Revitalizing Downtown Lindsay | ABC30 Fresno

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By ABC30

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Lindsay, CA Each intersection that the city is renovating will have eight palm trees, plus wider sidewalks, flowers and park benches.

City officials hope the project will bring new life and business into the downtown.

With every brick that's cut ... screw that's tightened and load of dirt shoveled away ... Lindsay's downtown is starting to take on a more updated look.

Recreation Director Brad Albert said, "With the new facades the new streets I really think it's going to give revitalization to the merchants downtown."

Albert says ever since the city opened up the McDermott Field House ... a youth recreation center ... officials saw a need to provide more services to downtown visitors.

The city hopes renovating five intersections will attract more restaurants and retail options.

Kimball said, "I think there really is a need to bring people downtown again to encourage businesses to stay or to open up."

Kimball says more than half the people working on the downtown project are city employees. The city says having its own construction crew cuts costs and provides local jobs.

The $3.5 million dollar project is paid for mostly by federal transportation monies and measure R.

Each renovated intersection will mirror the palm tree-lined entrance to the city from Highway 65.

There will be two 15 to 30 foot palm trees at every corner, with new, wider sidewalks.

Director of Services Mike Camarena said, "We had some really wide streets and we're changing the profile of the downtown to reduce the width of the driving lane increase the width of the pedestrian areas."

Local businesses hope the construction will encourage more people to make the trip downtown.

Veronica Mendez said, "I think it will because more people are going to be walking round and it's not going to keep the people from coming in so I think it will help out."

The city hopes to complete the project by the end of the year.