RTA is requesting community feedback on their conceptual mobility hub plan for Vine Street.
Mobility hubs consist of major transit stations and the surrounding area. They serve a critical function in the regional transportation system as the origin, destination, or transfer point for a significant portion of trips. They are places of connectivity where different modes of transportation – from walking to biking to riding transit – come together seamlessly and where there is an intensive concentration of working, living, shopping and/or playing.
A survey is being circulated about ideas around this new transit hub.
The survey is the latest community engagement process for this idea. Some years back there was a big concept charette requesting community participation.
One idea has been to link the hub and the Eastside Lincoln Park Neighborhood directly to downtown with a linear bike and pedestrian parkway over the 91 freeway. Not unlike the Highline in New York.
Such a parkway would open up access to some amazing Lincoln Park Neighborhood assets. I think this time around we should explore how we could use the mobility hub as a catalyst for connecting the EastSide directly to the Downtown without an added traffic burden.
As it stands right now, air quality impacts from the mobility hub traffic will affect their neighborhood the most. Any increase in density as a multi-use destination will also be felt. There must certainly be some creative ways we can use this new mobility hub as a catalyst to actually improve the neighborhood for the neighbors.
The Eastside Heal Zone Collaborative has been doing great work in the EastSide. They have built a powerful, community based focus on health in their neighborhoods.
They hosting their 6th Annual Walk By Faith. There’s clearly some irony and disconnection here. Some unconventional mitigation to address the added air pollution burden that a successful mobility hub will necessarily bring, is certainly worth a look.
What would it be like if we planned for active transportation in a way that benefited the neighborhoods rather than accommodated more cars and traffic?
It’s the same for the desperately needed pedestrian/bike walkways from UCR along University Avenue under the freeway.
We should be looking at separating the pedestrians, bikes, boards, and scooters from the University Avenue traffic at the 215/60 ramps. Long approach ramps emanating from the now stalled, on-campus mobility hub, made from structural steel would be a safe, inexpensive, immediate solution.
With some integrated lighting and artwork, it could become the start of a workable, alternative transportation corridor all the way to downtown.
Now that CARB is nearing completion and Iowa Ave is scheduled to become four lanes from University to Martin Luther King Drive, maybe it’s worth considering. We’re sure making it easier for cars to get around. How about everyone else?
Don’t get me started on the negotiated trail access along the entire Perris Valley MetroLink Line. Metrolink even has trail specsalready on the books. Other communities have trails along Metrolink lines.
What would it be like if we could bike and/or hike along the entire route?
The Friends Of Riverside’s Hills has donated nearly 900 acres of open space to the Box Springs Mountain Preserve.
Most critically, it includes the parcels necessary to build a tunnel and a bridge for safe trail access.
That’s the only safe option that thousands of residents and students have to regain their access to our neighborhoods’ best natural resource: Our trails.
The Friends commissioned a Master Trails Plan for the Box Springs Mountain Preserve, including a trail head at Islander Park.
The trail plan ringed the mountains at the base and at the top connecting dozens of Riverside and Moreno Valley neighborhoods with a variety of trail loop options.
The plan needs updating, but could be used to leverage transportation grant funding to develop alternative transportation networks. That’s taking mobility to a whole new level.
The Northside has been clear and vocal about preserving and restoring their Springbrook Wash trail.
That’s a key trail link to Fairmont Park and the Santa Ana River Trail.
What can we learn from a mega dense urban population like NYC? What can we apply in Riverside?
Aren’t we already feeling the impacts of increasing density? More traffic, longer delays, degrading roadways, boring vistas are all part of the daily commute we’re being forced to live with.
We’ve sold our soul and best natural assets to warehousing and we didn’t even have a designated truck route planned for the city. Go figure.
What would it be like if getting around was fun, easy, exciting … and promoted good health?
SB 1000 requires the each legislative body – city or county, to have safety and an environmental justice element integrated into their general plans.
What would it be like if we had a coordinated transportation agency response that leveraged resources for immediate community equity?
Just some thoughts…. Would love to hear about yours.
