Results from Phase III Community Forums:
California State University Bakersfield - April 26, 2000
Our Slogan:
· Where the action is!
· THE place to live!
· Fun..Sun..Safe..Place
Our Image:
· A literate populace
· High quality of life
· Calm and lovely
· Business and family friendly
· Tolerant: appreciative of diversity and novel ideas
· City life
· Is terrible to the "outside" But what they don't know is how terrific it really is
Our Reputation:
· The reputation we deserve as an interesting, diversified community of intelligent, helpful people
· Progressive and forward thinking
· Healthy, safe, and interactive community
· Concerned for all members, tolerant
· Values Family
· Values Higher Education
· Quality
· Service oriented
· Safe
· Clean
· A community based with mental health
Business Environment:
· Robust/environmentally safe business
· Family friendly jobs
· Collaboratives between businesses and schools (Jr. High-high school)
· Child care in work places
· Adequate parking
· Dynamic, hi-growth companies
· Downtown - Central Business - Cultural
· Surround services - one stop for working families
Arts & Culture:
· Visual arts education for all ages
· The New Art Museum
· A Natural History museum to reveal Kern Co's beautiful prehistoric past
· A multitude of music education foundations for children
· Operas, Musicals!
· Everything imaginable
· Impressionist exhibit
· Many diverse offerings
Education:
· Health, science education center at CSUB
· World class faculty also committed to students
· Another college (UC with Ph.D. programs)
· H.S. grads in top third statewide
· Vocational school for the deaf
· Quality schools
· Crime free High schools
· More teachers
· Cross cultural education with lots and lots of multi-lingual educators
· Great E.C. programs!
· Technology in schools
· Greater or closer relationship between the future economic development and the areas of emphasis in this University, e.g. School of Engineering
Heart of the City:
· Cultural acceptance and integration
· Destinations downtown
· Recreational destinations (bike/walking trails - family-focus)
· Natural History Museum
· Symphony/lecture hall
· Educated youth
· Care and concern for the elders of the community
· Cultural garden pavilian
· Green belts
· Water way incorporating Central Park and Kern River
· Interaction
· Respect for all generations including the elderly
· Friendliness - good interactions
· Equal access to resources
· Well-established restaurants
Our Values:
· Families, children, education
· Respect for all cultures - and ages
· Pro-marriage and education
· Non-violent conflict resolution practices
· Individualism
· A really "connected" community each caring for the other
· Healthy exercise options
Technology:
· Free internet access
· More public access to computers
· More start up companies
· E-commerce
· Technology savvy (familiarity with trends)
Transportation:
· Good air travel to many destinations
· Jet planes
· Very prominent high-speed rail
· Crosstown East-West Parkway
· Loop around city
· Park & ride lots with express buses
· Buses run 24 hours
· Monorail- people movers- efficient parking
· More bike lanes - dedicated and protected
· Fast train to LA, SLO, SAC, S.F.
· Walking paths - safe!
· Park and ride with express buses
Biggest Changes:
· Clean air and water
· No graffiti
· Big city amenities withsmall town flavor
· Recycling system in place for everyone - glass/paper etc.
· No areas of blight
· All of community - good housing - education
· City and county cooperate
· Got rid of KCCD bureaucracy - made BC independent
· Big industry (oil and ag) plus Govt (Fed & State) giving back to our area in proportion to the resources and taxes taken from here
· Majority of population speaks a minimum of 2 languages
· Air quality meets all standards including the maximum
· Leader in sustainable tech and Ag & industry
Break Thrus:
· Bank ofr volunteer hours
· Coordinated animal care shelter
· More and bigger parks
· 24 hour childcare centers, accessible, quality, local centers
· Advertise opportunities for volunteer work needed
· Sound abatement - activity buffers
· Tolerance of all (race, ethnicity, sex orientation)
Looking back I'm most proud of…
· Increase in higher education
· Continued community involvement with Vision 2020
· Majority of our high school graduates are going on to college, with local scholarship support!
What's our Vision for our Economy over the next 10-20 years?
· Increase in overall salary and economy
· Reasonable health care costs
· Increase in theatres, restaurants
· New Art Museum
· Well-educated, productive workforce
· Lower taxes
· Higher taxes
· Solar power plants - let's develop a solar power industry-encourage wind power industry
· Broad based concerned and centered in agriculture
· Clean industry - trend setting-sustainable
· More high tech attracted by low cost of living and dramatically improved air quality
· Value and pay for child development - pre-birth to adult
What kind of Economic Development Initiatives do we want to create?
· More jobs
· More jobs for deaf
· Tourism
· Inter-regionall and internationally connected
· High tech
· Intergenerational day care
· Venture capital
· New economy jobs
· $$ into K-12 education to bolster viability of workforce
· Economic development of the Kern River for recreation
What kind of jobs do we want to attract here over the next 10-20 years?
· Professional health care people
· Artists
· Engineers
· Cutting edge, high dollar
· Preserve farmland- ag
· Intellectual property - technology
· No dairies
· Attract bigger corporations
· Deaf teachers
· Bilingual educators
· Properly trained and paid caregivers for elderly and handicapped, young children - good pay and benefits
· Software (More like Edgemail, Mustang, etc.)
