Riverside approves TRAC application to study Woodman‑Harshman corridor after residents raise safety and cost concerns

Riverside City Council on May 19 voted to authorize the city to apply to the state Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) for $1,500,000 to fund phase‑2 environmental and design work on the Woodman Gateway project, with the city prepared to provide a local match of up to $400,000 if the award is granted.

The vote came after multiple residents spoke during the meeting’s public comment period urging caution about concepts shown in the project materials — in particular, multiple roundabouts proposed for the Woodman‑Harshman corridor — and asking for clearer cost estimates, traffic impacts and the project timetable.

The application, described in the council packet as necessary to advance environmental engineering and design, would cover testing, environmental analysis and preliminary design steps. Josh, City Manager, told the council “most road grants…are pay to play in the sense that cities have to put up money in order to get any money,” and that the recommended $400,000 match is intended to improve the city’s competitiveness under this year’s scoring criteria.

Why it matters: the Woodman‑Harshman…