Short Range Transit Plan 2008-2013 - Omnitrans

IBI GROUP
SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN REPORT
OMNITRANS COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
& SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN
CITY OF RIALTO
Overview
The “City of Rialto General Plan” was last updated in March 1992 by the Keith Company. Later
amendments to the Land Use and Circulation Elements have been made in keeping with the original
goals and policies. The City has currently hired EDAW to do a revised comprehensive update of the
General Plan document.
Key Relevant Points
For the residential category, high-density housing, except that for senior citizens, has brought problems to
the city and therefore extending high-density residential land use is considered undesirable. Yet as more
land is available, affordable housing is looked as an important design element.
The City has proposed a new industrial land use zoning category of varying intensity on large portions of
vacant land. The City plans to focus redevelopment plans on several vacant in-fill sites along Foothill
Boulevard and provide commercial business opportunities in the Central Business District. The document
identifies in-fill sites for development along Foothill Boulevard within radii of 1, 3, and 5 miles. The
downtown revitalization for $2.8 million is currently underway and this would bring more mixed-use
commercial and residential development.
After the completion of the I-210 Freeway extension to North Rialto, with four on and off ramps, retail and
commercial growth are seen as added advantages on vacant adjacent lands. Currently a moratorium has
been ordered on many development proposals along the I-210 corridor; the City plans to lift this action on
December 20, 2006, when the Land Use Element would be updated. The properties most affected are
located east of Alder Avenue, north of Baseline road, west of Ayala Avenue; also included are those
properties that have frontage on Casmalia or Easton Avenue. Around 1500 acres of land along the I-210
Freeway extension are marked for development, including the area around Rialto Municipal airport.
A new Gateway Center is planned in the East Central sector, between Foothill Boulevard and the I-10
Freeway, east of Cactus Avenue. This is a diverse area with some of the city’s oldest development.
Caltrans has proposed a Route 30 extension parallel to the Highland Avenue, but due to the lack of a
precise planning timeline, update of Land Use Element is deferred along this section of the corridor.
Bloomington Avenue is one of the city’s most attractive streetscapes but its north-south grid creates a five
point intersection with Riverside Avenue, creating confusion and danger for drivers. Its other terminus on
Cedar Avenue is congested by traffic coming from and to Valley Boulevard and the I-10 Freeway. The
City has a goal to improve this corridor and limit traffic by measures such as speed limits, crosswalks,
signals, and stop signs.
Other goals noted in the General plan are to:
• Develop Rialto Avenue Corridor to become economically viable in the local area.
• Promote commuter rail station location along Atchison Topeka Avenue and
Santa Fe Avenue.
• Redesign intersection of Rialto Avenue and Willow Avenue to connect Civic
Center, Post Office and Downtown from the west.
• Encourage location of high order retail centers along the western end of Foothill
Boulevard to serve Rialto residents as well as to capture residents from far west.
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