Fresno Returns Cars to a Pedestrian Mall in the Name of Downtown Revitalization

While global cities in other parts of the world are taking steps to ban cars from city centers, Fresno, California has taken the opposite approach. Time will tell if the return of vehicle traffic to Fulton Street project pays dividends.

1 minute read

November 2, 2017, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Pedestrian Only

The Fulton Mall in its previous, pedestrian-only state. | David Prasad / Flickr

Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado reports from Fresno, California, where the city recently celebrated the grand reopening of downtown Fulton Street.

The project, pitched as a downtown revitalization project, took 19 months to complete and cost $20 million of state and federal grants. The key to this project's approach to downtown revitalization is the return of vehicle traffic to Fulton Street, which had served as a pedestrian mall since 1964.

Marek Warszawski provides commentary on the opening ceremonies in a separate article. Tim Sheehan also reported earlier in the month on some of the project's delays during construction.

Saturday, October 21, 2017 in The Fresno Bee

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

15 minutes ago - KOMO News

Elon Musk in front of a sign for Grok 3

Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis'

Elon Musk dolled out $446 million on the 2026 midterms, the most ever spent by a non-canidate.

1 hour ago - Politico

People vote in Chicago behind blue privacy screens

Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners

Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents

November 5 - Block Club Chicago