Revitalize Ventura/Kings Canyon was a community led project to plan for improving how people live, work and shop along Ventura Avenue and Kings Canyon Road in Southeast Fresno. The Ventura/Kings Canyon Corridor Complete Streets Plan was finalized in February 2015. The Plan includes a summary of the community input process, provides recommendations for the corridor, and identifies funding sources and an Action Plan to implement the recommended improvements. Click here to download it.
The Fresno Council of Governments and community partners held the first community workshop for the project in September 2014. Click here for a summary of the workshop.
A community workshop was held on January 21, 2015 at the Fresno Fairgrounds to show the improvements recommended in the draft Ventura/Kings Canyon Complete Streets Plan and to get community feedback. Over 65 people attended this workshop and two focus groups earlier in the week.Click here for the summary of feedback.
Click here for more information: in English, Spanish, Hmong
The Better Block Demonstration Project was held November 14 – 15, 2014.
Ventura Avenue was transformed for a day at the Better Block Fresno Demonstration Event
The Fresno Council of Governments, consultants, and community partners held a demonstration project on Saturday, November 15th and transformed the block of Ventura Avenue between Orange Avenue and Seventh Street. The purpose of the event was to demonstrate how the busy corridor could be made safer and more walkable with trees and landscaping, outdoor seating, a community market, and pedestrian amenities, including a highly visible pedestrian crosswalk and sidewalk bulb-outs. The festivities included performances by the Roosevelt High School Mariachi Band, a classic car show, and an outdoor market and sidewalk sale with local businesses.
(Above) Ventura Avenue BEFORE
(Above) Crosswalk BEFORE
(Above)Ventura Avenue looking West BEFORE
(Above) Parking Lot BEFORE
(Above) Ventura Avenue AFTER
(Above) Crosswalk AFTER
(Above) Ventura Avenue looking West AFTER
(Above) Parking Lot AFTER
The street improvements were temporary to show what is possible and lasted from 10 am – 1 pm on Saturday. All travel lanes remained open during the event, and many community members came out on foot and remarked how necessary pedestrian improvements are along the corridor. The community was asked to provide their feedback about Saturday’s event. Over 30 surveys were submitted and will be used to develop the streetscape plan for the entire corridor, due out in January 2015.
On Friday night community members and students from Fresno State and Roosevelt High School volunteered their time to prepare for the event and built sidewalk furniture, created vibrant crosswalk striping, and “parklets” − little parks for gathering and sitting that fit into one parallel parking space.
(Above) Better Block′s Information Hub
(Above) Highly Visible Crosswalk Improvements
(Above) Roosevelt High School Mariachi Band
(Above) Highly Visible Crosswalk Improvements
The project would not have been possible without the generous help of Roberto Moreno, manager of the Metro/PCS store on Ventura Avenue and Lonnie Castillo, owner of Castillo’s Mexican Restaurant who each provided use of their parking lots, Gloria’s Party Supplies who provided piñatas, Todd Runberg, who provided sculptures, landscape architect Terry Broussard of Broussard Associates who provided the planting plan, John Valentino of Tree Fresno, who provided all of the landscaping for the day, and the many other local businesses who participated.
This was the second community event for the project funded through an Environmental Justice Grant from Caltrans. The community-led project aims to improve how people live, work and shop along Ventura Avenue and Kings Canyon Road between First Street and Peach Avenue. Fresno Council of Governments selected PlaceWorks, one of the premier planning, design and environmental firms in California to lead the project along with transportation engineers, Fehr & Peers and the renowned Team Better Block out of Dallas, Texas, as well as five local, knowledgeable firms and organizations who worked to make the event a success, including Sigala Inc., Centro La Familia, Ventura Kings Canyon Merchants Association, Fresno Center for New Americans, and Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association.