Riverside Police Check Trucks on Central Avenue as Council Weighs Steeper Fines and River District Plan

Riverside police held a commercial vehicle enforcement checkpoint on Central Avenue on Tuesday morning, less than two weeks after a City Council committee unanimously recommended raising the fine for truck route violations from $100 to $1,000.

The Riverside Police Department announced the operation on its Facebook page, saying officers from its Traffic Bureau would be conducting inspections on Central Avenue until noon.

The checkpoint focused on a stretch of Central Avenue where commercial vehicles with more than three axles are barred, except when making deliveries. The restriction is set out in Section 10.56.050 of the Riverside Municipal Code.

Also on Tuesday, the City Council received an update on a two-year feasibility study that proposes turning 250 acres of underused parkland along the Santa Ana River into what the study calls a "vibrant public realm." The concept builds on a vision first conceived more than 20 years ago to "put the river back in Riverside."

The proposed River District would be organized around four pillars: Engagement, Enforcement, Environment and Economics, with the aim of reconnecting residents to the city's namesake waterway. The study was conducted by Economic Consultants Oregon, Ltd. under a $199,335 contract that the Council approved in October 2023, and it received support from the California State Coastal Conservancy. The draft is available online for public comment before it is finalized.

Parks and Recreation Director Pamela Galera described the problem the district is meant to address. "Many people in the community didn't even know we had a river. They did not know how to access the river and they did not feel safe on the river," she told the Council. Questions remain, however, about how the ambitious project would be funded.

In other news, researchers at UC Riverside found that methylglyoxal is more toxic to human lung cells than acetaldehyde when propylene glycol in e-cigarette fluids is heated. Their work suggests that lower-powered devices may produce higher levels of the toxin.

On the weather front, Southern California is heading into another October heat wave as Halloween approaches. The forecast shows temperatures climbing into the 90s this week.

A busy events calendar lies ahead. Wednesday's offerings include singer Jason Mraz at the Fox Performing Arts Center. Thursday brings a range of Halloween-themed gatherings, along with a women's soccer match against UC Davis at the UCR Soccer Stadium. Later events include a Medicare expo on November 5 and a gala dinner and auction for NORA on November 15.