Fresno State students returning for fall semester will find much improved street lighting and fresh pavement near Bulldog Stadium.
Over the summer, the City of Fresno installed new and brighter street lights on Bulldog Lane west of Cedar Avenue and on Millbrook Avenue between Bulldog Lane and Barstow Avenue. Both streets were also repaved and restriped.
“Fresno State worked in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, the city’s Public Works Department and my office,” District 4 councilmember Paul Caprioglio said, “to develop a cooperative project for the installation of street lighting” on the two streets.
Caprioglio said Fresno State contributed $125,000 to the project. An additional $50,000 came from Measure C half-cent transportation sales tax funds, he added. The city council approved the lighting project in December 2017, and the project was awarded to Madco Electric of Selma on Feb. 15 for a bid of roughly $142,000.
The new LED lights have been placed along the sidewalks on the stadium side of Bulldog Lane and Millbrook Avenue. Caprioglio said, “the streets surrounding the stadium lack lighting. This area is traveled by many students who live in nearby apartments and walk to and from” campus, “as well as community members attending events at” the stadium.
Crime along both Bulldog Lane and Millbrook Avenue has been an issue for many years. Cars parked on the street are regularly broken into and violent crimes like assaults and armed robberies are not uncommon. Caprioglio said the new lighting “will greatly increase illumination levels and improve safety in the area.”
Caprioglio said he has been advocating for the lighting and paving work for a long time “and have had the same goals as Associated Students, Dr. (Joseph) Castro and Debbie Astone as they center around student safety.”
Caprioglio said slurry seal was laid on both streets to extend the life of the underlying pavement. They were restriped upon completion of the paving work. “In response to a request from Fresno State to be able to allow parking on the east side of Millbrook for non-game days,the striping was reconfigured to include a parking lane as well as a bike lane on the east side of Millbrook,” he explained.
Caprioglio explained that, due to improved gas tax revenues, the city was able to restart its preventive pavement maintenance program. He said $1.6 million has already been invested on neighborhood and major streets. The campus area work is being done by Roy Allan Slurry Seal, Inc. at a cost of nearly $41,000.
