Greater Corona Traffic Alliance Announcements

City of Corona Mayor Jim Steiner (left) presenting the city’s recognition of the Greater Corona Traffic Alliance’s advocacy.
Accepting the recognition were the five founding members (left to right) Amie Kinne, Matt Olsen, Michele Wentworth, Ned Ibrahim, and Wes Speake on behalf of the 4900 everyday citizens that make up the true muscle of GCTA. We humbly salute everyone who has taken the time to speak publicly on traffic issues. We’re just getting started!

BREAKING: Supervisors Spiegel and Jeffries team up in effort to preserve HOV lane in Riverside. On the agenda for next Tuesday's county Board of Supervisor's meeting.
Agenda item 36:
http://riversidecountyca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=2050

Not good news but we made a dent. We were seeking continuation of all 3 items. In taking votes we were hoping for No votes. Please read the captions on each photo for context.

Thank you to everyone who wrote an email! They were repeatedly referenced and helped garner the No’s we got. Your help is crucial.

‼️ACTION REQUESTED‼️
Hi GCTA Friends - Some of you have asked for a template email to send to RCTC Commissioners before their July 10th meeting. I've written my email, which you can borrow parts from but please add some personal touches on your own email, like your own experiences in traffic, your thoughts on the success of 91 project, monthly costs and backtracking to use the toll lanes, etc. Identical emails off a template tend to fall flat with elected representatives

Here are your target email addresses -
Supervisor Chuck Washington: [email protected]
Supervisor Karen Spiegel: [email protected]
Supervisor Kevin Jeffries: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
RCTC Clerk (ask to pass your email commissioners): [email protected]

Dear RCTC Commissioners,

Before you vote on the July 10, 2019 agenda please consider pulling items 11,12 and 13 for further consideration and delay your vote. The agenda is proposing to fundamentally change the way we reinvest the toll revenue in the 91 corridor with little time to daylight these sweeping changes to the public. Without transparency, the commission will be breaking promises to complete the 91 corridor with all available toll revenue.

RCTC promoted and promised, to Corona and the county, that the toll lane additions would be the reinvestment we need to complete the unfinished projects in the 91 corridor. We were assured repeatedly by RCTC that toll revenues (excess included) are protected by legislation AB 1010. Never was there a mention that amending legislation was the direction RCTC wanted to lead us. With the completion of the 91 slowed, toll prices will remain higher than they need to be, effectively causing commuters to pay for projects that do not benefit their commute through the canyon.

By approving the agenda item 11, excess toll revenue will leave the 91 corridor. Therefore, projects accelerated outside of the 91 corridor become the infrastructure created to accommodate future housing growth. The economic reality for Riverside County is housing construction while job production will still remain in the financial and tech centers west of us in LA and OC. Using excess revenues in other places does not solve the problem. It decelerates RCTC's ability to finish the 91 corridor to better handle the growing commuting population.

RCTC is committing excess 91 toll revenue to clear the veins while pushing the blood of commuters to a constricting aorta valve without the surgery to correct the valve. Once these changes occur, the excess revenues can be used throughout the county. Although I understand how this proposal stands to benefit the individual commissioner's who live in cities where the Delivery Plan would be accelerated with creative financing solutions, it is short term thinking creating risky financing on potential excess revenue.

By approving these changes you are stating to voters that you are confident the toll prices will remain high due to your commitment to decelerating the projects on the 91 which enhance toll lane capacity and general lane capacity.

* RCTC is committing to bonding excess 91 toll revenue
* Paying back all or a portion of Measure A spent on 91 with excess revenue
*Begin the process to amend the legislation to allow excess 91 toll revenue to be invested in the 60/91/215 and south I-15 to SR-74
*Prioritize Western Projects outside of the 91 corridor that supports the CMAQ and the STGB funds

A better analogy would be to say that RCTC is our contractor that we hired to build a house. Our contractor took our deposit, built 2/3 of our house and promised to finish the other 1/3 as fast as possible. But now our contractor wants more of our material deposit fees (excess toll revenue) to start working on all the other projects he's been hired to build.

Items 12 is the Western County Delivery Plan which RCTC wants both to leverage excess 91 toll revenues and raise a sales tax on a rushed vote in agenda item 13 because the ballot measure is time sensitive. Please delay your vote for more public discussion.

Please consider that voters in Corona are holding you to your commitment to using all available toll revenue to expedite the unfinished work. We ask that you delay voting and discuss the huge changes proposed. Perhaps it will be a bigger uphill battle for a ballot initiative in Corona with the 91 project "house" 2/3 built while you've invited more commuters over for breakfast and dinner.

Sincerely,

Stay home today if you can.

Where is the Option 4 Green River Aux Lane?
Tell RCTC to prioritize it NOW.

RCTC Seeks Federal Funds for Additional 91 Improvements $75 million grant would fund three separate projects to improve travel on the 91

Please take 20 seconds to register your support for funding the Green River Aux lane:

91 Workforce to Workplace Vitality Network — RCTC - Stay Connected Be part of the solution by registering your support for improvements to the 91 below. Your name will be included in RCTC’s official funding request to the U.S. Department of Transportation and our congressional representatives.

GCTA thanks you for your support!

Plan approved to add new lane on westbound 91 Freeway from Corona to Orange County Construction of the $42 million project could shave 15 minutes off morning commutes in Corona and may open in 2021, officials said.