Palm Springs secures $900,000 for pedestrian plan as regional bike network takes shape

Palm Springs has secured $900,000 in federal funding to update and expand its pedestrian plan, setting the stage for broader changes to the city’s active transportation network.

Members of the Palm Springs Active Transportation Subcommittee — made up of commissioners from the city’s Sustainability Commission — learned Monday that the federal government had approved the funding, with minor modifications. The money will expand the city’s 2021 pedestrian plan to include bicycle infrastructure and traffic-calming projects.

During a meeting at City Hall, committee members gave their opinion on what should be the focus for the new pedestrian plan.

Committee members had concerns with the width of sidewalks, cycling safety on Ramon Road and the Belardo Street and South Palm Canyon Drive intersection, wayfinding, and confusion about where people can bike.

“We do have language in our municipal code that says bicycles on sidewalks are prohibited,” Flinn Fagg, assistant city manager, said. “[But] you have to ride on the sidewalk to continue on the CV link, and so we need to do some work there, from a legislative standpoint.”

Also at the meeting, committee members heard a presentation from Peter Satin, conservation program manager with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), who outlined the regional community connectors project. The initiative has identified 44 alignments throughout the valley designed to link the CV Link pathway to homes, schools, parks and community hubs.

“We recognize that CV Link is a linear path through a very wide valley,” Satin said. “So part of the challenge is getting people to that path.”

The regional project aims to reduce vehicle miles traveled while promoting equitable access to transportation. Satin said the planning process prioritized safety and comfort, using collision history and a metric called traffic stress, which measures how comfortable a bike lane is for all cyclists.

“[Low traffic stress] would generally encourage a wider range of users, and not just the professional cyclists that are really comfortable riding on those traffic roadways,” Satin said.

The conceptual plan is expected to be completed by June, with design work continuing through September.

Committee members and public commenters identified several specific local infrastructure concerns during the meeting. Louis Schneider submitted written comments noting unsafe conditions crossing the Ramon Road bridge between Palm Springs and Cathedral City.

“It’s very dangerous crossing on the bridge, sidewalk, while on a bicycle or as a pedestrian, especially at night, very narrow,” Schneider wrote. “Obviously, it’s insane to ride in the roadway.”

Dan Spencer raised safety issues in his public comment about the North Riverside pedestrian path, where electric bikes and pedestrians share a 10-foot-wide pathway.

“Pedestrians are regularly jumping out of the way and cannot walk in pairs,” Spencer wrote. “Most walk their dogs. Many elderly have hearing challenges, and frequently there are families with strollers.”

Committee members raised concerns about inadequate pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure along several key corridors, citing narrow sidewalks on Palm Canyon Drive, missing connections between Belardo Road and the CV Link, and unsafe, chaotic conditions for cyclists near the intersection of Sunrise Way and Ramon Road.

“There are plenty of places on Palm Canyon where the width is 36 inches,” one committee member said. “I cannot walk down Palm Canyon with my mobility impaired mother, because I have to walk next door.”

Staff members will compile the committee’s suggestions to provide to consultants once work begins on updating the pedestrian plan. The committee scheduled its next meeting for March 9 at 1 p.m., with bike parking as a planned agenda item.

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