ICUC will hold a meeting to celebrate recent transportation commitments to North Shore at the North Shore Yacht Club today. Photo: COACHELLA UNINC

NORTH SHORE — Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) will hold a community meeting to celebrate ICUC leaders’ efforts to improve access to public transportation to North Shore and to share the commitment to making this project successful over two years.

The forum will take place today, April 24, at the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club at 5 p.m.

This forum will include student and parent testimonies, a report on the community-led research campaign, and public comments by Riverside County Supervisor John J. Benoit, SunLine and Riverside County Transportation Commission.

After a year and a half of research and over 1,000 conversations in the local community, ICUC leaders seek to improve access to public transportation by aligning the North Shore victory to deeper transportation needs in Mecca, Oasis and Thermal.

According to ICUC surveyed research of 167 people living in North Shore, 76 percent of people in the town rely on family, friends or coworkers for transportation. And over 40 percent of North Shore’s residents surveyed live on less than $12,000 a year.  The ICUC leader-led event will ask the Benoit, SunLine, and the County of Riverside to assess transportation needs and resources of Mecca, Oasis and Thermal to later create a Rural Transportation Plan for the Eastern Coachella Valley.