What we need to do is go to city hall at the time they do their monthly gathering and speak our minds about the lack of support for public transportation. If people create a movement and also base your vote on leaders that work for you instead of for themselves then maybe a change for the better may happen.
The Fresno Bee reported that $750,000 a month comes to public transportation and their looking to put the internet on the bus instead of expanding their hours.

There are some good ideas in this thread.

40,000 people enter downtown every day to work, and then by 6pm, it is a ghost town. So obviously, getting more people to live downtown would be a major jump start, but not the solution. Tax incentives not just for business but also for residential/retail developers would be nice. Read my post fresnofamous.com/forum/possible_commerce_boom

There needs to be more attractions downtown. Things that aren't already all over the city. How come the Aquarium isnt going to be built downtown??? And Granite Park would've been perfect there.

Slow down on the single and double story building. When someone comes in and wants to build another high-rise or even a skyscraper, people wont want to demolish their brand new buildings so there won't be any room left to build, leaving developers no choice but to take their business to another city, cuz we know that the city gov't wouldn't allow a highrise to be built outside of DT, which is rediculous.

But, without a constant amount of people there 24/7, retail, resturaunts, and or movie theatres would fail misserably.

Crime in downtown isn't all that bad. I think the actual size of downtown accounts for about 8-10% of the entire size of Fresno (mind you DT goes beyond the freeway triangle) yet only just a little over 1% of the city's crime happens there. Most of which are non-violent.

And statistically, downtowns that try to appeal more towards "hipsters," dont do so well. A lot of big city downtowns are flourishing because of an influx of new and/or small families. Fresno should take note of this.

-Chris

"Just imagine, for a moment, if we Leftists outlawed YOUR favorite vices, such as cheap beer, filterless cigarettes, ground beef, VHS porn and old pickup trucks."

Why do these people that defend the drugies, drunks and terrorist gangs try to portray them as "addictions" and as "homeless" to defend them?

Are you saying all homeless are druggies, drunks, and terrorist gangsters?

We should enable their criminal lifestyle because they are poor?

Jesus never said anything about enabling immoral and illegal lifestyles.

They just want to do drugs and drink all day while someone supports them.

Most true homeless and poor are not drunks and druggies.

But your drunks and drugies play games and expect everyone to feel sorry for them.

It's not working.

Fresno is tired of the criminals roaming the City.

And who are you calling old?

You don't even know me.

There will a major change in attitude about homelessness and poor people by next year when millions of middle class Americans may be homeless. If home values continue to fall past the currently estimated 20% devaluation people will be living in the streets and in refugee camps by the 2010. Our banks are going broke and selling themselves to the Chinese and the Arabian Banks as I write this so the upper classes will do just fine. The only question is where and when will the recovery arrive and how do we keep people alive in the meantime.

If America doesn't play this out correctly our dominance of the global marketplace will cease as the new bosses take over.

There but for fortune.

Even a knee-jerk conservative like you, Orangie-pooh, has to admit that there is a direct link between the conservative-driven drug war and the hopelessness of drug addiction.

Why, there are profits to be made!

By criminalizing the health issue known as drug addiction, right wingers guarantee those profits.

Of course, many millions more lives, careers and families are destroyed by being put in jail than actual drug use, but, hey, what the heck, right?

Gotta make that money for fancy new police patrol cars, helicopters, night vision goggles, state of the art weapons and, of course, new prisons!

Just imagine, for a moment, if we Leftists outlawed YOUR favorite vices, such as cheap beer, filterless cigarettes, ground beef, VHS porn and old pickup trucks.

See how long you'd stay out of jail, old man.

Why do all the vagrant/street people try to mask themselves with the mantle of "Poor and Homeless?

They are not poor.

Poor when their drug habit is more then a monthly house housepayment?

Obviously they are not poor if they can find drug or beer money to support their high.

They are homeless by choice.

Hell.

Is that the name of the Drug City around the Poverello House and Rescue Mission?

Where a certain Pastor was on the local tv news acussing certain "groups" of City employees of being envolved in and protecting the drug trade.

Your real poor and homeless won't go near the Drug City area because it's not safe for them.

But "Your attacking the poor!" seems to the latest defense of street druggies, drunks, prostitues and now terrorist gangs.

Poor where thousands of dollars flow daily through the streets of Drug City.

