Rialto Adopts Five-Year Road Improvement Plan

The Rialto City Council adopted a five-year spending plan Aug. 11, outlining how the city intends to use Measure I funding for infrastructure improvements, including street maintenance and widening, pedestrian safety and traffic signal projects through fiscal year 2030-31. 

Measure I is San Bernardino County’s half-cent sales tax used to care for and improve the region’s roads, streets and highways. County voters first approved the measure in 1989 and voted for a 30-year extension in 2004, carrying the program through 2040. 

The revenue generated is administered by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA). Under its Local Streets Program, funding is distributed to local agencies based on population, with cities determining which eligible projects receive funding through annually submitted five-year capital improvement plans. 

“What the measure affords is a revenue stream that can be accumulated over time,” said Tim Watkins, SBCTA’s chief of legislative and public affairs, adding that cities can leverage matching programs to access larger state and federal grants. “Once it’s in the jurisdiction’s possession, it’s theirs to use in compliance with Measure I.”

Rialto’s plan directs Measure I funding toward street and right-of-way maintenance, preventative maintenance and reconstruction, as well as traffic signal installations and upgrades, according to the staff report. The city can also use Measure I revenue as local matching funds to secure state and federal transportation grants.

Inland Empire Community News spoke with Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott. He explained that Measure I is one component of the city’s broader approach to financing major projects, which can combine Measure I revenue, grants and developer improvement fees. 

Scott also explained that funding secured through Measure I is important because it allows Rialto to recoup money the city and its residents have already invested.

“The one thing that I think residents should know is that the taxes they’re paying for gasoline at the pump does come back to the city,” Scott said, adding that the city is currently seeking reimbursement for recently completed projects. 

Projects listed in the plan include the Locust Avenue and Linden widening projects, an extension of the Pacific Electric Trail, improvements associated with Frisbie Middle School’s Safe Routes to School program, and a traffic signal at Cactus and Easton avenues in partnership with San Bernardino County. The plan also includes multiple Safe Routes to School projects. 

Other planned investments include citywide traffic signal upgrades, school crossing and pedestrian safety improvements, widening Lilac and Summit avenues, the Riverside Avenue Smart Corridor, the city’s Pavement Management Program and minor street improvements throughout Rialto. 

Scott said residents can notify the city of poor road conditions or code violations through the My Rialto app. 

Unspent project funding remaining at the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year will carry forward until the projects are completed. Leftover funds after a project is finished will be returned to the city’s Measure I fund balance.