Results from Phase III Community Forums:
Centennial High - March 29, 2000
Our Slogan:
· Great place to live
· Bakersfield..Oh Yeah! I drove through there once
· Bakersfield - a town for all things local
· There is something for everyone
· Small town with a BIG heart
· An equal opportunity community
· Bakersfield….Oh Yeah
· The future is yours
· Growing towards the future
Our Image:
· Cleaner
· Great place to live
· Diverse
· Green
· Clean
· Agricultural community + big city
· Successful and entertainment filled town
· More trees and greenery
· Better malls
· A better one - no "redneck"
· Cheap housing
· Conservatives
· Cultural and racial diversity
· We are not all farmers! I don't drive a tractor!
· People think that it's a place to retire
· Clean and safe city
· Advertising for events
· Primarily agricultural
· More business
· More community involvement
· More "nature"
· More waterways
· Major shopping town
Our Reputation:
· Safe and enjoyable community
· Clean city
· Friendly
· Good location
· A lot of recreation
· Needs to change - just the people need to help with our reputation
· A town with opportunities
· A place to vacation
· Not hicks
· Bakersfield needs a facelift, no more hickville
· Strong standings
· Agriculture
· Lots of jobs (for homeless and financially impaired families)
· Strong on values
· A good place to raise a family
· Small, serene community
Civic Culture:
· Active & involved
· Open gyms
· More community informed
· Community togetherness
· Family oriented
· More museums
· More plays (big ones like Les Miserables)
· Very involved - town meeting - community involvement high
Business Environment:
· More job opportunities
· More technology
· Variety of jobs
· Unemployment at a low
· More stable income of oil - not based on OPEC
· Lower gas prices
· Higher minimum wage
· More jobs-
· Improve technology
· Big industries
· Record companies
· More businesses geared towards teenagers, restaurants, clubs
· Higher wages
· Better shops, not necessarily in the malls
· Casinos
· Jobs that offer training for future offered to teens
· Bigger companies Ex: Sony, Mattel
· Need more "big" businesses
· A bigger medical clinic (like Sansom Clinic)
· Bigger/better airport
· Local businesses use the internet to sell products in a global market
Arts & Culture:
· More diversity
· More concerts & plays/musicals
· Appeals to all ages
· More facilities
· More people brought to Centennial Garden
· Recording studios
· Not the land of Buck Owens
· More variety in the arts. Sure we have a few live theaters but what about just music or art (paintings etc)
· No culture, needs a greater influence from American Indians, pagans, something other than Christian
· An Art Museum for the local talent
· A bigger museum and art gallery
· A bigger theater
· Night clubs
· Bigger variety of concerts
· More melodrama/plays (cheaper)
· Music for everyone -divers
· More big performers
· More money to Pioneer Village
Heart of the City:
· Downtown should be (the hert) if restored well!
· More needed and flourishing businesses downtown
· Homeless Center (Big)
· More community oriented activities where families can go
· Family oriented
· Friendly people
· More places for disabled children
· More trees
· Centennial Gardens
· The heart of the city should be the youth but it's not
· More kids centers. Ex: Boys and Girls Club
· Public gym and rec area
· More cultural activities
· Improve the area surrounding the Kern River…offer recreational facilities/parks
· Marketplace and Chester are the heart of Bakerfield
· Downtown needs to be upgraded (more trees)
· Not safe enough to go out at night alone
· The Bakersfield sign
· Downtown: restaurants, clubs/entertainment, bars, no bums, more color-lights-trees-benches, sidewalks, public restrooms, more up to date
· More shops
· Lights, bright signs
· Maze craze & water slides
· Hard Rock Café of Bakersfield
· Focus on downtown "Isla Vista"
Our Values:
· Community involvement
· Family
· Working together
· God
· Taking care of elderly/disabled
· Classic conservative
· The consideration for others
· Especially in schools the value is on athletics way too much
· Cleaner, safer community
· Children's future
· Sudents will not have books, they would use a laptop computer and disks for all their classes. They would have access to internet
· Good clean fun
· Family oriented
· Tolerance
· Hard workers
· Involvement
Technology:
· More in schools - better
· Schools need computers
· Jobs based on technology
· New Silicone Valley
· More DSL & cable providers
· More tech educatio
· We need to better prepare our youth to go on & succeed
· A larger improvement in tech. For schools
· More librairies
· More computers in librairies
· Trollies run through downtown
· Better public transportation
· Wider roads
· A better bike path with more trees and less bums
· More involvement through internet
· Newer technology for schools
· Robotics factory
Transportation:
· More of it! - larger means of public transport
· Less air pollution
· Better roads
· "Metro"
· Bus prices lower
· Train station needs to be away from the busy areas
· Amtrak trains
· We need a major airport, not the small planes we have
· How bout shuttle vans rather than buses
· Better transportation
· Safer public trans.
