In August, the Conservancy decided to recirculate a revised draft of the EIR that included an alternative called 5b.  As a reminder, the EIR was initiated back in 2014 and previously included 6 alternatives for consideration.  

The alternative 5b access route cuts through the middle of Spano Park at the end of Palm and Nees, and requires the creation of a road on the edge of the bluff and down around the ponding basin at the bottom of the slope.   The engineer's estimate for building this connection is $5.2 million, up from the $3 million or so included in previous reports.

The parking area is still shown on a parcel that the City of Fresno and the San Joaquin River Conservancy have declined in the past.  As far as we know, this means that the route will not actually be constructed.

The River Parkway Trust is encouraging the Conservancy Board to approve the River West EIR with alternatives 1 and 5 - providing additional vehicle access to the project site from the City of Fresno.  

Alternative 1 includes vehicle access on a public road to public land.
Alternative 5 includes vehicle access on a public easement to public land.

Please send written comments by first-class mail to Melinda Marks, Executive Officer, San Joaquin River Conservancy, 5469 E Olive Ave., Fresno, CA 93727, or via electronic mail to Melinda.Marks@sjrc.ca.gov with the subject line "Partially Revised Circulated DEIR". Comments must be postmarked or emailed by October 3, 2017. 

Mark your calendars for these upcoming meetings when the Conservancy Board will hear public testimony and make a final decision on the River West Fresno EIR.

November 15, 2017 at 10:30am
December 13, 2017 at 10:30am

We'll keep you updated on the meeting location as the day draws near.

You can review the Revised DEIR on the web at  http://sjrc.ca.gov/Eaton-Trail-Extension-EIR/ .

You can review our previous communications on this project at  https://www.riverparkway.org/index.php/land-and-trails/river-west.

Thank you for your support of the long-term effort to create the San Joaquin River Parkway.


Sincerely,

Sharon Weaver
Executive Director