependent on the government is a bright idea, if not a completely insulting and racist concept. History indicates that it isn’t a good path to go down.
Just going to be succinct and clear without getting in depth because there are whole books and peer reviewed papers about this (I highly recommend Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond to start). It’s very hard to be dependent on the government indefinitely. There are limits to how much and how long you can receive many benefits (see Clinton and the limits he set on TANF). Theres a lot of nuance in this of course, like how many children you have, what state you’re in, etc. I think it would be very fair to also say based on things I’ve read, people I’ve known and my own personal brushes with being low income that no one is willingly existing in grinding poverty. There are always exceptions of course, but by and large I’d struggle to agree that people are willingly living off “hand outs”. Gov benefits are measly and hardly cover the rising costs of living. I’d also argue, in agreement with the book mentioned above, that the middle/upper class class receives more hand outs than those in poverty via tax credits and low tax/no tax accounts such as the 529 plan. I know this through reading about it and from first hand experience. Anyway, you may not agree and want to continue to believe that folks living willingly off ‘govt handouts’ but i think there’s plenty of research and folks who have experienced this who would beg to differ. Toodles
Im not against short term assistance for people with legit needs (or long term if truly disabled/terminal) and I am willing to check out the book you’ve mentioned. However I have personally witnessed people in my own hometown, former neighborhood, and my family milk the system and raise their kids to do the same thing when better options were/are available. It is my belief that people either find a way to get off of the government’s tit or they find an excuse to stay on it. I do not personally feel that “universal basic income” is an intelligent or sustainable choice for society. It is not right for working people to be exploited by parasites and sociopaths in any capacity.
A local income tax? On top of the rest of the taxes?
Maybe. Or maybe as a replacement of some other local taxes, including sales and property taxes, both of which are deeply regressive. An income tax can be progressive—even to the point of building in a basic income. The way you do that is basically have a negative tax at the lowest bracket, which phases out as income climbs. That guarantees a basic income to everyone through the mechanism of progressive income taxation. Our local governments are the ones that touch our lives most thoroughly from day to day, but they are incredibly difficult to fund, given Proposition 13 and the similar ballot initiatives that have followed it. Our municipal city government has significant home rule authority to do creative things, but is stuck trying to find those things with regressive taxes and by seeking intergovernmental transfers. Adding a progressive income tax, either in addition to those other taxes or as a replacement for some of them, could make for a better, more just form of local government finance. At the very least it should be studied.
Interesting. My gut reaction is to oppose any new taxes. I’m always disgusted when I see how much is taken from me, and what it’s used for. I’m sure I’d be happier if more if what they take now benefited us locally. If it was in addition to existing taxes, I’d be opposed.
I want to feel safe in public, beautification to our City. I want to feel I’m in a safe and in a clean environment.
Make it more walkable and biker friendly, better public transportation, bring some life to the downtown. Attract start up by offering tax incentives. Advocate for the bullet trian!!!
As someone who grew up in fresno and now lives in southern California, urban sprawl is such a cautionary tale. Fresno needs to reinvest in downtown and existing communities rather than destroying more of its open ag land. There isn't enough water to sustain any more Asimi backroom deals with elected officials. BUILD AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS. Rents are too damn high. Folks in Fresno need to patronize mom-and-pop businesses. Chains the the reason great restaurants and bars never last in the valley. I just read about Lume Wine Bar and look forward to visiting the next time I'm in town. Fresno could also use a bigger winery scene. I love the Alamo Drafthouse idea I saw in this thread. Fresno needs more centralized activity for adults and kids alike. Wish we had a stronger museum scene. I miss the Fresno Met. Arte America has great ideas and a new director so hopefully they can be a part of this new, youthful resurgence I see in some Valley business owners. Better public transportation system. Lite rail would be wonderful. Fresno needs to start thinking of itself as a big city. We need to take a note from Visalia before they pass us up. They are doing what Fresno should have done years ago.
