Lake Elsinore City Councilman Asks Gov. Newsom: 'What About Us?'

The following opinion was submitted by Lake Elsinore City Councilman Robert "Bob" Magee:

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — On December 5th, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he was committing $12 million to the temporary expansion of a 5-mile stretch of Interstate 15 (I-15) — near our border with Nevada — allowing Caltrans to utilize the shoulder of the roadway during periods of peak congestion on the weekends. This work, he promised, will be completed next spring.

Hooray for our Governor! He has found a fast and inexpensive way to increase freeway capacity and enable his residents to spend their money in Las Vegas (read Lost Wages) and return in time for the regular workweek. But it’s the regular workweek traffic that needs relief, not a tourism mecca that is dripping with cash from hard-working Californians.

Our section of the I-15 needs relief and we’ve needed it for some time now. When the freeway first opened more than 35 years ago, my 40-mile commute to Riverside was 35 minutes. Today, that same drive averages more than 70 minutes, most of which is spent in stop-and-go traffic.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) has made congestion relief a priority — it’s what the voters wanted — and billions of dollars have been spent toward improving the quality of life for hard-working taxpayers. But those efforts are slowed by needless reams of Bureaucratic red tape.

Right now, $29 million has been committed to analyzing the environmental impacts of adding lanes within the median along the I-15 between Cajalco Road in Corona and state Route 74 in Lake Elsinore to relieve the chokepoint through Temescal Valley. This study will take four years to complete. While I’m no expert, I can say with reasonable certainty that based on my own personal observations there are no pairs of nesting Bald Eagles, Bighorn Sheep or California Oak Trees — all Federally protected species — within this 14-mile median. The Governor could, with just one Executive Order, release us from this wasteful obligation and allow the pavement to begin to be laid immediately for half the price!

Three years ago, the people of California were promised road improvements in exchange for their vote for Senate Bill 1 (SB1) — a 10 year $50 Billion Gas Tax! We have all seen gas prices skyrocket. Premium gas for my wife’s Mini is at $5.16/gallon! But where are all the new lanes?

While I applaud the Governor’s outside-the-box thinking in quickly adding lanes near the Nevada border for weekend travelers, our working families need relief during the week as well to get them safely and quickly back and forth to their jobs so that they can spend more time with their families and less time stuck in traffic.

If you agree go to www.rctc.org/support and let the Governor know that we deserve help too!

Robert “Bob” Magee

Lake Elsinore City Councilman