· Different variety of transporation
· More flexible traveling
· Less pollution
· Bullet train
· Beef up the GET
· Light rail
· Better bike path - cross town access
· Subway
· Monorail
Biggest Changes:
· Upgrading the whole city, mainly the S.W.
· More plants and treees, less dirt
· Football here & baseball
· Building more schools that are helping out the kids these days
· Soccer stadium
· A new technological university
· More clubs
· Broader views-not so local-mindedMore KMC - more productive
· Bigger colleges with mor programs offered
· Clean up the whole city
· Centennial Garden
· Marketplace
· Big city
· Cost of living
· No more country stuff
· More local TV stations
· More rock stations
· Affordable Theme Park, Water Park
Break Thrus
· Downtown Bakersfield restored
· More businesses = more jobs
· Safe (crime at a low)
· Getting little kids to read more books and helping to learn that reading is important
· Bigger events in music
· A big break through for this town would be the acceptance of diversity and the lack of fear from one another
· Amusement park
· Water park
· New freeways
· Alternative energy resources
· Need substitutes for gasoline or cars
· Indoor ski hill
· New college
· Water resort - new lake etc. more jet ski, boat, places to go
Looking Back I'm Most Proud of…
· The effort to try and improve the community
· The growing
· Family environment
In our Community's Future We Wanted and We Got…
· Beautify Rosedale Hwy
· Larger corporations (businesses)
· Space amp for kids
· Dance clubs for kids 18 and under
· Outlet malls
· Better malls ( Nordstroms)
· Music played @ Malls (live bands)
· More gyms -free recreation; upgard recreation
· Welcome to Bakersfield sign
· More nature/exercise paths
· Longer lunch hours
· More trees
· Water parks
· More Starbucks
· Lakes (better ones)
· Year round schools
· Prettier (more trees, flowers, less dirt and dead grass)
· More free sakte parks
· Higher pay rates
· More Bagels & Blenders (by Centennial)
· More appealing to the eye
· More activities for youth (i.e. concerts, pro-games, etc.
· More places like the Market Place (more appealing to the eye)
· Splash Cafee
· Better libraries
· Upgrading the whole city, mainly the S.W.
· More plants and treees, less dirt
· Upgrading the whole city, mainly the S.W.
· More plants and treees, less dirt
· More parks and recreation areas
· Stricter laws against drugs and hate crimes
· More transportation, maybe "Metro"
· Better roadways
· More youth facilities to keep problems off the streets
· Cleaner cities, it looks dirty around here
· More community oriented activities like "First Night"
· More forms of entertainment. Not everyone likes that twangy country crap
· Lass strict laws on skateboarding
· Medical school
· Put more money into our schools: lower class size, hire more and more qualified teachers, offer more choices in school
· Computer Businesses - Occupation
· Improve public librairies
· Put in more palm trees
· More patrol on the bake path
· More plants and trees around Bakersfield
· Lower gas prices
· 18 yr old drinking law
· Water Park
· Amusement Park
· Soccer stadium
· Restoration of older communities
· MLS, NFL, NBA, MLB teams
· More churches (activities)
· Something to get people to stop instead of just driving through
· Better air
· 10 commandments back in the schools
· Wolesome places for kids to hangout
· More colleges and private schools
· IMAX movie theatre
· Zoo
· Green - more grass
· Better college programs (business, petroleum, agriculture programs at CSUB)
· College events, something to attract people to go to college here, equestrian courses, concerts, better advertising
· Better curriculum, we don't test well cause we're not actually learning, just getting good grades (high school)
· More activiites that are less expensive
· More electives in high school
· Controlled growth
· Clean air
· Good paying jobs
· We want more opportunity for East Bakersfield
· More community service/involvement
· More funding for education (so we can compete with Clovis)
· More public parks
· More public restrooms
· Controlled theater growth
· Outdoor options - hiking trails, ATV rental, horse rides, cleaner parks, water slides, amusement park
· Mall of America to be center of town
· Recycling cans with garbage
· Attractive Old Town Kern to be able to see our old city beautiful
· Airport
· Outdoor mall/recreation (Ex. Santa Barbara)
· Cultural places to visit
· More parks in the Northwest area
· Sculptures
· To be able to window shop downtown
· Sports facilities for teens/children/adults
· Clean lakes!