The Riverside Transmission Reliability Project will destroy the viewshed of Riverside and the surrounding communities forever. This is being promoted by our public utility department. It’s unwise and unnecessary. Find out why at a special Teach In at the next UNA meeting – June 13, 2019.
We’ll have
Mayor Brian Berkson/Jurupa Valley
Councilman Chris Barajas/Jurupa Valley
Norco Representative Susan Bowen
Devonne Pitruzzello
to explain why undergrounding is better for all communities and what you can do to make sure that happens. Tell your neighbors. Mark the date. 3 weeks and counting.
Save The Date June 13, 2019
Join us every 2nd Thursday of the month, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm for
UCR will be holding the first of two community meetings to discuss a proposed parking structure on Monday, April 22. The meeting will be held from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm in Room J-102 of the Bannockburn Housing Complex, located at 3637 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507 – Note: Parking will be free, however please park in the North Bannockburn parking lot.
UC Riverside is proposing to build a new multi-story Parking Structure facility on the east portion of the existing campus Parking Lot 13, located at the north-east edge of campus directly south of Big Springs Road. This Project will construct a parking facility which will accommodate 1200 parking spaces (800 net new). This Parking facility will enhance the community and campus by creating a safe vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle friendly environment by addressing circulation along Big Springs Road and adjacent roadway alignments while effectively integrating safety amenities.
For more information on the project, please see the attached flyer.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Dave Bomba, Project Manager
UCR Planning, Design & Construction (951) 827-1412
email: dave.bomba@ucr.edu
or
Jeff Kraus
UCR Office of Government and Community Relations (951) 827-7073
Apparently someone took exception to our community self-guerrilla gardening action. Maybe they didn’t like the plants we chose?
From this:
To This:
To Now:
One theory being circulated is that RCTC is planning to do a major landscape upgrade along the portion of the line through the neighborhood, investing the resources healthy communities deserve and that should have been part of the project originally.
Neighbors and UCR students also deserve to have access to their trails and the Box Springs Mountains Preserve again.
No one is buying a safety issue regarding visibility. We have state of the art Quiet Zones. No reason we shouldn’t have the state of neighborhood art when it comes to our landscaping preferences.
Especially when it’s crowd sourced FREE, and a whole lot better that what we got from RCTC and the Ghost Train. See Average Ridership Numbers Below 2018.
Weekday Sat Sun
91/Perris Valley Line
2,995
899
608
Original Post Below:
Love Riverside 2018 brings another instant green space in the neighborhood.
University Neighborhood gardeners are not deterred by a little rain. They’ve been know to exclaim, “hell yes, let’s plant something!”
So we did. Thanks to all the volunteers who proved once again, many hands make short work.
Hello Garden Lovers! The Riverside Garden Oasis is meeting this Saturday, Sept. 22, 9:00 am at Scott’s & Michele’s beautiful garden!
2750 Orange St. Riverside, 92501
Garden open at 8:30 am for light refreshments. Everyone is welcome, bring a friend and enjoy the beautiful gardens.
We will learn what we should be doing to prepare a winter veggie garden and see how beautiful a water-wise garden can be at the end of a very long hot summer! Hope to see you there.
The Riverside Garden Oasis meets on the 4th Saturday every other month. Next meeting November 24, 2018; location to be announced! Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
Save the Date. Love Riverside Day of service will be Saturday, October 13, 2018.
This year’s project is greenscaping the Metrolink fence on Mt. Vernon Ave. We have some yucca, firesticks and agave to plant. Guerilla Gardeners welcome.
Bring a shovel, water, gloves and wear shoes. Park on Linden St.
https://goo.gl/maps/t68MUKEBKbB2
You can register for this project here: https://www.loveriverside.org/communityservice
Good afternoon. I am writing to convey gratitude to you, as well as to convey some information.
First, thank you. Thank you for the service you provide every day to the Riverside community and to your colleagues across the City organization. Thank you, too, for your patience and support of your City management team as we have endeavored this past month to transition, adjust and get settled while striving to problem solve, add value, and serve. The City Manager’s Office is close to having its “sea legs” and will hit our stride together with you by August. I am grateful to you for who you are and what you do each day.
