Fresno Park & Ride Plan Pushed
01/20/2007
Fresno City Council Member Larry Westerlund is pitching a plan to build Park and Ride lots he says will help reduce the area's air pollution and traffic congestion.
Westerlund will ask his City Council colleagues Tuesday to vote to support a partnership with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District to design and build a series of Park and Ride lots in Fresno.
There are no Park and Ride spots in Fresno — the biggest city in the San Joaquin Valley in one of the smoggiest air basins in the country.
"We don't do enough to encourage people to get out of their cars," Westerlund said.
He suggests Fresno's first such lot be paved near Herndon Avenue and Golden State Boulevard, where plenty of commuters already meet to car pool. Vehicles regularly line the dirt shoulder at Golden State.
The land is owned by Union Pacific Railroad, and Westerlund said he's begun talking with the railroad about leasing it to the city.
"This one's pretty much a no-brainer," Westerlund said of the need to install some light poles, a fence and parking stalls along a swatch beside Golden State for car poolers.
Added Judy Case, a Fresno County supervisor and member of the air pollution control board: "It's obvious, because you already have a bunch of people parking here. So a lot of people already think this would be a great site."
It would cost about $400,000 to build a Park and Ride on that site, said Seyed Sadredin, executive director of the air pollution control district.
He said the district could help with the cost of facilities — it has grants that would pay up to $150,000 for each lot — and would gladly work with Fresno on the project.
"Car pooling is something we want to encourage and invest money in," Sadredin said.
Westerlund said Fresno's Redevelopment Agency also could contribute some money, and the city could find funds in its budget.
In addition to the intersection at Herndon and Golden State, Westerlund suggested Park and Ride lots be considered at several other places:
Highway 99 and Clovis Avenue for commuters traveling to Visalia.
Jensen and Locan avenues for people traveling to Sanger and other cities east of Fresno.
Highway 41 and American Avenue for people car pooling to Hanford.