Measure C 'miscommunicated' where Fresno's $22M trail was going to go

NOTE: The video successful this communicative is from an earlier report.

The occupation is simply a quarter-mile portion of onshore with a railroad connected it, extending northbound of Shields Avenue astatine Clovis Avenue, adjacent Fresno Yosemite International Airport. That conception of railroad-owned onshore blocks immoderate imaginable nexus betwixt the 2 trails, presently forcing the Midtown Trail to halt astatine a state presumption astatine Shields Avenue and Clovis Avenue, alternatively of it connecting to the extremity of the Old Town Trail.

The City of Fresno is liable for gathering the Midtown Trail, with immoderate of the wealth for it coming from Measure C arsenic good arsenic different backing sources. Fresno metropolis officials person told YourCentralValley.com that they person been trying "since the aboriginal 2010s" to acquisition the onshore that separates Fresno's Midtown Trail and Clovis' Old Town Trail with nary success.

However, Measure C continued to advertise that the 2 trails would beryllium connected.

Measure C, a half-cent income taxation first approved by Fresno County voters successful 1986, is intended to money proscription projects wrong Fresno County. The Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) is the bureau liable for overseeing the implementation of Measure C.

Posts connected Measure C's social media successful March 2024 and as precocious arsenic October 2024 authorities that the 2 trails volition beryllium linked together. An Instagram station encouraging a "yes" ballot connected Measure C also repeated the aforesaid claim. The assertion has adjacent been published successful authoritative documents, with the excerpt beneath coming from the Measure C Annual Report 2021 - 2023. On leafage 33 of the report, it describes the Midtown Trail arsenic "part of an municipality way network, including and connecting the Old Town Trail from the City of Clovis."

In a connection to YourCentralValley.com earlier this month, Measure C admitted that they "miscommunicated the presumption of the Midtown Trail and the connection with Clovis’ Old Town Trail." Without that connection, the Midtown Trail links Manchester Center with the Valero state presumption astatine Clovis Avenue and Shields Avenue.

You are correct, FCTA miscommunicated the presumption of the Midtown Trail and the transportation with Clovis’ Old Town Trail.

In a statement, the City of Clovis (which manages Clovis' Old Town Trail) tells YourCentralValley.com that it remains afloat supportive of the City of Fresno's plan, assisting the task wherever able.

"Efforts similar these contiguous unsocial challenges and tin instrumentality time, but erstwhile complete, this task volition supply a safe, convenient transportation that volition payment residents of some cities and heighten our corporate progressive proscription network," writes the City of Clovis' Taylor Danielson.

Despite the quarter-mile conception of railroad-owned onshore that stops the 2 trails connecting, it is inactive imaginable that the task could beryllium completed arsenic advertised. When YourCentralValley.com reached retired to the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (which owns the conception of onshore betwixt the 2 trails with the railroad connected it), spokesperson Tom Ciuba said the railroad "would beryllium consenting to beryllium down with funny parties" to spot if the railroad could accommodate it - but added that the railroad has not yet been approached astir a imaginable purchase.

San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR) absorption is not alert of this circumstantial effort. The squad would beryllium consenting to beryllium down with funny parties to perceive astir the program and measure whether SJVR could accommodate that plan.

Meanwhile, the City of Fresno's Sontaya Rose says Fresno is exploring different methods to link the 2 trails, adding that they person "pursued State assistance backing for a antithetic alternate to link the 2 trails with a way underpass, but frankincense acold the assistance applications for this conception person not been successful."

The way transportation remains a portion of the City’s adopted General Plan and the Active Transportation Plan. The City volition proceed to show and prosecute Federal and State assistance opportunities to adjacent this spread successful the determination way system.

Officials with the City of Fresno besides archer YourCentralValley.com that they are continuing enactment connected simply acquiring the onshore to yet link the Midtown Trail to the Old Town Trail.

Meanwhile, the Fresno County Transportation Authority, the bureau liable for overseeing the implementation of Measure C, says they are coordinating with the City of Fresno and volition supply an updated presumption regarding the existent and aboriginal plans for the Midtown Trail.