Ask The Californian - askthecalifornian's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Why do we have so many handicapped parking spaces?

Q: Does anyone besides me think that they’ve gone overboard with the spaces available for handicapped parking? You enter any major parking lot and it seems there are fours rows reserved for handicapped parking. Do we really have that many drivers who are truly handicapped?
— Robert Parsons

A: Greg Fenton, senior engineering manager at Kern County Engineering & Survey Services, said the number of handicapped spaces in area parking lots is regulated by state law.
In general, the state building code requires one blue parking space for each 25 regular parking spaces, Fenton said. For larger parking lots with 501 to 1,000 spaces, the calculation is adjusted, designating 2 percent of the spaces for those with official placards or license plates.
Parking lots with more than 1,000 spaces are required to have 20 handicapped spaces (or 2 percent), plus one blue space for each 100 additional parking spaces.

Why can't farmers put up signs telling us what crops are being grown?

Q: In (a recent Californian), there was a wonderful article titled “The Joys of Local Produce.” Since Kern County is so proud of its produce, wouldn’t it be nice if our local farmers put up signs telling people what crops are being grown in the many farms along the roads and freeways?
Would be so informative and educational to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
— Jessie Roefer
P.S. Some of our wineries have signs showing which grapes are being grown!!

A: Local Kiwanis Club member Ray Bass said signs naming crops were posted in fields along Highways 99, 58, 46 and 65 in the 1950s or early 1960s.
But “a big problem soon developed; the farmers change the crops and the signs were no longer appropriate and we just couldn’t manage the changing of the signs to match the current crop,” Bass wrote in an e-mail. “Some of the farmers made the (sign) changes for us but it wasn't long before the idea was forgotten and it died out.”
He goes on to say that he , too, would like to see the signs again but it would require a way to keep them current.

What's that building behind PF Chang's?

Q: What is the building behind PF Chang’s? It has a beautiful copper dome.
Thanks,
— Claudia Casagrande

A: The building will soon house Castle & Cooke’s corporate offices, said Renee Massey, communications manager.
As of Oct. 1, the company didn’t have any other tenants to share the space.

Are we getting a restaurant out on 178 near Masterson?

Q. Hello, do you know what is going on with the restaurant at the end of HWY 178 by the Chevron Station? It looks like they started working on it a few weeks ago. They added some arches. Then it went back to looking like a ghost town. I would really like to know. We are all anxious for a restaurant to open there as we have nowhere close to go and get a family dinner. Thank you, and keep up the great work that you do.
Adolfo Martinez

A. Good news. It appears there will, indeed, be a restaurant at 10701 Highway 178, just west of Masterson Street on the east end of the highway.
The developer declined to speak with us, but we did some sleuthing.
Ignore the Canyon Steakhouse sign. It won’t be there long.
We found out that Felipe A. Chavarin and Jose De Jesus Sotelo have applied for a liquor license for an enterprise to open there called Maria Bonita Mexican Restaurant. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says the application is very close to being approved.
We also know that a company called Rio Bravo Vistas II LLC of Morgan Hill, Calif., was issued a building permit for that location on Oct. 2.
The city says the company isn’t fiddling with the inside much, but exterior work is to include a new roof, new windows, decorative arches and stucco.
Wish we could tell you when Maria Bonita will open. We can can only speculate, but there were construction workers on the property when we drove by last week so it looks like they’re plugging along.
Check back and let us know if the margaritas are any good.

Can I drive here on a foreign license?

Q: I am a Filipino tourist on vacation here in Bakersfield. Can I drive a car here? I possess a Philippine driver’s license.
— Manuel Olis

A: According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles Web site, California does recognize a valid driver license that is issued by a foreign jurisdiction (country, state, territory) of which the license holder is a resident.

Why is the fire department wasting taxpayer money?