But anyone against crime is attacking the poor and homeless.

The Poverello and Rescue Mission contribute to this by helping enable them and allow them to use the place as a cover and an excuse.

Dealing thousands a day but use the Poverello or Mission as their address to seem poor and homeless.

Dear Orange Bear,

I don't think you're very "Christian," considering the venom you spew about Fresno's poor and/or homeless.

In fact, I think Jesus has a special place in Hell just for people like you.

They can install accordian type folding gates behind the backdoor.

After a certain time "8 pm" the driver could lock up the back of the bus.

Riders could still get of out the back door.

This way everyone sits in front and can be easily seen by the driver and on camera.

This way it makes the bus safer and you don't have criminals loitering on the bus.

Plus if you run it 24/7 you dont want the street people that get free bus passes staying on the bus all night.

They will sit back there and drink beer because the bus would be a warm place on cold nights.

You have this happen now and drivers have to deal with drunks on the city buses.

Blondie,you walk from Villa Borgota to City Hall?
Its a 2 or 3 block walk.
I bet you even walk in the back door of City Hall.
Mayor Bubba like the Ethiopian Communist Dictaor won't let the street people roam around near City Hall.
Plus there is no place around that area for street people to hang out or camp.
They can't get into and roam or steal from places like your gated "Villa".
Try walking the Fulton Mall from the Swap Mall on Inyo all the way down to Long's.
Some street person will ask you for change in every block.
The other day I went into Long's there was one counting out his nickles and dimes to pay for his beer .
Then when I walked out he was outside the door asking for money.
Typical.

I take a short little 7 minute walk to work every morning downtown, from Villa Borgata to City Hall. I walk by empty warehouses in the evening which is not as scary as it sounds. In the 4ish months that I have walked this route, I have yet to be approached by anyone. Granted, I probably look as though I could tackle anyone (5 foot 7 with a head full of blonde hair) with a purse/bag the size of Texas (I will justify my purse size to anyone, even the guy at In-N-Out who made fun of it last month) but I really consider walking in downtown to be quite mild and would recommend it to anyone.

Granted, if I lived at Vagabond, I would probably bike to work, being that it would be a much longer route and I'm sure I would be bound to run into some trouble.

If we all walked around DT more, everyone would feel safer, as there would be more eyes on the street....

Also if you run buses late seperate the back of the bus.

Have it where the back can be blocked off at night this way everyone has to sit up front instead of going to the back.

How about an orange or blue light at stops so peole know its a bus stop?

The bus shelters are lit but you can't see people walking up.

That's why saftey is a big concern about people going downtown.

Also make the bus shelters at the Court House and Manchester "No Smoking".

San Francisco's transportation system works because there is an alternative to the automobile. The transportation infrastructure in San Francisco was built in the late 1800s and was never removed as it was here in Fresno in the 1930s. The Muni System has more than an extensive bus system; it includes Cable Cars, StreetCars, Light Rail and BART.

Fresno needs a transportation system that is built for its low density urban environment. The www.centraltransit.com system is designed to work for Fresno. The project needs to gain local support and can work without raising taxes from government subsidies.

It would be ok if on major routes they came every hour between 10 pm and 6 am.

People would be more willing to go out and would spend more.

Also people could work more hours.

There neeeds to be major changes though.

Drivers should be in an enclosed area for safty.

There should be door on driver side so they can get out if they have to.

FAX needs to ban bags of empty bottles and cans.

You get people holding up buses while they load 15 black trash bags heading to go recycle on the bus.

The bags drip all over and fill the seats.

Its a bus not a garbage truck.

Also if you run buses late seperate the back of the bus.

Have it where the back can be blocked off at night this way everyone has to sit up front instead of going to the back.

Also better lighting at bus stops.

Take the ads off so people can see out of windows at night too.

How about an orange or blue light at stops so peole know its a bus stop?

You want people coming downtown put better lighting in Court House Park.

The bus shelters are lit but you can't see people walking up.

That's why saftey is a big concern about people going downtown.

Also make the bus shelters at the Court House and Manchester "No Smoking".

What Fresno needs is to have it's buses run till at least 2AM; Fresno Area Express needs to take some ideas from San Francisco Muni bus system. Maybe we should all start emailing our city leaders these comments of change; who knows maybe they just might get the message.

that's pretty low, what part of DT? what are the boundaries used?

according to
Fresno Statistics and Demographics (US Census 2000)
Fresno City, California Statistics
Subject Number Percent
Total Population: 427,652 100.0 %
http://www.explorefresno.com/demographics.html

where did you get your stats?

