FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Anyone who drives through Fresno has likely experienced it, potholes, cracks and uneven pavement that can turn a routine commute into a bumpy ride.<\/p>\n
Now, a proposed ballot measure backed by Fresno city leaders aims to address decades of road deterioration without increasing taxes.<\/p>\n
The proposal, known as “Better Roads, Safe Streets,” would continue an existing half-cent sales tax currently collected through Measure C but redirect how some of that money is spent across Fresno County.<\/p>\n
Supporters say the change would provide a major boost to road repair projects that have fallen behind for years.<\/p>\n
“This measure is simply putting local road tax dollars to fix local roads,” Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said.<\/p>\n
For many residents, road conditions remain a daily frustration.<\/p>\n
“You can be driving and then boom, you hear a huge sound from the car coming up the road,” said Albert Maza Espinoza, who lives in southeast Fresno.<\/p>\n
Others say the aging pavement has continued to deteriorate despite years of complaints.<\/p>\n
City leaders argue the need for repairs has reached a critical point. <\/p>\n
Mayor Jerry Dyer said Fresno currently faces about $1.2 billion in deferred road maintenance, along with another $300 million in deferred sidewalk repairs.<\/p>\n
According to Dyer, the measure would provide an average of $75 million annually to the city of Fresno specifically for road improvements.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Tyler Maxwell said many neighborhoods have waited generations for infrastructure upgrades.<\/p>\n
“All their life, people have seen their streets go unpaved, their sidewalks go unrepaired and their neighborhoods fall into disrepair,” Maxwell said.<\/p>\n
The proposal’s future remains uncertain.<\/p>\n
Supporters recently submitted signatures in an effort to qualify the measure for the November ballot. However, the Fresno County Registrar of Voters reported finding duplicate signatures during the review process.<\/p>\n
Mayor Dyer said city officials plan to work with county leaders to determine whether the measure can still move forward and appear before voters this fall.<\/p>\n
If approved, supporters say the measure could help address some of Fresno’s most persistent road problems while keeping the current tax rate unchanged.<\/p>\n
How would you rate the condition of roads in your area?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Anyone who drives through Fresno has likely experienced it, potholes, cracks and uneven pavement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-366754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}