FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The Fresno City Council unanimously voted on Thursday to change all streets named after Cesar Chavez back to their original names.
The move comes after recent reports have raised serious allegations about Chavez, accusing the late labor leader and civil rights activist of sexually abusing women, including minors, and fellow leader Dolores Huerta, who came forward to say the repeated sexual assaults led to pregnancies and multiple children.
City officials said on Wednesday that all of the former street signs remain in storage, meaning most would not need to be remade, reducing the overall cost.
On March 9, 2023, the Fresno City Council voted six to one to rename portions of California Avenue, Ventura Street and Kings Canyon Road as Cesar Chavez Boulevard. All councilmembers voted in favor except Garry Bredefeld.
The approved renaming included: California Avenue, from Marks Avenue to Hughes Avenue and from West Avenue to Mayor Avenue; Ventura Street, from Mayor Avenue to Cedar Avenue; and Kings Canyon Road, from Cedar Avenue to Peach Avenue.
The decision drew pushback from some residents and business owners along the corridor, who cited the cost of changing street signs, postal information and voter registration records. At the time, opponents said their concerns were not with Cesar Chavez himself, but with the loss of historic street names, some of which were more than 100 years old. The renaming also prompted a lawsuit, which delayed implementation.
Because of those legal challenges, the city did not complete the installation of all 222 Cesar Chavez Boulevard street signs until fall 2024. The city awarded $142,287 to a contractor to change the signs.
Listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
