RIVERSIDE – (INT) – The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) is out with a ‘wish list’ of projects that could be undertaken in the coming years. The Traffic Relief Plan is the result of thousands of comments that were submitted over the past few months at the RCTC’s request.

The Traffic Relief Plan will serve as a foundation for upcoming efforts to secure state and federal funding for infrastructure to boost Riverside County’s economy.

Highlights of the Traffic Relief Plan include: • Improving freeway traffic flow on I-10, I-15, the 60, 91, and I-215 by adding lanes, upgrading on- and off-ramps and bridges, and increasing bus and Metrolink frequencies. • Improving traffic flow and safety on major roads such as Alessandro Boulevard, Bob Hope Drive, Bundy Canyon Road, Clinton Keith Road, Cook Street, Fred Waring Drive, Heacock Street, Highway 111, Indian Canyon Drive, Keller Road, Limonite Avenue, Monroe Street, Redlands Boulevard, Sun Lake Boulevard, Temescal Canyon Road, and Van Buren Boulevard. • Safety improvements on highly-traveled two-lane roads such as Gilman Springs Road and Grand Avenue and at intersections with railroad tracks. • Safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists including for children going to and from school. • Increasing frequency of Metrolink train service by adding new tracks and more trains, and making existing train service more sustainable over the long-term.

• Improving the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley by accelerating completion of a new east-west highway called the Mid County Parkway and a new Route 79, and extending Metrolink service to Hemet and San Jacinto. • Increasing frequency and convenience of express bus services throughout Riverside County, enabling more commuters to use alternatives to driving, complete with wi-fi enabled buses. • Improving the condition of existing roads by providing funds to local governments for basic pothole repairs, paving of dirt roads, and synchronizing signals. • Providing more independence and opportunity for residents who rely on public transportation services, such as veterans, individuals with disabilities, students, and residents of rural communities. • Using new technologies that can improve the efficiency and safety of the current roadway and public transit systems, paving the way for connected and autonomous vehicles. • Completing the regional trail system in Riverside County to improve safe routes to school, and offer bicycle commuting for those who would take their cars off the road at commute times. • Constructing rail stations in the Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass to prepare for daily train service to the desert from L.A. via Riverside and Orange County.

This Traffic Relief Plan was drafted to serve as an expenditure plan for a possible voter-approved RCTC sales tax measure. Until a sales tax measure to fund the plan is placed before the voters and approved, the plan is aspirational and the financial and other mandatory requirements of the plan are not operative.

The RCTC said in April it would not place a sales tax measure on this November’s ballot considering the current economic climate.

Story Date: June 15, 2020