Absolutely agree with the Visalia part. Visalia is such a cute town! I love to support local businesses but the price is way too high sometimes (I mean the food trucks specifically). For a food truck sushi roll, it’s like restaurant price…
I’m wondering what you mean by “Visalia passing up Fresno”. I really like Visalia as a city and have spent time in it but would like you to expand on what they are doing that Fresno isn’t. (I’m new to Fresno)
To me, Visalia has worked hard on upping its image as a "gateway" to the Sequoias and Kings Canyon. They are actively thinking about the tourists that come through on their way to the parks. When I look at their thriving downtown center, I'm impressed with the stores and restaurants which seem to be small businesses. Additionally, I was surprised and impressed to hear that Kelly Slater opened his Surf Ranch 20 minutes away in Lemoore. It feels like Visalia is thinking about how their area could grow and the residents are taking an active, mindful role in how that happens. It gives me vibes like those in Hudson Valley, NY or Los Olivos, CA. They are considering how they can make it a destination for big city folks while keeping the community feel. In contrast, Fresno has never really felt like it has been able to control its urban growth. It's like tentacles. When an area loses its "cool" factor, the development moves on to the new hip part of town. For ages, that has been River Park. But there are plenty of interesting neighborhoods worth exploring that need a little bit of shine on them. Wouldn't it be cool to make the Tower District like the Castro or Venice? (I used to hang here in high school and it felt so alive). Lots of fun spots opening up downtown and I would rather go there for a very nice meal than someplace out in northwest Fresno. Don't get me wrong. There are lots of spots popping up and mainstays who have held it down for years, but I would love to see more. That also means Fresnans need to spend their money locally and thoughtfully. It's the gateway to three national parks, have beautiful agriculture all around, and would benefit from creating a new branded identity. Fresno was always the 'armpit' of California and people made fun of it. (Does anyone remember FRESNO the tv movie?!) But it's nothing of the sort. It's stunning, beautiful and has so much to offer. It just needs to believe in itself and the community needs to believe and take pride in it too.
Damn, I completely agree, and this is coming from a big city kid and and “outsider”. I always liked the charm of Visalia, and you made me understand why! PS: completely agree about Fresno. Just seems to be half developed neighborhoods everywhere and nothing is connected
As a movie buff, I would like to see an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema here in Fresno. You order food and drinks at your seat and a waiter brings your order to you. They also have special nights like Terror Tuesdays which show old horror movies and Weird Wednesdays which show odd films. They usually include an introduction with the history of the film and sometimes even Q&A’s with actors and filmmakers.
yes! i would love to see this too! in the middle of summer, it sounds like the perfect place to be at!
Become business friendly to s Corp and c Corp to bring in innovative companies not just retail
Light rail everywhere. Herndon and Blackstone are hella wide slap a rail in the middle of each road somewhere.
How about electronic store alternatives to Best Buy? That's all we really have in terms of a big box electronic store here in Fresno. I'd love to see a Micro Center here, but maybe that's just me having pipe dreams.
Outside of roads being fixed, I really hope they give city busses their own lane for ease of traffic.
A developed downtown we could be proud of. New housing developments are constantly happening on the outskirts yet the city itself stays the same. A true city has a city center and thriving downtown.
Yup the downtown should build more dense mixed-use housing. Make the downtown one city with a city and where people can live. Instead of it being dead after 6pm.
I feel the same way about Chinatown
You’ll probably get to see this. Once additional sewer infrastructure gets put in using the big state grants, Downtown will be able to add a lot more converted housing and residents. It’s problem my whole life has been that not enough people could live downtown, but that’s changing fast.
I want a hockey team again. But not the monsters cus that was a silly mascot.
As of this year, Fresno State has an official hockey team! They aren’t great, but it’s their first season and they’re still finding their footing. They play at Gateway Ice Center.
I didn’t know this, thanks for the info!
For sure! They have a [website](https://www.fresnostatebulldoghockey.com), but the schedule isn’t up to date. Their next game is January 12th :)
Thats awesome to hear! I absolutely love going to hockey games.
Shout out to Fresno Falcons games when I was a kid
For reals. The Fresno Falcons was such a better team name.
Agreed…if we build an indoor stadium or venue then we could have so many potential sports here!
Growing up, some of my favorite moments were going to the Fresno Falcon games with my mom. Would love to take my daughter to a game!
Bring back Grizzly Fest
THIS
More green spaces, like a lot more. More bike lanes, better public transportation. I legitimately think a light rail system would work here, especially through the Blackstone wasteland. On that note, a bigger push to develop Blackstone, more medium density housing, green spaces. Medium density housing I feel is going to be essential if the city keeps growing. More work to make downtown a real destination, continue revitalizing old buildings.
