If you notice city crews working on your street in the coming weeks, you’re in good company. More than 80 streets will be serviced during the annual “slurry seal” work planned by the city’s Engineering Services Department over the next three months.
According to the city, slurry seals are typically used for streets where extensive reconstruction is not warranted. Work on Palm Springs streets includes crack cleaning and filling, micro-milling of the street surface, placement of slurry seal and replacement of roadway markings.
The work should cause minimal disturbance, engineers said, and on most days access to homes will not be significantly impacted. On the day your street is scheduled to be slurry sealed, however, access will be limited during working hours, and there will be ‘No Parking’ signs posted. Once slurry seal placement begins, residents will not have vehicle access to their property until the material has sufficiently cured — usually by 4 PM.
The city created a dedicated number to address any issues that may arise during construction. If you have any special considerations, questions or need assistance, you can contact the slurry seal hotline at 760-846-5477. Note that the hotline is not for those who want to request that their street be paved.
BRIEFLY
FIRE DEPARTMENT THANKED: The Palm Springs Fire Department received a special thank you from one area resident after they helped him celebrate his 100th birthday last month. Earl Smith’s family recorded a video of him thanking the first responders, and the department posted it on social media Wednesday. Smith’s family and friends gathered in the city April 26 to celebrate the milestone. The birthday party was even filmed for a local television news broadcast. “As firefighters we unfortunately see a great deal of unfortunate incidents,” fire officials wrote when posting the video. “So when we are able to … participate in saving or making a difference in someone’s life it reminds us of why this career chose us. Thank you Earl for the opportunity to spend some time with you on your 100th birthday and remind us why we sacrifice so much.”
COVID CASES: Seven new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the city in the past week, according to data released this week. That number reflects one more case than was reported the week before. To date, 3,741 cases of COVID have been reported in the city since the pandemic began. The city has recorded 125 deaths, but has not reported one in the past four weeks. In Riverside County, nearly 300,000 cases have been reported, as well as 4,588 deaths.
TODAY’S EVENTS
- STORY TIME: “Read-To-Me Story Time” with Nancy Valdivia, the city’s children’s librarian, takes place at 10 AM this morning on YouTube and Facebook.
- BOOK CLUB: The Cover to Cover Book Club meets on Zoom at 2 PM. Librarian Sharon Ballard leads the club the second Thursday of every month. This month the group is discussion “Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History,” by Keith O’Brien. For more information, and to join the email list for the group, contact Ballard at sharon.ballard@palmspringsca.gov
- FOOD AVAILABLE: FIND Food Bank distributes food in the city today at two locations. A mobile market will be set up at James O. Jessie Desert Highlands Unity Center, 480 W Tramview Rd., between 4 PM and 6 PM, where it resides the second and fourth Thursday of every month. Food is also available at the community food bank, 610 S. Belardo Road, between 5 PM and 7 PM. That location is open every Thursday. A complete calendar of food distribution in the community is available here.
ONGOING
- OUTDOOR ART: Desert X art installations are on display throughout the Coachella Valley, including several within the Palm Springs city limits. The free event runs through May 16. A map of the installations can be found here. Some require reservations to view.
- VACCINES: Anyone 16 and older now qualifies for a COVID-19 vaccine in Riverside County. If you qualify, you can get one at the Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 North Avenida Caballeros, from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 8:30 AM until 7 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Appointments are not required. You can also find a list of community providers such as pharmacies here.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Want to know about city and other municipal events? Road construction in your neighborhood? Building activity? Have something to report? The following links should help:
City of Palm Springs calendar of events
Police reports | Submit a police report
Code compliance reports | Report a code violation
Current road projects and closures
