The Point: RCTC Executive Director joined southern California transportation advocates to advance transportation policies to benefit Riverside County and the region.

Regular meetings with legislators and transportation policy decision-makers in Sacramento are critically important as the Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom start discussions on formulating the 2022-23 state budget. With another budget surplus expected, RCTC and transportation advocacy groups like Mobility 21 are helping to bring awareness to the transportation needs in Riverside County and the region.

Mobility 21, a coalition that brings together public, business, and community stakeholders to pursue regional solutions to transportation challenges in southern California, hosted a day-long virtual meeting with state legislators to allow coalition members like RCTC to discuss crucial transportation issues, including:

• Funding for southern California to deliver much-needed transportation infrastructure projects,
• Resolving the supply chain crisis to allow greater efficiency of goods movements, and
• Supporting state and local collaboration so that policies consider the diversity of each region.

Representing RCTC, Executive Director Anne Mayer joined other public and private transportation leaders in a series of meetings, including with Senator Pat Bates (Orange County), Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (Los Angeles), Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (San Diego), Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes (San Bernardino), Assemblymember Richard Bloom (Los Angeles), and staff from Assemblymember Vince Fong (Kern County) office.

In a meeting with Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Mayer led a discussion on the pending budget surplus and the significant benefits our communities and goods movement would receive if the state increased one-time investments in southern California’s transportation infrastructure. Mayer also facilitated a meeting with James Barba from Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’s office to reinforce the importance of maintaining stable funding for local transportation programs.

Mayer and transportation advocates also met with California State Transportation Agency Acting Secretary Elissa Konove, Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin, and California Transportation Commission Chair Hilary Norton and Executive Director Mitch Weiss.

RCTC takes a comprehensive approach to state legislative advocacy by joining coalitions like Mobility 21 or independently working with the region’s state legislative delegation. Earlier this year, RCTC worked with Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, Chair of the Inland Empire Caucus (IEC), to seek support on a suite of projects that, if funded, would provide critical relief to the region’s transportation network. Recently, the IEC called on Governor Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Rendon in a January 6 letter to seek funding for projects totaling $2.2 billion, including $875 million for five projects in Riverside County. The Riverside County projects include:

• Coachella Valley-San Gorgonio Rail Corridor Service Project
• Interstate 10 Bypass
• Third Street Grade Separation Project
• 15 Express Lanes Project Southern Extension
• Riverside to Fullerton Junction Triple Track Completion

RCTC continues to seek funding and policy solutions for Riverside County to reduce traffic congestion while planning for next-generation projects that give residents meaningful alternatives to driving. On December 14, 2021, former RCTC Chair Jan Harnik, Mayor of Palm Desert, sent a letter to Governor Newsom seeking urgent transportation solutions for Riverside County.

To register your support for securing more funding for Inland Empire projects, please visit our support page.

RCTC implements Measure A, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements in Riverside County, and has identified next-generation transportation improvements in RCTC’s 2020 Commission-adopted Traffic Relief Plan. Securing additional state funding frees up local funds for use on other projects, advancing mobility in the county.

The IIJA will also create opportunities for RCTC to advance regionally transformative projects such as the daily passenger rail service between Coachella Valley and Los Angeles to provide residents and tourists an alternative to traveling on Interstate 10, as well as next-generation transportation improvements identified in RCTC’s 2020 Commission-adopted Traffic Relief Plan.

The Point: Members will help shape growing region and achieve habitat conservation goals

Want to make a difference in conserving habitat, streamlining transportation projects, and fostering economic development in western Riverside County? The Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority, also known as the RCA, is seeking volunteers to apply for membership of its Stakeholders Committee. Applications are available now.

RCTC began serving as the managing agency for the RCA on January 1 and supports the RCA Board of Directors’ commitment to engage the public in achieving the goals of the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.  Through the MSHCP, the RCA is working to preserve 500,000 acres of habitat in western Riverside County to protect 146 animal and plant species. This effort helps communities and species thrive, accelerates construction of needed infrastructure like transportation projects and housing, and bolsters the economy.

RCA Chair Natasha Johnson is reinstituting the Stakeholders Committee this year. Membership applications are due October 25.

Johnson will appoint members to the committee for ratification by the RCA Board of Directors. The Committee will meet as requested by the Chair or Board — at least twice per year. Johnson encouraged qualified potential members to apply.

Committee members will give input to the RCA Board by reviewing implementation plans for the MSHCP. It is intended to bring together people with varying perspectives who share a common interest in the MSHCP’s success and who can help the RCA make continuous improvement. Members also will help increase awareness of the conservation plan and its benefits to western Riverside County.

The Stakeholders Committee, which will be appointed annually, will include up to 16 members, with membership from the following:

• Groups representing property owners affected by the MSHCP
• Groups representing environmental interests implicated by the MSHCP
• Groups representing the building industry within the area affected by the MSHCP

To apply, go to www.wrc-rca.org/stakeholders. Prospective members can submit the completed form online or can print a copy and submit by email to dknudsen@rctc.org or by U.S. mail to:

Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority
Attn: David Knudsen
4080 Lemon Street, 3rd Floor
Riverside, CA 92501

For questions, please contact David Knudsen via email or by calling (951) 787-7141.