The Point: A comprehensive transportation plan prioritizes a range of transportation needs, from fixing potholes and upgrading bridges to expanding public transit and smoothing vehicle flow on highways. Residents are encouraged to review the plan and weigh in.
Growth is happening
While some portions of California have lost residents, Riverside County – a safe, dynamic, affordable part of the state – continues to grow. Since 2002, Riverside County’s population has increased by 67%, and over the next 25 years, our 2.5 million-person county will increase by another 500,000 residents, the equivalent of adding two new cities the size of Moreno Valley.
“There’s no question that we need to make calculated investments in our county transportation infrastructure, not only to maintain and improve mobility, but also to keep growth from overwhelming our ability to live, work, learn, explore, go places, and enjoy life,” said Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) Chair and City of Beaumont councilmember Lloyd White.
On a daily basis, residents across Riverside County contend with traffic jams, aging roads and bridges, and limited bus and train schedules. Without action, growth will only aggravate these challenges and leave residents in a never-ending congestion loop.
RCTC is listening
RCTC has developed the draft 2024 Traffic Relief Plan, or TRP, to improve mobility, enhance safety, and prevent growth from overwhelming the county transportation system. The TRP is a county-wide strategic blueprint to reduce traffic congestion by constructing highway improvements, repairing potholes on local roads and streets, increasing the frequency of public transportation, and fortifying our transportation infrastructure against natural disasters in Riverside County.
To shape the plan, RCTC has gathered input from residents on transportation priorities for local and regional corridors over the last several years.
The response has been clear and consistent: Residents want safer, smoother roads, faster-moving freeways, and more opportunities to ride convenient trains and buses. They want improvements to corridors such as State Route 79, Cajalco Road, the Ramona Expressway, and Highway 111. Residents seek help for the 91, 10, 215, and 60 freeways – from bridges and interchanges to more efficient traffic flow. Residents want to protect critical roadways and bridges from flooding, blowsand, and earthquakes.
Keep choices and outcomes local
Those who live, drive, walk, bike, and take transit here know the region best. The TRP draws strength from residents’ perspectives, creates consensus through an inclusive process, and proactively moves real transportation solutions forward – faster.
Waiting for transportation help from Sacramento or Washington, D.C. would leave Riverside County stalled indefinitely. Not only do state and federal officials have other priorities, but history suggests their involvement in local transportation issues leads to a one-size-fits-all approach with top-down mandates, politicized projects, and bridges to nowhere. The TRP is shaped by local voices and local concerns for the benefit of Riverside County residents.
The plan
In Riverside County, local action can drive better outcomes. Looking ahead, the TRP outlines a series of transportation improvements across all of Riverside County, including in western Riverside County, Coachella Valley, and the Palo Verde Valley.
The plan considers every community, and comprises eight investment areas:
Combined, these investments would repair, modernize, and add missing links in the transportation system across Riverside County; promote cost-effective upgrades; and provide residents with an interconnected transportation network ready for the future.
Next steps
At this time, the plan is not funded. The TRP is an aspirational guide that prioritizes and facilitates those transportation projects that residents say they value most.
The plan remains open for public input through March 31. To provide your input, please visit trafficreliefeplan.org.
RCTC’s commissioners, who represent every city in Riverside County and all county residents via their Board of Supervisors, plan to finalize the TRP this spring. In early summer the commission might then consider whether or not to ask voters for funding to implement the plan and deliver results.
More input, please
As the process proceeds, residents are encouraged to weigh in on the TRP.
“We need public input to make the best decisions we can on prioritizing transportation projects and ensuring the strongest possible Traffic Relief Plan,” White said.
Public input is essential to RCTC’s mission to implement transportation solutions that connect communities for a better quality of life. Please visit TrafficReliefPlan.org to read the draft, review the priorities, and offer ideas. All voices are welcome.