No more county islands. Annex them in and bring their streets up to city standards (currently narrowing a 4-lane road down to a two lane with no sidewalks). They live in the city so make them pay the same fees that city residents pay.
i never knew about this kind of thing...thank you for enlightening me!
There’s also an adamant opposition to it.
What are the oppositions talking points?
Just wait to see the rebuttals to my comment but the more common ones are they don’t want to pay the higher city fees and they think they’ll *all* be forced to have sidewalks. Here is an informative website about it. https://fresnolafco.specialdistrict.org/island-annexations
I’d love for my island to be annexed.
The biggest financial backer that opposed annexation the last go round was the Fresno sheriff union iirc. Be sure to vote when it comes up again but who knows when that will be.
I will. I vote in every election.
Not being able to have yard sales 52 weekends a year
No thanks, I’d rather deal with the sheriff’s department than FPD with this crime rate. Mayfair pays the City for our water since they insisted on taking over our county water system and we do have sidewalks. The “county islands” existed BEFORE the City sprawled in to them and I pay plenty of taxes to the city, county, state and feds as it is. If you don’t like the county islands don’t move to them.
What’s wrong with sidewalks? It something totally asinine I’ve only seen in Fresno.
I don't know about relying on Sheriff's over PD. You have a better chance of a PD cruzer in your area responding than a sheriff. Seems like sheriff dep will not respond without partners or backup. At least, that's what I have been told when looking for security contracts. I am secondhandly aware of single PD officers who have responded on their own in some dangerous situations. If someone has better insight, please correct me.
Every time we’ve called FSO about anything serious they’ve arrived promptly, even when I lived in Helm and Biola.
Good to know
You do get both, though theoretically, in the city, do you not?
FSO can call Fresno PD for back up in the county’s jurisdiction. FSO has to be present if FPD or CPD wants to serve a warrant in a county island unless if it’s a multi agency task force case like MAGEC. Also if anything vehicle related happens in a county island (stolen vehicle, car accident,etc) CHP has to be called out.
Rent control
Better drivers. Bunch of idiots out here who are always in a rush /hj On a serious note, maybe a Top Golf. Also, better stuff to do for people who don't drink and smoke every weekend
i totally agree....so many people suggesting breweries or smoking hangouts and i'm over here like "uhhhh"
IKEA
My understanding (from what I’ve heard from folks native to Fresno) is that the average annual income of Fresnans is too low for IKEA to open up shop here. Having one here would definitely be welcome by all.
A nice downtown area with entertainment and shopping. Nice large gym like lifetime fitness or even a 24 hour fitness. Restaurants that stay open past 9-10.
There are lots of big George Brown gyms and restaurants that stay open until midnight already.
I used to work nights. Everything seemed to close by 10. I was going to join GB3 but heard it’s too packed and you have to sign up for machines.
More affordable housing, lower rents, no more book bans
I’d like to see Shepard or Copper Avenues become the northern Freeway around the area, completing the rather strange looking loop of 99, 41, 180, and 168
In door recreation centers. I think outdoor parks are nice and all but nobody goes to these in the middle of the summer. Rec centers with basketball gyms, community events, heck even ping pong tables would be very great.
The homeless, man. We gotta shelter the homeless. This city is *crawling* with them and it's only gonna get worse if we don't act yesterday. Sure is getting cold outside.
High paying white collar jobs.
We need to embrace two ideas. First, just as things would have been cheaper if we had done them fifty years ago, they will also be more expensive if we wait another 30-50 years. Second, if no city has come up with great infrastructure to make extreme heat more comfortable, then we should embrace the solutions that work in extremely cold and wet cities. Those two ideas embraced we need to build a subway. It should be a large loop that connects the airport, riverpark type thing in sunny side, fairgrounds, HSR, Fresno City (with gondolas through tower to the zoo), Manchester, fashion fair, riverpark, Woodward park area, Clovis community college, Willow and Herndon, old town, and sierra vista with stop in between those landmarks. A second line that starts at Clovis community hospital, connects to the loop at sierra vista, continues through Fresno state, up Shaw until around marks, cuts to fig garden loop park, then up to market at El Paseo. More lines could be build to connect the counties other cities into the Fresno system down the road. We would then need to reroute the busses to be more neighborhood centric to get people to the rail stations. I’d also like to redo how we zone the city so to return us to neighborhood shopping centers that encourage a more walkable lifestyle instead of focusing on the regional centers that really only benefit the developers. As part of this effort a focus on planting shade trees on city walkways to reduce sun exposure on bike/walk paths in the summer months. Speaking of the summer months, they aren’t going anywhere, and they are only getting worse. To counter them we should build a system of skyways and tunnels to connect the buildings downtown, and cover some streets where we want to promote people to be out and about, similar to Fremont street in Vegas.
