What makes a community thrive?
It’s the roads people take each day to school, work, and the doctor’s office.
Truly, something as simple as a road can have a far-reaching impact on a person’s life.
Which is why a group of citizens and leaders throughout Fresno County got together to create change.
They’ve held forums, answered surveys, and shared input in all communities throughout the county with the shared goal of investing in and protecting our transportation future.
On Wednesday, they unveiled their vision.
We are moving forward together with a plan use local funding to fix what matters most – fixing our local roads, more and better transit, good jobs for future generations, and keeping our kids safe, and we’re doing this without raising taxes.
Since 1986, when voters approved Measure C, funding has been set aside for roads and public transportation, but Mayor Jerry Dyer says more money was needed for local streets as our county grew, and rural communities were often forgotten.
…and nothing much was done to address them. It is sad to see kids walking without sidewalks to school, and you have semis, cars, and trucks going 55 mph driving through the community of Cantua. Very unsafe.
Here’s the plan for a new transportation measure for the November ballot.
And, it clearly states where money would be allocated:
65% of this initiative, nearly $5 billion, will go to fix local streets, filling potholes and more. That’s nearly double the allocation from the current measure c.25%, nearly $2 billion, will go toward public transportation. That is about the same currently allocated.5%, or $370 million, will be allocated for regional connectivity, improving travel between communities and critical connections east to west and north to south.4%, or $296 million, will go toward transportation innovation, thinking about what we’ll need in the years to come as our county continues to grow and patterns change.1%, or $74 million, goes to administrative costs and oversight compliance. This is to make sure all communities’ needs are met and successfully connected.
That leads to our accountability question tonight.
With this measure headed to the November ballot, what will happen to Measure C?
We know the Council of Governments voted last week to discontinue activity on Measure C efforts.
So, we specifically asked, “Why is the Fresno Council of Governments no longer pushing their own Measure C?”
Here’s the answer we received:
This action was in response to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors declining to place the expenditure plan on its agenda for approval in January, which was the council of government board’s specific direction when it approved the plan in December. The vote effectively ends the government-led effort to renew Measure C. Going forward, any countywide transportation initiative that would appear on the November 2026 ballot would have to come from a third party.Comment with Bubbles
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
. . .