City plans to study downtown walk buttons, Belardo bike markings in safety plan
Members of the Active Transportation Subcommittee this week urged faster action on pedestrian crossings and shared-lane confusion.
Palm Springs engineering staff plan to fold changes to downtown pedestrian walk buttons, and confusion over bike markings on Belardo Road, into the city’s comprehensive safety action plan, even as members of the Active Transportation Subcommittee pushed for quicker action Monday.
Staff said the consultant working on the plan holds a kickoff meeting with the city this week. The consultant is evaluating the city as a whole and can review the downtown area.
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At issue is whether the city should automatically time pedestrian signals downtown and improve how drivers understand shared lanes. Subcommittee members said tourists can delay traffic by not activating signals, suggested a short-term test using city cameras, and proposed green pavement markings and public education to make sharrows clearer.
A member of the city’s Engineering Department said the 15-minute estimate was premature and that programming one intersection isn’t simple, because a whole corridor must be considered. Making every signal turn green automatically could lengthen waits and back up traffic, staff said, and cost is a factor.
“We’re not saying no,” he said, adding that staff want to study where the change could be applied and prioritize it with other projects from the plan.
The subcommittee will take up Belardo as a separate agenda item at its next meeting on Nov. 9. Staff said the city plans to redo its speed survey, possibly by the end of this year, though it could slip to 2027 or 2028, and could review speeds on Belardo then.
Sustainability Director Jasmine Fields said the reprinted bike map includes information on sharrows, but members said drivers don’t read bike maps. Councilmember Ron deHarte said an education effort would fit the mission of Blue Zones and suggested asking the group to help.
“It’s not a big dollar thing, but it’s worth throwing that back out,” deHarte said.
Staff said the safety plan is a chance to make bike markings on Belardo consistent. If the plan identifies standard designs, they could be added through paving and striping over time.
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