First off:
Get a bicycle.
(Right now, in fact, because the market is a bit 'soft,' you can get some pretty cool bikes for under 400.00 (many around 200.00,) -(new-
-and Craigslist has many bikes on sale all the time. (those could be found for usually 100. or so.

There is a bike that has just come out by columbia called a Pathway (carried by both Sports Authority Stores here in Fresno,) that lists at Three and a half, -but it has 21 speeds, full fenders, and a pretty decent 'book rack,' that it comes with, (most bikes these days you have to buy extra fenders and a bookrack, -and that will set you back upwards of Sixty bucks..
-if it goes on sale, I'm predicting that the college kids are going to snap them up like crazy... (It's actually a pretty decent bike, looks great, and won't really 'need anything,' to be employed as a decent commuter right off the floor. -I like that it's also a package deal and has all that you need.

Get a good lock.
-Though, honestly if somebody wants anything? It's just a matter of slowing them down a bit,(when it comes to theft,) -and they're either gonna steal it, -or move on to something easier to take, ---but a good lock and cable or chain, (or U lock,) will make it less easy.

Get a helmet (they run between 30 to 80 bucks depending upon where you buy them.

Get lights (white blinkies work best (for the front,) rear red blinkies are standard, -most come with batteries already, and a decent 'bargain basement,' pair will run you between 15 to 40 dollars, -depending upon how chi-chi you want to go,(and if you're a Wal*Mart person or not.)
-wear some brighter or more reflective clothing as you ride.

get a very loud whistle (rubber tipped for your mouth,) or one of those little aerosol horns.
-When somebody is looking to come after you, they are usually trying to focus, AND are a bit 'on edge,' -a sudden sound can stop them for a moment or two, and throw them off for a second, -again, enough time to get away.

The whole 'lights-helmet-visible clothing,' thing has a lot of advantages:
-First off people can see you and you're less likely to get run over by cars and such (and this is a stupid town when it comes to traffic, ---follow the rules and such, -but realize that you are on your own when it comes to your safety,)
-Second? When cops see you with lights, a helmet and reflective clothing on? They know your're serious about safety and are more than likely 'law abiding.'
-There are tickets given for 'no lights,' (I was last hearing 150.00,) and it' a lot cheaper to have a good set of lights, (and safer,) than getting a 150.00 invitation to the policeman's ball.
-Also, (such as in my area,) a lot of the drug and money runners use bikes and backbacks with no lights, helmets, and such, ---and the cops know this.
-So having an obvious '...hey, look, I'm a cyclist,' immediately puts you in a different catagory from 'the other guy,' -who is more likely to get stopped, fined, and have his napsack searched.
It just means that you are taking what you are doing seriously, -and they will take you seriously in turn.

Get a small aerosol can of pepper spray. (they make them to fit on keyrings, etc...)
-(They can be bought at sporting goods stores as well.)

This stuff is NASTY, treat it with respect, and know how to use it, (be upwind, dont' accidently spray yourself, etc...)

-Though I am not an advocate of injuring others, if you have somebody who is looking to do you harm, the first goal is to put as much distance between you and they as possible, -and if you spray a patch of pepper in the air, it will give you maybe a few feet extra advantage.
-If you can? (and it's amazing how resourceful folks are,) have a cel phone that will snap a photo, (once you're headed away,) -at least the police will have something to go on in terms of who your would-be assailant looks like. (Chances are, you are not going to be the first person they are looking to rob.)

Now, understand, if you go spraying somebody who was attacking you? They're not going to like you anymore.
They will probably flip the script and start saying '...man, all I was going to do was rob you, and I didn't mean, it, why did you do that to me?' (kind of like how drunk drivers are being 'picked on,' by the cops.)
--Use this stuff as a last resort, ---as you're going to be doing it on somebody who
a.) probably knows where you live, and
b.) probably doesn't live far from you.
(Yes, good fences make good neighbors, a good 'macing,' makes for very strained neighbor relations just as much.)

