Even though it has been working fine as a one-way street for 40 years, the city of Palm Springs is considering changing the configuration of Indian Canyon Drive. Good grief.
Three plans are being considered and, really, none of them make any damn sense.
Here they are, via Desert Sun:
Staff is recommending councilmembers add a southbound lane and a left-turn lane to the west half of Indian Canyon Drive. This would reduce the number of northbound lanes from four to two between Alejo Road and Camino Parocela.
Officials also will consider concepts that maintain three northbound lanes, but at the expense of parking spaces along either side of Indian Canyon. One version would remove 125 spaces from the east side of the road and another one would eliminate 120 spots on the west half.
A fourth layout maintains one-way traffic, but removes one lane in order to install diagonal parking spaces on the west side of Indian Canyon. This format would add 24 parking spots.
There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s go through each plan:
- The added southbound lane: no. This is going to add people turning left and that means longer time spent at stoplights and…no. Just no.
- Removing space: Ummm, first off, a plan eliminating 125 parking spots? Downtown? What the hell are you doing, Palm Springs?
- Removing a lane to add diagonal spaces: While, at first, hearing the possibility of additional parking spaces sounds nice (and needed), is an additional 24 really worth taking out a lane? No. No it is not.
So there you go.
Anyone who has been in the Coachella Valley for a bit may remember that Cathedral City had the bright idea to narrow East Palm Canyon Drive (feels like Highway 111, but it technically is not) back in 2000 and it sucks now and everyone hates it.
Don’t make everyone hate you, Palm Springs City Council – well, any more than they already do, anyway. Do the right thing. The smart thing. The best thing.
Just leave Indian Canyon alone.
Update: If the changes happen, a snail might just move faster on Indian Canyon than your car, according to a study.