· Post-industrial (Tech)
Our Vision for Downtown:
· Put water in river!!
· Green belts through city
· Park along river
· A little green place to sit S of California E of Chester and W of Chester and along Kern River
· Bike lane to connect to the West downtown to the bike path
· Gid rid of Garces circle
· Babyboomer center @ Union and 178
· Central downtown: retail, bookstores, movie, caffee bar plus jobs and living spaces
· Entertainment and retail and recreation complex between Truxtun and California
· Parks with planned recreation W of Lakeview
· Bike lanes on California Ave.
· Attractive "Riverwalk" through Central Park
· Canals : Columbus S to Beale, W thru Central Park, back N (W of Chester). Another canal through the center of that square
· Trees on Brundage, California, 24th St., 34th St. Columbus
· Tree-lined Parkway with rapid transit along Union Avenue
· High speed rail depot in E. Bakersfield
· New dance/hall facilities on East side
· Lots of restaurants downtown
· Ballpark S of Truxtun
· Recreational center for Greater Bakersfield children S of California, W of Chester
· Art Gallery on Union and California
· Lakeview area totally rejuvenated houses with a branch of the University E of Lakeview
· Improve interchange at Brundage and 58
· High medical specialist near 343th St.
· Major medical center E of Beale
In our Community's Future We Wanted and We Got…
· Thriving after-school programs and high achieving youth
· A university with high academic standards
· More recycling systems
· Parenting classes
· More visual arts
· Water in river and canals before taking it out for Ag all year
· Dance club for under 18s
· Promote ethnic/cultural diversity
· Better funded schools
· More safe activities for youth (H.S.)
· Trees - big ones!
· Agriculture and dairies protected
· Support for family caregivers fo the elderly
· More and better movies - w/captions
· A better sports complex (nationally recognized)
· Mass transportation
· Clean air and water
· Charter schools
· Bike paths
· More attractive architecture
· Planned development
· Water slide park!
· Theme parks with race cars, mini golf, etc.
· Expanded water bank
· Stimulating small child care that facilitates intellectual physical and emotional development
· Lots of small green places to sit and read
· Symphony Hall
· Support and building for our Natural History Museum
· Whitewater Slalom Kayak Park on the Kern River by Hart Park
· Business and service activities for the Jr. High and High Schools. Get them into the business world early
· Waterway in downtown as in Dallas
· A better mall, better cable
· Bullet train/more bus service
· Clean up backyard
· Green belts
· More cultural activities and events
· Education for all
· Affordable mental health
· Adequate children's mental health services
In our Community' Future We Didn't Want and We Didn't Get…
· Unplanned development
· Gridlock
· Elders to be hidden in nursing homes or isolated in their old houses
· Dairies
· "Oildale" image
· Urban sprawl
· "Garbage" dumping in Metro Bakersfield
· Digital divide
· Ugly freeways
· Local government and businesses which will prevent much of these dreams
· People who don't have health care options
· Drugs
· Rosedale Hwy (a major entrance and 1st exposure to Bakersfield) needs a face lift. The businesses should be fined for non-compliance to aesthetic standards.
· Development without water resource and air quality considerations
· Air pollution - water pollution
· Water Park in the middle of a residential community
· Unplanned growth
· Change in samll town atmosphere
· Overcrowded/overdeveloped residential and business areas
· Freeways without landscaping
Metropolitan Bakersfield - 2010 General Planning Area
· Ecological/recreation zone around entire river course
· Whate water Slalom Kayak Park
· River Run for Kayakers
· Bike path from China Grade Loop to residential
· High speed rail serving entire community
· Put industry that might contaminate groundwater on West side where water qualty is poor
· Keep River way - water year round
· No freeway over water banks area
· Clean up Rosedale
· No WaterPark on river
· Downtown: Nordstroms, Cheesecake Factory
· Southern freeway to bypass city
· We need to route traffic on a circular route around Greater Bakersfield using 7th Standard Road on the North and Panama Road on the South. Roads coming into the city would be like the spokes of a wheel for local trafic
· A 7th Standard Road route connecting Hwy 99 and I-5 would be an expensive way to solve the cross-town traffic problem
· Keep hospitals dispursed for emergency access
· Vocational schools for the deaf (old Stier's lot)
· Signal at White Lane and Hwy 99
· A big park on undeveloped portion of River
· Increase green belt along the river all the way out to I-5 on River
· Freeway N of river to connect with I-5
· Freeway beltway looping the city
· Airport - no stacking
· Stop light - 4way on Old River and 7th Standard
· Connect Akers between Harris and Planz
Common Themes:
· Recreation
· Tolerance
· Green space
· Education
· Clean industry
· Transportation
· Cultural amenities
· Fun safe affordable activities
· Beautification of Bakersfield
· Sense of community
· Need for "cross-town' freeways
· Technology in business & schools - Bakersfield = "Silicon Valley"
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