The $100 million dollar clusterfuck that is CV Link has been touted as a way to connect the Coachella Valley with a safe, healthy alternative to Highway 111 for pedestrians, bicyclists and low-speed electric vehicles. Wait. Electric vehicles? What is safe or healthy about that?
Seriously.
It is going to be hard enough, if this thing ever does get built, for runners to to stay out of the way of cyclists – so how is allowing an asshole on a golf cart on this path safe?
Now CV Link counters this on their website by stating:
There is always the risk of accidents on bike paths and roads. CV Link proposes to have a separate path for pedestrians, while bikes and LSEVs would share a 14-foot wide paved path. The intent is to reduce accidents involving bikes and pedestrians on busy streets like Highway 111, Ramon Road and Fred Waring Drive by giving families, seniors, tourists, and others a safe route away from fast, heavy automobile traffic.
Oh good, so it is only cyclists that have to worry about getting run over by a a senior citizen in low-speed powered vehicle that can go 25 mph, which is also what senior citizens top their gas-powered cars out at on Highway 111. I am sure the bikers are just thrilled.
Now, as far as the CV Link being a healthy alternative for people in the Coachella Valley, sure, running, walking, and biking are all very healthy. But, as for as healthy goes, I have my doubts about this…
There are a lot of questions people have about CV Link – how to pay for maintenance, where it will actually be built, where all of the money for those dumb TV commercials comes from, why they are trying to scare us into wanting it – and those should all be answered, along with: why allow people to drive powered vehicles that can go 25 mph on this thing?
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