Q: In recent news we were told about the fire department’s budget struggle with fuel costs. What’s interesting is how often I see the big red 5 MPG fire truck parked outside of a local fitness center on a regular basis. Doesn't the fire department have fitness equipment at their respective locations? On a regular basis I see this mammoth fire truck in the grocery store parking lot. Why does the fire department have to take a fire truck to the grocery store? I went to a local fast food place for lunch yesterday and saw the big red truck parked outside while three uniformed firemen were casually eating inside the restaurant. Is this how the fire department handles its budget issues? Is this what taxpayers are supposed to accept? Here’s your budget solution; Send one person to pick up your fast food and do your grocery shopping using their own car. Buy an all-in-one fitness station for your workouts so you don’t have to go to gym. Stop running your errands on our dime, do it on your own time.
— James Ford

A: Bakersfield Deputy Fire Chief Doug Greener gave the following answer:
Unfortunately, most BFD Fire Stations don't have on-site facilities with fitness equipment that provides a significant benefit relative to the physical demands required of firefighting. However, we agree that this would be a very convenient solution, and the department is trying to include space in future fire station designs to accommodate on-site workout facilities.
BFD firefighters are required to stay together in what we in the fire service refer to as a cohesive emergency response crew. Firefighting operations, emergency medical responses, technical and heavy rescues, and other critical life-saving efforts require a minimum number of personnel to effectively carry out, or we unnecessarily risk the lives of our citizens, as well as the lives of our firefighters.
The men and women of the Bakersfield Fire Department feel that eating meals whenever we can get them, maintaining physical fitness levels to meet the rigorous demands of firefighting, and being visibly available 24/7 in the community is part of what public safety service is all about, and what you the taxpayers deserve!

What's the new Beach Park skate park going to look like?

Q: Is there a specific resource to access the plans of the expansion of the Beach Park skate park? I would like to see what the planned additions are.
— Anselmo Moreno

A: You can see three pictures of the planned expansion here.

What are those black cables you see taped across the street?

Q: Hello. I’m Elliot. I’m 21 and a college student at BC and I have a question for The Californian. Lately I’ve noticed black cables taped across the street to the pavement on many streets in Bakersfield. In some cases these black cables are connected to a box. What are those boxes, and moreover what are those cables for? Is it to control speed? I’ve noticed they are installing them in more and more streets. Thank you.
— Elliot Rodriguez

A: Most of the cables and boxes you see around Bakersfield are installed by a contractor hired by the Kern Council of Governments, which addresses regional transportation issues. The cables and boxes are used to record vehicle speeds and volume. That data — traffic patterns and traffic growth, for example — is used in a regional transportation modeling program, said Ryan Starbuck, Bakersfield civil engineer.
The city places the cables and boxes near intersections for a glimpse of how many vehicles travel through them. Sometimes you’ll see two cables spread about five feet apart. One counts cars, and the other records speed, Starbuck said.
Other times you’ll see the cables in residential areas. Those are primarily installed out of neighborhood complaints to record speeding cars.
The council of governments contractor will install about 500 meters this year.
For more information, including a traffic monitoring map, go to www.kerncog.org.

What are those flashing blue lights you can see from the bluffs?

Q: Recently walking on the Panorama Drive Park walkway, my grandson and I noticed many flashing blue lights in the Kern River Oilfield. What is the significance of these blue lights?
Thank you!
— Nikki Moon

A: We are happy to inform you that this not a blue light special, Chevron style. The blue locator strobe lights mark the automatic well testing sites (and the equipment required to do the testing), said Roger Christy, spokesperson for Chevron.
They are used by the night operators to locate the sites on hazy and foggy nights. In other words, the blue lights are a safety feature.
“Before we installed them, the engineer who was in charge of the project stood on the bluffs to look at the lights we already had at the gates to make sure that more lights were not going to be a distraction,” Christy said. “We didn’t want them to be overly bright.”

What's being built on the corner of Alfred Harrell and 178?

Q: I would like to know what they’re planning on building at the corner of Alfred Harrell Highway/Commanche Drive and Hwy 178. Currently there is a big sign at the corner advertising leases for retail space. Do you know when and what they’re going to start building? Thanks!
— Chris Gathings

ANSWER: New development is planned for three corners at that intersection, though only plans for the southwest corner are moving forward at this time.

Duane Keathley, a senior vice president with the commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis, said a large national retailer is in escrow to purchase four acres at the southwest corner from the Santa Clarita-based partnership that owns all three corners.

While he declined to disclose the buyer’s name — escrow is not expected to close until around the end of this year — Keathley said the company hopes to build one unit there for its own operations and then invite other retailers to move onto the remaining land.

He said the property could accommodate a total of 25,000 to 40,000 square feet of development.

The 10-acre southeast parcel is slated for eventual office space, but Keathley said that plan is on hold because of waning demand. Another 18 acres on the northeast corner is expected to become as many as 175,000 square feet of retail space, but he said it won’t be developed until a major tenant such as a supermarket steps forward.