• T-NOW in Wildomar

This past week the Southwest chapter of T-NOW held its monthly meeting, in Wildomar. 

T-NOW stands for Transportation NOW, it's a localized subgroup of RTA.

Though I'm the chair of our local chapter, I can't tell you what "NOW" stands for... other than "now"... as in -now-, this instant. ☺

The video below was made for a 2017 meeting where all the chapters in Riverside County come together once a year. It gives a brief overview of the Southwest Chapter.

Typically our meetings are attended by officials from the six cities that the chapter covers, plus a representative of Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez's office and one from Supervisor Jeffries' office too. 

Members of organizations like The Sierra Club, in addition to everyday bus riders, and other concerned citizens, also attend T-NOW meetings.

We have a recurring agenda item called, Legislative Update where each of the cities gives an overview on what's happening in their towns (generally in regards to transportation) and the same is true of the county and state's reps.

If the font is too small to read... click the link below to see it on the actual page.

From the T-NOW webpage (link to page)

For Transportation NOW members, it's all about being part of the movement. The movement of people on buses and trains, that is.

Since our inception in 1992, Transportation NOW has been a proud advocate and enthusiastic supporter of public transportation in Riverside County. Our efforts have produced results that will last a lifetime, and ensure that bus and rail usage remains an integral part of this region for years to come.

Members of our grassroots group — ranging from elected officials to community activists to everyday transit users — are committed not only to addressing regional transportation issues but meeting the needs of our individual communities.

And with growing concern over crowded freeways, rising fuel costs and emphasis on finding cleaner and greener ways to get around, Transportation NOW is focused on the challenges that lie ahead and dedicated to making a real difference.

There's never been a better time to be part of the movement. For more information or to join a chapter, call Eric Ustation at (951) 565-5250 or email at eustation@riversidetransit.com.

Now that you know the basics about T-NOW, let me tell you about the most recent meeting. It was held in Wildomar, which happens once a year. 

The other meetings are typically held in one of the other participating cities (Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore and the community center in Lakeland Village).

We had a presentation by Wildomar city staffer Jason Farag outlining the various road projects going on in town, or are scheduled to happen shortly(ish).

Jason Farag with a poster of the Bundy Canyon improvements.

Key Wildomar Projects Noted:

     ►     Multipurpose Trail on Grand Avenue is now complete (less fresh road striping), including installation of bike lanes. It stretches the length of the city from Corydon to Clinton Keith.

Next project(s) in line, starting in June, is the road repair and maintenance rehabilitation project; funded through gas taxes and SB 1. It includes four major streets in Wildomar.

             •  Clinton Keith Road (near Palomar) will get a 6 inch asphalt removal and replacement to repair the section of road in front of The Barn then finished off with a slurry known as a micro surface.

             •  Grand Avenue will also get a 6 inch asphalt removal and replacement between McVicar St and Jane Ct. (about a quarter of a mile)

             •  Bundy Canyon Road repair from Oak Circle Road to The Farm Road. Grind and overlay type of repair. This will be grinding away 2 inches of asphalt and replacing it with 2 inches of new asphalt "in the areas that the pavement has failed."

             •  Inland Valley Drive, "about half of the road will [get] grinding [of] the asphalt and replacing it with new asphalt, then doing an overlay across the entire roadway." 

Longer Term Projects     

     ►     Full widening of Bundy Canyon to begin in Summer of 2019 (as long as SB1 doesn't get overturned).

     ►     Clinton Keith road widening (completion not set for another couple of years). It'll see the entire stretch of Clinton Keith, between the 15 and the cityline with Murrieta, upgraded to a 4 lane road. 

"In the next few months, the possibility of constructing the 4 lanes on Clinton Keith as well, 2 lanes in each direction, with the available funding that the city has currently available, secured. Then ultimately there's the plan to fully widen the road with curb, gutter, active transportation, additional bike lanes. The initial focus will be on widening the road to provide the traffic capacity."

- Jason Farag

     •     Plans are still in development for the widening of Palomar Road, with no timetables set and plans still in development. 

Lake Elsinore city council member Daryl Hickman asked: "What kind of condition is Lost Road in right now?"

Jason responded, "The city did a few years back an application of a crushed miscellaneous asphalt type material [...] there are no plans that I'm aware of right now for widening [or other] project on Lost Road."

Hickman's concern was that Lost Road will be used more and more by people of Canyon Hills and Canyon Lake as an alternative to Railroad Canyon during the construction set to hit that area any day now, not to mention when Railroad Canyon gets closed down due to an emergency.

Hickman then added about the road, "They'll be using Lost Road. If you need our city to, maybe, grade it for you..."

I'm not sure how many of you have actually used Lost Road, but I've taken it once... ONCE! It was for a blog when they were going to resurface it back in August of 2015. 

(link to said blog)

Below is a video I made, sped up with Nintendo style sound effects added, that shows Lost Road before it was resurfaced.

It's really a hazardous road that was never designed to be a modern road; too many hairpin turns and blind corners. In my opinion, it's really above the City of Wildomar's pay grade to take care of as a city project.

Bus Ride Challenge

In the past, Southwest T-NOW has had several field trips. 
In 2015 we rode the bus from Murrieta City Hall to the Promenade in Temecula. 

In 2015 we had a rider appreciation event at MSJC and another at the Lake Elsinore Outlets. 

This event started at about 4:30am... in NOVEMBER!!! It was cold, but memorable. ☺
Location: Lake Elsinore Outlets

In 2016 we took the train from the newly opened Perris Valley Line to downtown Riverside and returned on an RTA bus.

We've since embarked on a monthly challenge where members ride the bus and invite local officials to join them.

The most recent example was in Wildomar where city council members Bridgette Moore and Marsha Swanson, two Wildomar Queens (Jessie and Daisy), along with Jessie's mom Carloann Darden and Daisy's brother Christopher. 

It was an unseasonably cold day when we took this bus ride.

We picked up the bus across from the hospital, transferred at the corner of Palomar and Central, went down Grand Ave around the lake, had a 30 minute stop at The Lake Elsinore Outlets, came down Mission Trail and transferred where we did the first time, then were dropped off at the hospital... it was a 3 hour tour... ♪ 3 hour tour ♫.

Agenda announcements can include RTA promos, and current ridership stats. We learned that ridership was up last month by 1.1% from the year before, and the U-Pass program has seen an increase of 27.7% in the same time frame.
(link to what U-Pass is)

RTA is also bringing back their popular 25 cent fair for students during the 2018 Summer months.

If your kids tell you that they're board this Summer, send them around the lake for a quarter.

Link to official RTA webpage discussing the promotion.
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The Southwest T-NOW meetings are held on the 4th Wednesday of the month, from 12pm-1pm. If you're interested in attending, check out the facebook page at the following link. 

Another bonus that comes with attending the Southwest T-NOW meetings is that lunch is provided... not something most of the other chapters offer. 

Pie Nation donated the lunch for the most recent T-NOW meeting held in Wildomar.

The next meeting is slated for Lake Elsinore, in their "Cultural Center" on Main St, Wednesday, June 27th at noon. 

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The election is about 5 months away. Check out the website (by clicking the image) to learn more about my views. If you have questions, please feel free to ask. If elected, I'll always respond to your emails, texts or phone calls.

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Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get..
– Dale Carnegie 

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