· Better "hangouts"
· Water in Kern River
· We want to maintain our agriculture
· Variety of restaurants
· A better reputation
· More drug rehab centers
· Better law enforcement
· More "Boys and Girls Club" type centers
· Better downtown living
· Places to go to have fun for everyone. Activities: rock climbing, skiing, swimming/diving
In our Community's Future We Didn't Want and We Didn't Get>>>
· No more movie theaters
· No more housing developments
· No more Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Rite-Aids
· No 10pm curfew for minors
· GET bus ( no more)
· Dirt fields, tractors on the busy roads
· Useless oil derricks
· Shopping centers/grocery stores
· Overcrowded facilities
· Police thinking they can do anything they want like mess up traffic laws - they don't respect them
· Huge diversity in culture, this causes problems
· Slums
· Dirty streets -trash
· Homeless people on busy streets ( or homeless at all)
· The immigration problems
· Power unevenly dispersed
· Poor budget management
· Expansion of Bakersfield, taking away too much agricultural land
· Overcrowded schools
· Any more movie theaters
· Teen rape, child abuse
· Teen drop out
· No more gangs
· Drugs
· Teen prenancy
· Bad people released in our state that have done crimes in another state
· Run-down hotels
· Prostitution
· Prejudice
· Racial division
· Strip clubs
· 18 yr. Old drinking law
· Nigh clubs
· El Caminos
· Unequal distribution of funds and resources
· Gerrymandering of school districts for socio-economic reasons
· Oildale
· Buck Owens Blvd.
· Bad education raings -California's too low
· Discrimination - culture is low and segregated. Ex. East side and N.W.
· No ghetto areas
· People not involved in their community
· Empty shopping centers
· Unemployment
· Over urbanization
· Bad air days
· Over-cultivated residential areas (we need more land with more space in housing areas)
· Business environment in residential neighborhoods
· No more high schools to be built
· Less golf course, country clubs
· Graffiti
· Crime
· Blight
· Traffic congestion/accidents
· No more K-marts, Wal-marts or dumpy shopping centers
· No more cheap theaters shut down the old - open new big ones
· No opportunity
Our Vision for Downtown
· Museums
· Good hospitals
· Night clubs
· Big Lake
· Magic Mountain
· Football stadium
· Police Station
· Better roads
· Help schools in all Downtwon
· Cleaner neighborhoods N of 34th
· Museum: fix the roads, better landscape, cleaner, Amusement park
· Gang counselors near Lakeview
· Water slikdes
· Lots of trees
· YMCA N of 34th
· Homeless Shelter and Park S of California bet. Union and Chester
· Lake E of Lakeview
· Grocery Store on California W of Union
· Beale - Clean up this area a lot
· Bigger streets - California
· Clean the highway better (99)
· All people need to help out with the problems of Bakersfield
· More road work on all roads
· Clean up image N of Golden State - fix the road
· No homeless
· Homeless center N of 34th
· A play center for disabled kids S of California
· Clean up Union Ave
· Image of Rancho Motel
· Keep improving our town image
· Expanding fo the business district
· Restore buildings S of California
· More events for teens near Lakeview
· Streetscape N of 34th
· Beale Ave. area: economic engeine; need equal distribution of funds; More police officers patroling the area; Events
· Go cart ract rack S of California
· Better shops
· Better parking everywhere
· Bigger arcades
· Restaurants (with more than just food - like performers or themes) with teenager/young adult appeal
· I would like to be able to "walk" downtown
· Drop in to entertainment downtown
· Lakeview area needs to be cleaned up
· Street Fairs along California
· Add trees and flowers to hide Hwy 99
· Along highway have murals (covers graffiti - improves overall look and style and drive
· Waterslides
· Entertainment for all cultures
· Clean up along Golden State Hwy
· Playgrounds near 34th
· Fix Padre Hotel
· Computer library
· Canal like in Venice
· Mall of America
· Better living - apratments - fix blight
· Add restaurants and shops
· Fix up hotels
· Add events
· Trollies around down town
· Make roads look better
· More places to go - 34th st. cafes, shops
· Renovations - facelift
· More hours for buses on weekends
· Career Center in E. Bakersfield
· Nursery, fix buildings on Bakers T. More Homeless Shelters
· Lakeview: Teaching center, restaurants, safer church environment. Boys and Girls Club, street signs, Bigger shopping center, Parke security, fix streets, neighborhood watch
[ Return to Phase III Community Input ]
