Gov. Newsom and Caltrans Announce 10 Point Beautification Plan For Bakersfield

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that he would greatly step up efforts to “beautify” a city that normally hasn’t been on the priority list of many Democratic lawmakers in California: Bakersfield.

While only a few decades ago Bakersfield was considered more on the rural side, a population explosion beginning in the 80’s never really stopped, bringing the population of the city from barely 100,000 in 1980 to just over 400,000 today. It has only grew more intense in recent years as a cheaper than normal cost of living, generally cheaper homes, warmer weather, and being only roughly 2 hours away from the LA area has fueled growth. In 2023, it was still one of America’s fastest growing cities. They have also received an increasing amount of taxpayer funds for everything from school grants to arts programs to health initiatives.

However, Bakersfield was also caught in the usual growing pains. While GOP lawmakers have generally taken care of the city during this time, an influx of Democratic voters in the red hotspot has brought about some changing politics. Many have taken advantage, including Governor Newsom. Just last month, Newsom announced that he would be sending more California Highway Patrol officers into the Bakersfield area to help corral a rise in crime. Previously, he had only reserved this for cities in the LA area or the Bay area like Oakland. This was his first real foray into Kern County since the Clean California campaign the year prior.

And on Tuesday, Newsom decided to continue the cleanup efforts of Bakersfield and the surrounding areas by announcing a 10 point plan to help beautify Bakersfield. Working in conjunction with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans), Newsom wants to do the following to Bakersfield:

1. Addressing customer requests about litter, fence repairs, graffiti, and encampments
2. Repairing irrigation, clearing litter, and removing overgrown areas within landscaped freeways
3. Keeping key roadways and ramps clear of litter, weeds, brush overgrowth, graffiti and doing pavement and electrical repairs
4. Dedicating a coordinator to oversee beautification
5. Partnering with the City of Bakersfield and others to focus beautification efforts in and around downtown areas and roadways
6. Using social media to get the community involved
7. Keeping traffic moving with QuickMap push alerts to let drivers know about lane closures
8. Updating changeable message signs to highlight worker safety and beautification efforts
9. Ensuring construction areas stay clear of debris and litter
10. Using new sweepers

We’re supporting Bakersfield and the surrounding region to improve street safety and enrich public spaces.

Working together with our local partners, the state is releasing a 10-Point Plan to Beautify Bakersfield — making our communities safer and cleaner. pic.twitter.com/u3UrIPXjZy

— California Governor (@CAgovernor) May 21, 2024

Newsom has not shied away from his motives. On X and in his announcement on Tuesday, Newsom pointed out environmental and crime reduction reasonings for his backing of the Bakersfield plan.

“Building on key public safety and community-focused initiatives in the area, the state is continuing to provide the much-needed support and resources to ensure the beauty of the Central Valley,” said Newsom in a statement. “This multipoint plan will not only help the city and county clean up its neighborhoods, but also allow the area’s public spaces to flourish for the benefit of all.”

Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh thanked the state for backing the plan on Tuesday, adding that “The city of Bakersfield and its surrounding areas welcome continued enhancements and support from everyone. We appreciate the state’s partnership to not only keep beautifying Bakersfield, but also the efforts over the years to bring in needed resources to uplift our entire community.”

While many in Bakersfield showed appreciation for the new CalTrans cleanup focus on Bakersfield, many thought that the rollout on Tuesday had some issues.

“We’re not seeing the pricetag of what the 10 point plan will cost,” explained Central Valley financial analyst Will Gomez. “We have the total cost of Clean California and the cost of what prior Kern County cleanup programs cost. But we’re not looking at the cost of the ten point plan.

“This is going to take a lot of crews, and you can tell that they are looking for a lot of volunteers through some of the points to help keep that cost down. There is a lot of equipment costs. For Bakersfield, they’re being partnered with, so they may have to eat part of the cost too. Yes, it is great the Bakersfield is doing this, and all of those points seem great. But let’s bring this down to reality. What is the estimated cost? Even ballpark. Are they going to get road adoptions in? How much will volunteers do compared to city and Caltrans workers? A lot of needed details are missing.

“Oh, and Newsom made it seem like this was all his idea in his press release. I mean, he was even saying that this was coming after Clean California, one of his baby projects. But then look what Mayor Goh said. No where did she mention Newsom, just thanking the state for the partnership. Newsom is really pushing stories of himself helping Bakersfield. This one is no exception. And you can guess why.”

More on the Bakersfield 10 point plan is to be released soon.