00:00 city of Bakersfield working to enhance the southeast area of town. A new
00:04 community led initiative could bring almost $30 million to complete a
00:07 handful of projects that would transform streets, parks and other
00:11 elements of the city. After speaking with city staff about the initiative,
00:15 23 abc's Brianna Polk met with members of the community to learn more about
00:19 what they hope to see completed. Inclusivity and collaboration are two
00:25 of the goals behind the southeast initiative, a plan created by the
00:28 community for the community. The city says southeast is one of the most
00:32 disadvantaged areas and that is why staff and residents are working to
00:37 implement change. We've really made a concerted effort to get out into the
00:42 community and hear directly from residents and allow them, allow the
00:46 residents to prioritize what issues we should apply for. And so that's really
00:52 democracy in action. And for me, that's where transformation really begins.
00:56 Vice mayor in Bakersfield City Councilman of Ward two Andre Gonzalez
01:00 says the city submitted an application for the transformative climate
01:04 communities grant an investment that would fund various projects in the
01:08 southeast, some of which include a safe routes to school project, the
01:12 revitalization of dr Martin Luther King Jr Park, a complete streets project
01:17 for dr Martin Luther King boulevard among others projects. Community
01:21 member Nina Gutierrez says she looks forward to. Well, that's great. My
01:25 thoughts are good. That's great. That's terrific. It's for the kids use.
01:28 It's for the kids. So many people go out here with bikes and they can't
01:32 usually cross. They can't usually cross cars go through fast here and this is
01:37 the school zone. My daughter goes to school here to jenny Byers, assistant
01:40 director of economic and community development for the city goes on to
01:44 explain how the complete streets project would help both pedestrians and
01:48 motorists. And what complete streets are is you reimagine the street, you
01:53 typically narrow them a little bit, have curb gutter, a landscape strip
02:00 and then sidewalk also includes bike lanes. And so dr Martin Luther King
02:05 boulevard, if we were to receive this grant would do a complete streets
02:09 project through the neighborhood. Gonzalez says the ultimate goal is to
02:13 create what he calls an M. O. K. Prosperity neighborhood that will focus
02:18 on how do we build wealth uh in East Bakersfield, Southeast Bakersfield and
02:23 how do we help people own homes, start a new business, develop other pathways
02:29 to uh to entering into the middle class. True revitalization work will not
02:34 happen from the top down. It's always from the bottom up and the city says
02:37 they hope to have these funds implemented by the end of this year to
02:41 kick start the beginning stages of the Southeast initiative in Southeast
02:45 Bakersfield. I'm Brianna Polk 23 bc News connecting you
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