Carrie Schindler, Executive Director at the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, sees the broader transportation ecosystem taking shape. “The Metrolink San Bernardino line is one of the highest performing lines in the Metrolink system,” she explains. “Cucamonga Station has been one of the highest boarding stations on one of the highest performing lines. So, it is a sweet spot to have Brightline West come into and provide that connection to the broader Metrolink system.” The ONT Connector, which recently received state and federal environmental approval, will provide direct access from Cucamonga Station to Ontario International Airport, one of the nation’s fastestgrowing airports. “Providing this direct connection out of the hub and to the airport is going to help mitigate the potential congestion associated with both of those growth elements,” Schindler notes. BUILDING ROADS AND UTILITIES Infrastructure investments separate successful cities from those that merely react to growth. Rancho Cucamonga has spent years anticipating the demands of a larger population, building everything from water systems to electrical capacity before the need becomes critical. Jason Welday, the city’s Engineering Services Director, describes the comprehensive planning that began during the general plan process. “We spent a lot of time back in 2020, 2021 thinking hard about not only where the houses would go, where the parks would be, but also what our streets would look like and what our utilities would look like so that we wouldn’t just add people and not have the infrastructure needed to support that growth.” The Haven and Foothill multi-way boulevards are the most visible transformation. These projects will convert traditional suburban arterials into urban environments supporting transit, bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles. “We have been able to get grant money to do the design for these projects, which is a massive undertaking,” Welday says. The goal is to create places people want to visit rather than simply drive through. Water infrastructure receives equal attention at speeds up to 200 mph through the median of Interstate 15. “Brightline West is a huge opportunity,” Marquez says. “Cucamonga Station will be the first of its kind in the United States serving the first of its kind high-speed rail service in the country.”The economic projections are staggering: if only 6 million people use the system annually, a conservative estimate, roughly 500,000 Las Vegas visitors would utilize Rancho Cucamonga as their Southern California gateway. 184 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
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