Downtown Fresno has changed a great deal in recent years, which may have gone unnoticed by all those folks who fled to the north of the city and brag about how they haven't set foot in downtown for 10 (20, 30) years.
Now there's a chance to see some of those changes, and it's free. Fresno County's Economic Development Corporation has scheduled a "Billion Dollar Bus Tour" of downtown for Sept. 29, a Saturday. Fresno Area Express buses will pick up passengers at several downtown locations and ferry them around -- for free -- to see the billion-dollars-plus construction that has been completed, is under way or is ready to break ground in downtown.
Visitors will have a chance to get on and off the buses at regular intervals if they want to check out something up close. The (free) event starts at 9 a.m., an the last bus will load up at 1 p.m. Check it out -- especially if you haven't seen downtown Fresno in a while. And it's free.
I recently went down there. I used to work down there (about 5 years ago), even after not going down there for just the last two years I've notice a lot of change. Not bad, during the day I would say I'd feel totally safe there. At night I dont know, I havent been that way at night but I think it would be safe as well, maybe it may need more lighting though. It is very clean with lots of new buildings, so I mean it is better than what most people would expect.
We were a little disappointed that the Fresno Adult School Cesar Chavez campus was not included on the bus tour! As one the historical sites here in downtown Fresno (we were the site of the first Junior College)the beautifully remodeled Cesar Chavez Campus is an important recent addition to the downtown area.