Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

21 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

22 hours ago

Trump Pushes for Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony

1 day ago

Trump Says US to Hit India With 25% Tariff Starting Friday

1 day ago

Tariff Revenues Hit Record $150 Billion Amid Trump’s Trade Talks, Fox Business Reports

1 day ago

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

1 day ago

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

1 day ago

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

2 days ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

2 days ago
NW Fresno Traffic is a Horror Show. How Would Council Candidates Fix It?
GV-Wire
By Jody Murray
Published 6 years ago on
July 16, 2019

Share

In northwest Fresno, “traffic” is a dirty word. Decades of piecemeal planning and years of rapid growth have spawned long lines of vehicles on major avenues during rush hour.
There’s a release valve planned for the plugged-up traffic surrounding Shaw and Herndon avenues, but it’s been on the drafting board for more than three decades. Residents who have seen the “coming soon” signs for Veterans Boulevard might wonder if it will ever come to be.
Actually, secondary construction on the boulevard has begun. Scott Mozier, Fresno public works director, said the $139 million project — a six-lane, north-to-south slash from Herndon to Shaw, with a major interchange at Highway 99 in between — could fully open in 2023.

District 2 Candidates Asked About Traffic Problems

What do the candidates for the empty northwest Fresno seat on the city council say about the area’s traffic congestion? GV Wire put that question to three of the candidates at a recent forum. Jared Gordon, Mike Karbassi, and Oscar Sandoval are vying for the District 2 seat vacated by Steve Brandau, who is now on the Board of Supervisors.
Two candidates, Lawrence Garcia and George Herman, chose not to participate in the forum. A special election is scheduled for Aug. 13.
Mozier said the first phase of the Veterans Boulevard project is nearing completion: an extension of Bullard Avenue to the boulevard site. The $5.8 million phase was paid for with construction funds from the state high-speed rail project, which will pass under the boulevard.

Most of the funding is in place for the remaining phases of Veterans Boulevard, Mozier said. What remains is a $10.5 million gap, which he hopes will be filled with a federal BUILD transportation grant (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development).

Gordon: ‘We’re Going to Have to Be Creative’

Gordon said he has experienced the traffic jams along Herndon and Shaw avenues, near Highway 99, and avoids them when he can. He said he hoped the district could get a dose of federal money if Congress and the Trump administration ever agree on an infrastructure package.

Photo of Jared Gordon
Jared Gordon
The city also could use a fundraising tool created only three years ago, Gordon said. California allows cities to create enhanced infrastructure finance districts; cities can issue construction bonds for the district, then pay back the bonds with money from developer fees and other funding sources.
“What I think, in terms of potential solutions, is that we’re going to have to be creative,” Gordon said, adding that it is crucial to ease bottlenecks at Shaw and Polk avenues, and at Highway 99 and Herndon Avenue, even if Veterans Boulevard doesn’t come to pass.

Karbassi: Develop the Area Properly

Karbassi said he was confident Veterans Boulevard will be completed with federal funding — “and it’s our tax dollars, coming back to Fresno.” He also said northwest Fresno’s traffic issues extend well beyond the boulevard project.

Photo of Mike Karbassi
Mike Karbassi
Smartly managed development will generate the revenue need to put in sidewalks and bicycle paths that are in short supply in the district, Karbassi said. And he would look into more traffic controls to keep vehicles from speeding through neighborhoods.
“We want to be able to properly develop the grow the west area. A lot of these folks don’t have the infrastructure they need,” Karbassi said. “They don’t have the pedestrian pathways, the bike pathways, the bus routes they need. And it’s not going to happen unless we have growth.”

Sandoval: Look at Alternative Transportation

Photo of Oscar Sandoval
Oscar Sandoval
Sandoval said he lives in the high-traffic area – “I was stuck in traffic picking up my dry cleaning last night” – and would make the Veterans Boulevard a priority as a councilman. That said, he felt the city should re-double its efforts to make alternative transportation such as bicycling and riding a bus an easier choice.
“Unfortunately, if you don’t have a car you can’t get around,” Sandoval said. “So we need to make it so people can travel in multiple ways, whether we’re looking at expanding bus routes, or just creating more bike lanes or expanding the roads.”
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

DON'T MISS

Two Men Shot During Fight at Tulare Apartment Complex

DON'T MISS

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

US Navy Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field. Pilot ‘Safe’ After Ejecting

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nathaniel Smith

DON'T MISS

Judges Question Whether Trump Tariffs Are Authorized by Emergency Powers

DON'T MISS

US Treasury Chief Says He Expects Fed Chair Announcement by Year’s End

DON'T MISS

Fresno Illustrator Debuts as Author With Gamer’s ‘100 First Words’ Children’s Book

DON'T MISS

The Trump Presidency Takes a Better Turn

UP NEXT

Two Men Shot During Fight at Tulare Apartment Complex

UP NEXT

US Navy Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field. Pilot ‘Safe’ After Ejecting

UP NEXT

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nathaniel Smith

UP NEXT

Judges Question Whether Trump Tariffs Are Authorized by Emergency Powers

UP NEXT

US Treasury Chief Says He Expects Fed Chair Announcement by Year’s End

UP NEXT

The Trump Presidency Takes a Better Turn

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Killed in Hit-and-Run, Suspect Vehicle Located

UP NEXT

Wall Street Jumps as Microsoft Enters $4 Trillion Club After Results

UP NEXT

Community and Saint Agnes Named Among Best Regional Hospitals

US Navy Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field. Pilot ‘Safe’ After Ejecting

29 minutes ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nathaniel Smith

2 hours ago

Judges Question Whether Trump Tariffs Are Authorized by Emergency Powers

2 hours ago

US Treasury Chief Says He Expects Fed Chair Announcement by Year’s End

2 hours ago

Fresno Illustrator Debuts as Author With Gamer’s ‘100 First Words’ Children’s Book

2 hours ago

The Trump Presidency Takes a Better Turn

3 hours ago

Fresno Man Killed in Hit-and-Run, Suspect Vehicle Located

3 hours ago

Wall Street Jumps as Microsoft Enters $4 Trillion Club After Results

3 hours ago

Community and Saint Agnes Named Among Best Regional Hospitals

3 hours ago

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

Tuolumne Meadows Campground, Yosemite’s largest and highest-elevation campground, is set to reopen Friday, Aug. 1, according to the National...

18 minutes ago

18 minutes ago

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

21 minutes ago

Two Men Shot During Fight at Tulare Apartment Complex

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 11, 2025. (Reuters File)
27 minutes ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

F-35C U.S. Navy fighter jets in flight
29 minutes ago

US Navy Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field. Pilot ‘Safe’ After Ejecting

President Donald Trump speaks with Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, during the "Making Health Technology Great Again" event in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 30, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
2 hours ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

Nathaniel Smith is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 31, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nathaniel Smith

President Donald Trump speaks after signing the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 30, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
2 hours ago

Judges Question Whether Trump Tariffs Are Authorized by Emergency Powers

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a press conference at government quarters Rosenbad after the trade talks between the U.S. and China concluded, in Stockholm, Sweden, July 29, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Treasury Chief Says He Expects Fed Chair Announcement by Year’s End

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend