The Palm Springs City Council recently approved the allocation of $250,000 for projects to reduce speeding in three different neighborhoods.
Driving the news: The approval comes after residents requested the City Council put in new measures to address dangerous conditions. After a series of studies and multiple meetings, the Council approved the new measures on May 26.
Who gets what: The three neighborhoods receiving help are Desert Highland Gateway Estates, Little Tuscany, and Melody Ranch.
- Desert Highland Gateway Estates will have two sets of speed humps installed on Eastgate Road between Tramview and Rosa Parks roads.
- In Little Tuscany, on West Racquet Club Road, the city will modify existing temporary traffic calming devices called “chicanes” and make them permanent.
- The Melody Ranch neighborhood is getting new traffic feedback signs on Seven Lakes Drive between Cherokee Way and Gene Autry Trail.
No need for speed: The need for traffic calming projects is urgent. The city has a high number of traffic collisions, and in most of them speed was a factor.
- There were 1,500 traffic collisions in the city last year, resulting in 450 injuries.
- Sixteen people were killed in those collisions. An average of nine people have been killed in traffic collisions each year since 2013.
Pedestrian deaths: Just a few weeks ago there were two pedestrian fatalities on city streets. In one, the driver is cooperating. The other was a hit and run with no suspect.
Slow your roll: This is just one project meant to make streets safer in Palm Springs. Three dozen city streets are in the process of getting lower speed limits.
But wait: Councilmembers and staff passed on the option for a roundabout in Little Tuscany, saying gently, “They’re not universally loved.”
- City Manager Justin Clifton noted, “I worked in one community 15 years ago and still some people run for council on the ticket of tearing out the roundabouts.”
? Our take: Even though the City Council passed on the roundabout, it’s proven that they’re safer, more efficient, and even better for the environment. If only Americans knew how to use them.