Sticking to well lit roads, and knowing alternate routes to your house is also excellent,

you also may want to look into one of those pendants (that are advertised for old folks, 'I've fallen and I can't get up,' etc..)
-but basically any kind of device that, if you hit a button, there is a distress signal sent, -along with some way of getting your coordinates to emergency services. (They've been developing this, -most people don't realize that if they have any sort of GPS on their cel, -that their signal can be used to find them, (a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.)

Don't travel with a lot of cash or valuables (chains, serious bling, etc.) that somebody who's looking to rob you may want, (dress down,)

Though you should always know where folks are when they are approaching you, (or around you,) unless you want to engage them, don't make eyecontact. (Why do you think NewYorkers are considered 'not friendly?'
-When commuting, a great deal of privacy is afforded and demanded by not being so 'open,' in your carriage when faced with tons of folks.
--It also has been a long standing fact, that, when using public transportation, wearing a set of headphone (IPod, whatever,) ---even if they are not on or plugged into anything, wards off uninvited attention, (robbing somebody is all about doing such as quickly and as quietly as possible, -if you can't get somebody's attention, you have to make a bigger scene... Not prefferable.

Travel with others. (yep, safety in numbers.)

If you see a big bunch of folks 'just hanging out,' (such as kids or something,) -and it's late or at night or whatever... be aware of what they're doing, and honestly, avoid them.
-they're probably 'just kids,' ---but kids sometimes do stupid things when they're hanging out, (sometimes just on a dare,) and it could be a problem.
(Sometimes, on a bike, folks take you as more of an accessable moving target than just a regular pedestrian or someone in a car.

Follow your gut on this.

Seriously?
Get to know your friendly neighborhood police officers.
(Yes, they are actually friendly, -and most often like it when 'good folks,' (and everybody starts out 'good, in their eyes, -not all remain such, but anyway,)
-are moving into an area, -it means the neighborhood is being secured more by stability and folks who care.
--Introduce yourself to the cops, (stop by the office sometime,) and tell them, '...Hi, I'm so and so, I'm just moving into the area, want to commute by walking or riding a bike or whatever, ---do you think it's a good idea? Where would you recommend travelling, -when is a good time and (when is NOT) a good time to be in whatever areas?'
-This does two things.
-introduces you to them, (so they'll remember you and appreciate your acknowledging their knowledge of the area,)
-it will tell you the real Paul Harvey on what goes on and where, (they may say something like, '...well, avoid this or that area after such and such an hour, it can get dicey, -but if you stick to here or here, you should be fine.'
-They know the neighborhoods that they're assigned to, -and the people, It's their job...

Stagger your work hours (if possible,) to hours where there are more people around,
-and do your business (banking and such,) NOT around a bunch of folks who could be
a.) observing you
b.) regulars observing you
c.) could go from 'got a match, got the time, got a dollar, to 'gimme yer dough.'

When you're dealing with someone who is decent, but 'down on their luck,'
-yeah, you have no real fears, (they're just regular folks,)
-but if you're dealing with someone who is struggling with an addiction (who is strung out or is loaded,) you are dealing with something else,
-and the 'need,' will outweigh all common sense.

-Problem is,
you don't know whether somebody is simply having a rough couple of months or years, (or life,) and if that includes such out of control personal problems that mean robbing somebody.

-No sense taking the risk when you're by yourself.
-Particularly if you are of the female persuasion or not of a very large stature, and/or does not present much of a challange/menacing demeanor if need be.

-Why say this?
Well, Disneyland is several hours south of here, and quite frankly, there are common behaviors that tend to ring true.

Kids, women, individuals walking alone, the elderly, and the like,
-are often thought of more quickly as easy hits for crime. (This is not to say that men, groups, and larger folks don't get targeted too,
-it's just that crime is about the path of least resistance,
-and some folks are seen as more accessable than others.
-Being aware of this does not mean that you agree with the mindset,
-but it does mean that you are aware of how others can and often think.

Now...
If you do a lot of 'online shopping,' or have nice stuff.
-Ya know what?
Don't have it delivered to your house.

-(If you have nice stuff that can be swiped?
store it when you're not home, \
-don't put it near windows,
-make sure you have a dwelling that isn't easy to break into, (get an alarm system,) etc.

