The California High-Speed Rail Authority gave Fresno residents an up-close look at the finer aspects of the planned downtown station during an evening show-and-tell at the Doubletree Hotel.
Sure, the big picture remains hazy. But let’s set that aside for now and focus on the details.
Poster boards displayed artist’s renderings of the station design, which features a passenger platform stretching more than a quarter-mile and a pedestrian bridge connecting an entry plaza at Mariposa and H streets on the east side of the tracks to one in Chinatown on the west side.
The platform and bridge are covered by distinctive canopies that look modern, but not overly futuristic. Is it just me, or does the platform resemble a refill of giant-sized staples?
Other exhibits depicted how the station, meant to serve as a multi-modal transportation hub, fits into the downtown street grid and blends with existing structures, such as the Southern Pacific Depot.
“We have an interesting dialogue between the new station and the historical station,” said architect Peter Sokoloff of Foster + Partners, one of the principal designers.