{"id":86949,"date":"2025-12-09T01:14:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T01:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/86949\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T01:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T01:14:12","slug":"central-fresnos-radio-park-to-get-10-million-makeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/86949\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Fresno’s Radio Park to get $10 million makeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s at stake?<\/p>\n

The improvements to Radio Park mark the latest investment in green space in a city that consistently ranks below most large cities in terms of park access and acreage. Many of the redesign elements were informed by neighborhood residents, city officials said.<\/p>\n

Claudia Readwright biked from her home near Shaw Avenue and the 99 freeway to central Fresno\u2019s Radio Park on a foggy Monday morning.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the miles traveled that made the trip special \u2014 even if it was \u201cquite a distance\u201d on her recumbent trike, Readwright said.<\/p>\n

What was special was the destination: The northwest Fresno resident rode over an hour to go watch the city launch long-awaited renovations to Radio Park.<\/p>\n

Officials announced the beginning of a $10.6 million renovation project for the park at the southwest corner of First Street and Clinton Avenue in a news conference Monday morning.<\/p>\n

The upgrade includes several new amenities for Radio Park: a splash pad for kids to cool off with in the summer, more trees and walking paths and a shaded amphitheater with a stage for performances.<\/p>\n

Several elements of the redesign draw directly from feedback across four community meetings hosted by Councilmember Nelson Esparza\u2019s team over the past few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents asked for safer pathways, updated play areas, better lighting and more open space for gatherings,\u201d Esparza said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to say that those improvements are at the very heart of this project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The renovation project received the bulk of its funding \u2014 to the tune of $6 million \u2014 from a state grant funded by Proposition 68, a California parks and water bond passed in 2018<\/a>. The city also allocated $4 million in park fees, $400,000 from the general fund and $300,000 from Measure P sales tax revenue toward the renovations, according to Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.<\/p>\n

This marks the latest investment<\/a> in green space<\/a> in a city that has consistently<\/a> ranked<\/a> near the bottom of the 100 largest U.S. cities in terms of park acreage and access.<\/p>\n

The city expects to complete renovations to Radio Park in early 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies who have lived in this neighborhood have gone without what so many in our community take for granted in a park: a safe, welcoming, vibrant green space, a place to recreate, to socialize and to create memories,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cEvery community deserves that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" City of Fresno officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a $10.6 million renovation project for central Fresno\u2019s Radio Park on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. Julianna Morano | Fresnoland<\/p>\n

What else is coming to Radio Park?<\/p>\n

Other new amenities coming to Radio Park include restrooms, drinking fountains and a shower station where kids can rinse off after using the splash pad.<\/p>\n

Aaron Aguirre, the city\u2019s parks director, added that a new inclusive play structure is also in the works for children with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Visitors can expect to see more art at the park in 2027, as the city will install platforms for future sculptures and \u201cdecorative art panels,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n

The park may even expand slightly beyond its approximate seven-and-a-half-acre campus<\/a>, though that depends on the city\u2019s negotiations with an adjacent property owner.<\/p>\n

Last summer, the city set its sights on acquiring the property where a convenience store<\/a> is currently located on the corner of the park\u2019s campus with the council voting to take steps toward obtaining it through eminent domain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the city is still working with the owner on that, Dyer said Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the present time, we do not have ownership of that (piece of property),\u201d Dyer said, \u201cbut we are working towards that,\u201d adding that the city believes the property is \u201cessential to this park.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Strong parks ultimately make strong neighborhoods\u2019<\/p>\n

The bike ride to Radio Park from her home in northwest Fresno isn\u2019t out of the ordinary for Readwright, who averages about 25 miles of cycling a day.<\/p>\n

She swung by the house of her friend, Susan Collins, near Fresno High en route to the park Monday. They rode up in their three-wheelers, decked out in Christmas lights and colorful flags from the Children\u2019s Electric Christmas Parade in Clovis<\/a> over the weekend.<\/p>\n

The friends cheered several of the cyclist-friendly renovations to the park, including the addition of restrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Clovis three-wheelers group, we go all over the place,\u201d said Collins, \u201ceven to Kingsburg and back. We\u2019re always looking for places that provide restroom stops for the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Claudia Readwright, left, and Susan Collins, right, rode their recumbent trikes several miles to hear city leaders announce renovations coming to central Fresno\u2019s Radio Park on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. Julianna Morano | Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Readwright, who used to work at Birney Elementary down the street from Radio Park, said she\u2019s also pleased the students will soon have a nicer place to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose kids at Birney, there\u2019s not really a lot around that school. So they play in their backyards,\u201d she said \u2014 and unless they\u2019re good at \u201cscaling the fence\u201d around the school that gets locked routinely, there\u2019s not many options of where to hang out.<\/p>\n

Esparza said that\u2019s part of the vision for parks like this one \u2014 as \u201cnot just green spaces,\u201d but places \u201cwhere kids grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStrong parks ultimately make strong neighborhoods,\u201d he said, \u201cand strong neighborhoods make a stronger Fresno.\u201d<\/p>\n

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