-What folks don't realize is: A display of 'anything,' by any other name is basically advertising.
If you've got regular deliveries, and boxes that have some serious '..they don't shop at goodwill...' names,
folks will notice,
(same deal with furniture and stuff.)
People are aware of who's in the neighborhood, and (usually,) are all up in each other's business,
-it's just human nature,
---and the Jonses who are looking to keep up with you are getting the info the same way:
-you're showing them, (or telling them.)
-Be aware of that.

Same Idea: Dont' leave anything really valuable in your car, (especially in plain view.)
-Somebody seeing something that they want will think nothing of smashing a window to get it. (I knew of somebody who had a towel (a towel...) stolen out of their car, and the thief broke a window to get it.)

Finally?
See stuff for what it is.
Just 'stuff.'
Sometimes the convenience of living among a lot of other people, (where your life is more public,) means that you really should 'play it down.' -It doesn't mean that you should not have what you need, -but a low profile never hurts.
(I've found the truth of this in both constraints:
-living (currently,) surrounded by a lot of folks (not all of them the most law abiding types, (there are a lot of freelance pharmaceutical sales on my block,)

--to living out in the middle of nowhere, where I had like, NO neighbors, but would find that folks had come to my house and 'checked the place out,' (externally,) -which meant everything from a coupld of things missing, to lunch garbage left, -to finding gum under my deck-chairs,(not my gum,) -but I lived on a waterway frequented by fishermen.

---One of the best things I did, however, was to create fictitious 'alarm company,' stickers and set up the place (not so much with 'warning,' stickers, -but the kind that would be used (tracking numbers, house numbers, account contact numbers, (etc.) ---all fictitious, ---but nobody else knew that.
(Funny thing was, around town? Folks thought I had an alarm system. ;)

Back to the main point?

Take a self-defence course.
(This may sound odd, but honestly? If you've never lived in an urban environment, you could learn a few things, (besides, who doesn't want to learn?)

If something is possibly 'happpening,'
-just get out of there as quietly and as quickly as possible.
-If somebody wants your money?
Ya know what?
It's only money.

Most of the (age 30's and up,) felons and (former,) felons I used to work with were really clear about it,
if they were holding you up?, they just wanted your stuff, -you gave them what they wanted? You held your end of the deal, and they held up theirs by leaving you alone, and getting the hell out of there.
(-This is no guarantee, however, as one (former robber,) happened to go to an ATM, get his money, was counting it, and he got robbed, (he admitted counting the money while walking was stupid,)
---but they also cut him up with a box-cutter pretty bad too, ---that shocked even him. (There's not much in the way of manners even among thugs anymore, unfortunately.)

It's kind of rare that there will be any sort of excess physical interraction, usually they just want money.

Most important thing is that you and your loved ones are safe.

(Everything else is just stuff.)

I'm moving downtown. Hooray? :) I also work there. I think it's beautiful, it just needs a little outside help. I think it is only unforutnate that I cannot walk to work, four blocks away, for fear of the bodies that inhabit the streets late at night.

But I also intend to do something about it. I'll be damned if I have to drive my car four blocks every night to get to work when I could just as easily (but not safely) walk there.

...who's being counted.

-s

Actually less than 1% of Fresno's population lives downtown

...a lot of people already live downtown.

-s

The idea that people need to live downtown to make it vibrant is misguided. Go to San Francisco, or Chicago, or New York and you will see that very few people actually live in their "downtown" areas. Downtown will not get better until the professional businesses return - the ones that left 20 years ago and moved to Fig Garden or Riverpark. I'm talking about banks and law firms like McCormick Barstow. You cannot overstate the impact that these large organizations have on an area. People will spend lots of money getting the services near their work - things such as drugstores, restaurants, banks, etc. Yes, even art studios would have a better chance of surviving if they were located next to people with money. Moreover, people are much more likely to go downtown after work if they are already there. Only if these large, local business firms return downtown will it ever be revitalized.

I challenge anyone to name a single downtown district in the United States that thrives solely because artist call it home or because people live there. To the extent that people live downtown in other major urban areas, it is because downtown is close to work. Rarely will you find someone who lives downtown and then commutes out to the suburbs. It simply doesn't make economic sense to live that way.

All of the other issues related to downtown are directly tied to the loss of business firms from downtow and they will only be resolved if those firms are drawn back downtown.

Now, how do you draw the business back? Tax incentives. Pure and simple. Make downtown so attractive that firms can't afford to pass it up. The retail and residential will follow the commercial.