Consultants recommend Pueblo Viejo site for Coachella rail station; study outlines station design, TOD and economic strategy

Marie (project presenter) told the Planning Commission on Feb. 4 that the Coachella Rail Station Feasibility Study evaluates potential station locations within Coachella City and recommends a preferred site in the Pueblo Viejo area.

"Coachella is identified as that line's terminus," Marie said, summarizing the study's purpose and the city's grant partnership with the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).

The consultant team described a station roughly between 6th and 4th streets with a pedestrian overcrossing centered near 4th Street, bus access, drop‑off and pick‑up zones, bicycle accommodations, parking and an adjacent layover facility south of Avenue 52 for trains terminating in Coachella City. The recommended design emphasizes open sightlines for safety, ramps and an elevator, shade over ramps and space for local artists to display murals.

Russ Cunningham, a planner with Sergeant Town Planning, outlined the accompanying station‑area plan. The plan is organized into four chapters: purpose and vision, conceptual plans and renderings, a toolkit of land‑use and urban‑design strategies, and an implementation/phasing chapter that lists near‑term (about 1–3 years), intermediate (3–6 years) and long‑term (up to roughly 10 years or more) actions.

"The plan seeks to prepare the station area for the return of passenger rail service and leverage the prospect of passenger rail service to further both the revitalization of Pueblo Viejo and the repurposing of the downtown expansion area," Cunningham said.

Andrew (principal architect) reviewed street and block templates intended to create walkable "neighborhood avenues" linking the station to CV Link and recommended protected bike lanes on 4th Street and active building frontages along primary corridors to support retail and pedestrian activity.

Economic consultant David Bergman presented a market analysis that the team said shows retail leakage from Coachella City of about $13,000 per person and demographic indicators that should guide recruitment of downtown uses. "About 97% of the population identifies as being Hispanic or Latino," Bergman said; the presentation also cited a median household income of roughly $68,000 for the city.

Consultants tied those demographic and market findings to recommendations focused on restaurants, family‑oriented food service, convenience and neighborhood retail, and on programming and incentives—such as façade and activation programs—to help downtown capture more local spending.

Commissioners asked questions about safety and multimodal connections. Chair raised concerns about whether a crossing on 6th Street could create traffic backups and risks to pedestrians; consultants said design measures such as improved crosswalks, signal timing, street trees, development that activates frontages and increased pedestrian activity would provide traffic calming and improved safety near the station.

The consultants said the study will be wrapped into final deliverables by March and will be presented to the City Council; they also noted that RCTC expects to initiate environmental and design processes for the broader Coachella Valley Rail project this spring and projects environmental clearance around 2032.

Commissioner Orlorica praised the focus‑group process and the use of community feedback in refining station designs and said she appreciated the team's attention to ensuring transit modes—fixed route, paratransit and microtransit—work together. Commissioner Torres asked staff to explore joint outreach and business‑recruitment programming to help attract merchants when development opportunities arise.

The presentation closed with no public speakers. The study team and city staff said the plan is not final and will be an input into the regional environmental review process; the commission will receive the final deliverable and the consultants expect to appear before the City Council on March 25 to present results.