A coalition of residents and community groups held a summit Saturday to receive updates from planning and city officials on how they are updating their truck routes, as required by Assembly Bill 98.
The event marked the second gathering in the last six months organized by the Freight Communities Action coalition, a group of environmental justice groups and policy advocates that continue to address health and pollution concerns related to warehousing.
AB 98 was passed by the state legislature two years ago to require warehouse-concentrated regions like the Inland Empire to implement strategies to reduce emissions near schools, parks and other public spaces. Cities and counties were required to approve updated truck routes by Jan. 1, 2026. San Bernardino County adopted new truck routes last December after a series of public workshops and community engagement efforts. Meanwhile, Riverside County has not yet finalized its updates, with several cities still in the process of revising their truck route plans.
Michael McCarthy, a research analyst with Radical Research LLC and member of Riverside Neighbors Opposing Warehouses (R-NOW), shared that despite some progress made by some cities, he is frustrated by the lack of action and engagement by others.
“These organizations that are here, we are extremely happy, even if we're not always happy with all the responses they give. That’s part of the give and take,” said McCarthy. “We're less happy with the organizations that are not here, that we sent invitations to, that didn't attend the previous [summit], or that are making little progress.”
One of the cities slowly making progress is Moreno Valley, whose city attorney — Steven Quintanilla — was in attendance at the summit. He shared that they’ve been in negotiations with the Attorney General’s office regarding their General Plan, which they’ve been required to revise after a judge ruled that their previous plan was inadequate.
Quintanilla also said the city has been provided some “leeway” on the Jan. 1 deadline by the Attorney General’s office. However, he said they have proposed a recommended updated truck route map that reflects some of the input they received from the Val Verde and Moreno Valley Unified School Districts, the Sierra Club San Gorgonio Chapter and native tribes.
“We're doing this today, and we're doing everything we could possibly think of to engage the community,” said Quintanilla.
Ismael Gonzalez, who lives in Moreno Valley and is with the Freight Communities coalition, said the city has been responsive to people’s suggestions about eliminating truck routes that travel close to neighborhoods and schools.
“Thankfully, 95% has been received and kind of considered by the city. So what we've asked for so far has been greenlit,” said Gonzalez. “It's not been approved yet, but so far so good. And we're trying to do this for all the surrounding areas here in the Inland Empire.”
Beyond updating maps, much of the discussion at the summit centered on how truck routes would be enforced once adopted. Stakeholders raised concerns about whether cities can afford dedicated enforcement and how citations could disproportionately impact independent truck drivers.
Officials from both counties noted that agencies like the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol allows cities to pursue contracting for truck and commercial vehicle enforcement. But those efforts come at a cost — with a single enforcement truck costing about $250,000. Officers are also often limited by high-priority emergency calls.
