Long-stalled plan would give more access to Fresno's San Joaquin River. Will it happen?
Construction on a long-stalled, $13 million project that would make recreation along the San Joaquin River more accessible to cars and foot traffic is scheduled to begin later this year, Fresno officials said Tuesday.
The river, a public space, is considered a potential economic driver for the Fresno area that could improve residents quality of life and draw more visitors. But many properties in the San Joaquin River Parkway, a collection of public green spaces planned to stretch from Friant Dam to Highway 99, remain either closed to the general public or difficult to access by vehicle or even on foot.
One access-enhancing project known as River West promises to one day add three new access points along the river just west of Highway 41 in Fresno, an area already popular with joggers and fisherman that has long needed improvements.
“River West Fresno ... is scheduled to go to construction this fall,” said Kari Daniska, executive director of the San Joaquin River Conservancy, which is the public agency tasked with creating the river parkway.
She joined Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi, whose district runs along the river, and U.S. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, who secured $2 million to help improve access to the river.
The 508-acre River West area has been public land since the conservancy bought it in 2003 and conceptual plans to improve access to the river there were drafted in 2004. But the plan was tied up in litigation from nearby river bluff homeowners and politics on the conservancy’s board.
Karbassi said the construction that will begin this year will cover the $13 million “core project,” which includes only one of the three planned vehicle access points.
He said construction on the core project could span 18 months.
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What will $2M for San Joaquin River be used for?
Costa said the $2 million he secured, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be used to extend the Eaton Trail but will also create entry points accessible to people with disabilities.
Daniska, the conservancy’s executive director, said the agency is also going to identify which other projects need more money.
She mentioned opening Camp Pashayan to the public is “one of the conservancy’s priorities.”
Camp Pashayan, about 40 acres on the river just east of Highway 99, has been used as an educational and recreational space for youth in recent years. It remains closed to the general public, though there are plans to connect it to the Milburn Overlook area via a trail.