The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC or Commission) on Wednesday, April 10, approved a historic transportation strategy, known as the Traffic Relief Plan (TRP or plan), to help relieve congestion and improve mobility throughout Riverside County.

This comprehensive plan identifies more than $30 billion in transportation improvements in a range of areas, such as local road upgrades, pothole repairs, highway improvements, the expansion of public transportation, new opportunities to walk, bicycle and hike, and safeguards that can help protect roads and bridges from natural disasters, especially in the Coachella Valley.

“The Traffic Relief Plan is a guide for improving our transportation system. If we can clear up bottlenecks for better flowing freeways and provide greater mobility options, our residents will spend less time in traffic congestion and more time living life,” said RCTC Chair Lloyd White and Beaumont City Council Member. “By coming together to approve this plan, the Commission is working to ensure Riverside County remains a place of opportunity and not a region known for traffic.”

The plan reflects input from thousands of voices across Riverside County, with residents sending a clear message: They want a reliable, safer, more efficient transportation system that anticipates growth, promotes prosperity, and preserves the freedom to get from here to there without long waits.

The TRP identifies an ambitious set of transportation priorities– and comes at a time when Riverside County is estimated to add 500,000 residents over the next 25 years. By 2050, Riverside County’s population could reach 3 million, up from 2.5 million today.  Without significant transportation improvements, County residents and businesses could face debilitating traffic congestion conditions, a lack of economic opportunities, and an increased strain on our roads and public transportation systems.

The TRP is the product of extensive public outreach dating to 2018. The Commission has repeatedly requested and received public input on transportation priorities throughout Riverside County to help ensure that plans for improvements are cohesive, cost-effective, up-to-date, consensus-based, and prioritized based on public needs.

The 34-member commission, composed of elected representatives from every city in the county and all five members of the county Board of Supervisors, will decide this summer what steps can be taken to fund projects in the TRP.

Riverside County residents are encouraged to read the Plan at TrafficReliefPlan.org.