Second, I want to share an update on the reorganization of the City Manager’s Office, make you aware of opportunities that are becoming available within our organization, remind you of the 5-by-5 dimensions of my role as your City Manager, and to remind you of the Acting City Manager schedule for July.
Reorganization
As you know, the City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, June 19th, to reinstate the classification and salary range for the position of Deputy City Manager. As I previously reported to you, I have asked Carlie Myers and Moises Lopez to fill these two posts. (Please congratulate both of them when you see them.) They report directly to Assistant City Managers Lea Deesing and Rafael Guzman, respectively, to ensure we provide a high level of customer service to the Mayor and City Council, the public and one another. Further, Valerie Castro, Sarah Varela, Kristina Clabaugh, and Donna Finch are incredibly talented and gifted colleagues who provide the City Management Team with the wherewithal to perform at our very best. They are passionate about public service, consummate professionals, and wonderful people. I am very proud of this whole team and know they are dedicated to working with you to do the most public good.
On a practical level, with this new organization of the City Manager’s Office, the following changes to department leadership and agenda report review are now effective.
Department
CMO/ACM
Legistar Agenda Report Reviewer
Community & Economic Development
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Finance
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Fire
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
General Services
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Human Resources
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Innovation & Technology
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Library
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Museum
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Parks, Recreation & Community Services
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Police
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Public Utilities
Al Zelinka
Carlie Myers
Public Works
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
CMO – Office of Homeless Solutions
Rafael Guzman
Moises Lopez
CMO – Office of Organizational Performance & Auditing
Al Zelinka
Carlie Myers
CMO – Office of Communications
Al Zelinka
Carlie Myers
Also, with the elevation of Lea Deesing to the role of Assistant City Manager, Chris Tilden is filling the role of Interim Chief Innovation Officer, and George Khalil is the Interim Deputy CIO. David Welch is our Interim Director of Community & Economic Development, filling the shoes vacated by Rafael Guzman when he became Assistant City Manager. Chris Christopoulos is Interim Deputy Director of Community & Economic Development. Please congratulate Chris, George, David and Chris when you see them. Many thanks to everyone for stepping in and showing leadership in their respective roles.
Books By Al Zelinka
Opportunities
Because of these changes, and because of movement that already has occurred in various jobs, we have opened, or soon will open candidate searches for the following positions: Chief Innovation Officer, Community & Economic Development Director, Library Director, Public Utilities General Manager and Principal Management Analyst. Please encourage those you know – both within and outside of City Hall – to apply.
5 by 5
I have been sharing publicly 5 attributes of Riverside that I appreciate most and that provide me with the confidence needed to serve alongside you on this journey to accomplish important things for the benefit of the public:
· Leadership: Our elected leaders care about this community and strive to represent the diverse viewpoints of Riverside in their decision-making and interaction with each of us. Likewise, City departments care about this community and deliver services, solve problems and open doors to Riverside’s promise every day.
· Community: Riverside as a diverse community is complete with hard working residents who are largely proud of living here and who want to do better for themselves and their families. It is a place with innumerable points of pride in the built and natural environments. It is also a place with heritage that people cherish and question, and build upon for the future.
· Partnership: Riverside is a community with unlimited potential and networks of social strength that can accomplish anything – think about the Cheech and CARB. While people in Riverside may not always agree, they – by and large – stay at the table with one another with an eye to realizing the good for Riverside.
· Mindset. It is inspiring to be part of a City where so many residents and businesses do things together and for one another. This community admits mistakes, learns from them, and becomes better as a result; likewise, this community celebrates is successes and its assets. The Riverside community, while not perfect, has a collective mindset that is largely outward facing and wanting to do good.
· Elevating the Conversation. The questions of “what can be?” and “what if?” are at the root of Riverside. Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote that includes “Great minds talk about ideas….” well represents what is most natural to this community. While there will always be aspects of criticism and negativity, Riverside is entrepreneurial and can-do by nature.