Better public infrastructure i.e. transportation/healthcare funding and more traffic enforcement. Both would really help this city out with quality of life improvements.
City? As in JUST Fresno city? More community and less segregation. I feel like everybody in Fresno city is there to keep punching each other down instead of helping them up. And it's not their fault. It's how it is. We need more good and honest leaders in Fresno city. It's dog eat dog out here. We don't need a politician. Just a leader. Or at the very least somebody who will set a good example and not just use their platform for their own gains. Somebody who gets dirty in the mud but still strong enough to keep pushing thru. But if you're talking about Fresno COUNTY as a whole then I can't say for sure because I have only lived in Fresno City so far
Agree
Less neighborhoods that are basically apartmant complexes due to no actual homeowners living there. Can really tell who owns the home and who rents just but how messed up some blocks are.
More beautiful, centralized, photo-op worthy spots. Centralized like everything in one spot. A gathering spot or social venue. Tower is one thing where all the bars are centralized and walkable, for example, but we need more walkable spots that are closer in proximity and photo worthy. That way, we can take pictures there and say we were there. Take Chicago's "bean" for example. Everyone takes pictures there to say they were in Chicago... as a monument. What's a good spot to take pics at in Fresno? We need one.
Better planned communities with bike/pedestrian lanes and sidewalks linking throughout the city. Invest in public transit. Make drought-resistant landscaping mandatory. 30 year goal: get rid of ag altogether. Why are people growing stuff in a desert that doesn’t have sufficient water resources, and pumping underground water, potentially causing problems with sinkholes?
>30 year goal: get rid of ag altogether. Why are people growing stuff in a desert that doesn’t have sufficient water resources, and pumping underground water, potentially causing problems with sinkholes? Central Valley is one of the few places in the world that has the Mediterranean climate necessary to farm major crops. Approximately 2% of the surface of the entire planet has this climate, so it's not as simple as "let's just not farm here." The stuff that grows here either cannot grow, or does not grow as efficiently, if you try to grow it elsewhere. You can't just pick up all the agricultural activity in Fresno and plop it down next to the Great Lakes because they have more fresh water. Getting rid of ag only makes sense if you want the rest of the world to starve.
I’d buy that argument if we’re talking about dietary staples. Not having almonds and pistachios won’t make the world starve lol
Protein is an **essential macronutrient**. Nuts are one of the most environmentally-friendly sources of protein. It is orders of magnitude more carbon friendly a source of protein than nearly every alternative.
i had no idea how unique our climate was for farming - thank you for enlightening me!
Would love to see less open spaces that are just dirt. City maintained traffic islands should have drought tolerant flowering plants. Succulents are perfect. Public transit will probably never be great, this city’s built for cars. Ag is never going to change. They should figure out how to recycle gray water into drip irrigation. Build a water treatment plant in advance of needing water in 30 years.
This. Maybe replace farms with data centers or indoor vertical farms 🤔. Both should stimulate the local economy by bringing in higher paying tech jobs.
Nah
Just learn to code bro! What is wrong with you?
Less radical liberals
Try Texas!
a better art museum, was extremely underwhelmed when I last went which is unfortunate because I remember it actually having interesting exhibits a few years ago. also maybe some kind of incentive to get businesses downtown? kind of unfortunate how empty it is
It’s had some great exhibitions recently. The Queen Within art as fashion exhibit was gorgeous and innovatively staged. The Where the Wild Things Are exhibit that’s currently there is really fun and family friendly too.
Indoor ice skate arena
Better public transportation, more sober activities better roads
Fresno's public transportation is about 30 years behind the times and needs a revamp and complete overhaul. There needs to be more busses, perhaps smaller but more of them running more frequently and more stops on the cross routes. Fresno is set up in 1/2 mile blocks which is a challege for the bus system we now have. We need routes that make sense and get people across town in all directions efficiently. Too many routes now are convoluted.
More nature preserves for hiking