Public commenter urges Rancho Mirage council to oppose express lanes, back Palm Springs rail funding

Rancho Mirage — During non-agenda public comment at the Rancho Mirage City Council meeting, Dominic Moonhart urged local officials to oppose proposals to widen the interstate with express (toll) lanes and to prioritize funding for the Coachella Valley rail project instead.

Moonhart told the council he was "very opposed" to adding express lanes on the interstate and said experience in other regions had not improved congestion: "I look at what happened in Los Angeles and in Orange County ... it hasn't improved and why didn't why didn't freeways and adding express lanes really don't they're not really express. They should just be called toll lanes." He urged the council's RCTC representative to halt the proposal and to redirect funds toward the Palm Springs rail project.

The nut graf: Moonhart's remarks were part of the meeting's public-comment period and represent an individual's view calling for regional transportation funding priorities to focus on rail rather than expanding freeway capacity with toll lanes.

Moonhart also thanked the council for adding a bus connection to link to the I-10 service, calling the new connection a "welcome new addition" and supporting expanded transit service. He identified the Palm Springs rail project (referred to in his remarks as the Coachella Valley rail or Palm Springs rail project) as a long-standing regional priority that he believes should receive funding instead of express-lane projects.

The council did not take action on the comments during the meeting; public-comment remarks were recorded and the council proceeded to other items, including a scheduled closed session.