In addition to the 5 attributes of Riverside, I have also been sharing publicly 5 areas of focus our whole City Team and the community need to advance to ensure a promising future for Riverside – these areas are not “wants”, they are “needs” and we need to draw from the above attributes to advance them together:
· Riverside and the Region. We need to: 1) Advocate for the Inland Empire’s Equitable Share of Scarce Public Resources and Do Our Part to Uplift the Capacity of the Region’s Non-Profit Ecosystem to Secure Its Share of Philanthropic Resources; and, 2) Do Our Part to Grow Riverside’s Local Economy and Work in Partnership to Facilitate Opportunities for Improved Quality of Life for All.
· The Riverside Brand. We need to: 1) Tell the Riverside Story Better than Ever to Heighten Riverside’s Brand throughout the World; and, 2) Communicate and Engage More Effectively than Ever with Riverside Residents and Businesses.
· Resilient Riverside. We need to: 1) Elevate the Entire Community’s Preparedness for Natural and Human Caused Conditions and Events; and, 2) Ensure the Financial Health of the City and Stretch Measure Z Dollars for Maximum Public Benefit Locally.
· Self-Reliant Riverside. We need to: 1) Align and Leverage the City’s Utilities to Maximize Local Resource Recovery and Renewable Energy Production; and, 2) Realize a Second Connection to the Electrical Grid and Prepare for Our Electric-Based, Information-Driven Future.
· Riverside Serves. We need to: 1) Demonstrate Continual Improvement to the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Providing Public Services; and, 2) Improve the Volunteerism Infrastructure in Riverside to Benefit All of Riverside.
Building upon the above 5 attributes and 5 areas of focus, I am confident our City Team will continue to excel in providing a responsive, engaged and innovative local government to the residents and business community of Riverside.
In closing, I am looking forward to our journey together and what our team will do to advance public good in the years ahead. I am proud of the services you and our 2,500 colleagues deliver every day – you make a difference. And, I am here for you – if you have an idea, a question, a suggestion or a comment, please let me know – we are each other’s greatest resources.
Having a parking program acknowledges that cars have a major impact on city life. We design streets to handle various flows of traffic at optimal speeds.
Too bad we never seem to be able to get enough traffic lanes to keep things moving smoothly. When all those cars get home, they park somewhere. Sometimes that’s a problem.
Knowing how to solve that problem on your street is contained in Riverside’s New Parking Program Details. See links below.
Transportation is a part of our daily lives. It’s important that it works well for everyone. For those who remember the series of conversations with UCR and the City about how catering to cars, particularly at student rental units, caused the first neighborhood wide restricted parking opt-in zone to be created.
This basically leaves it to the neighbors to discuss and agree on what if any parking restrictions they might want to have posted on their streets. That included days, times, etc.
Our Neighborhood Specific Plan addressed these concerns as documented in the Circulation Element. It’s worth a review.
Neighborhood Specific Plan Watkins Dr Valencia Hill North and South Section
Watkins Drive neighbors immediately banned day time parking. The City posted signs and the problem was solved. That’s how it was crafted to work. It was resident friendly and FREE,
After all, we the residents are the impacted parties. Charging residents for permits is pennywise and pound foolish. Neighbors coming together to solve their problem shouldn’t be penalized for doing so.
It’s as if no one saw a campus growing to 23,000 wouldn’t have an impact. Cars in traffic, cars parked on our streets and in our driveways.
UCR has been working to reduce on campus parking by banning freshman from parking on campus unless necessary for work or care giving duties.
They are also building a Mobility Hub on camps to integrate multi modes of transportation which will help reduce car trips considerably. Bus runs every 15 minutes, some with express stops will keep ridership numbers rising.
RUSD is proposing a STEM High School on campus. This is going to cause a major increase in the already dense daily traffic volume at peak times.
Transportation will continue to impact our daily lives. It’s in our best interests to be paying attention to what’s being proposed for our neighborhood.
UCR will be holding the first of two community meetings to discuss a proposed parking structure on Monday, April 22. The meeting will be held from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm in Room J-102 of the Bannockburn Housing Complex, located at 3637 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507 – Note: Parking will be free, however please park in the North Bannockburn parking lot.
