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Commissioners move to fold Choya Drive safety fixes into planned Courtyard Park project
Summary
Commissioners discussed safety problems on Choya Drive — a 22-foot half-width street with no sidewalks or center hydrant flow — and staff said engineering design is complete, $5 million is secured for the park (estimated $6 million), and street improvements costing $1–3 million will be pursued through grants and the CIP, with construction slated to start this summer.
Commissioners at the Desert Hot Springs Public Safety Commission meeting on Jan. 9 discussed long-standing safety concerns on a short segment of Choya Drive and asked staff to plug street improvements into a planned Courtyard Park project.
Assistant Manager Mr. Poris told the Commission that Choya was built half-width by the county and measures about 22 feet, roughly half of the roughly 40–44 feet the Commission said would be needed to meet traffic and parking expectations. “We secured $5 million for the park,” Poris said, adding the park is currently estimated at about $6 million and that street work would cost roughly $1–3 million. He said staff plans to apply for upcoming grants in February and hopes to begin construction this summer; full build-out is expected to take roughly 12–18 months.
Commissioner Mitchell, who said he and another commissioner inspected the block, described residents’ concerns about narrow travel lanes, lack of sidewalks and inadequate lighting. The commissioner asked whether the park funding and the park project’s design could include curb, gutter, sidewalks and street lights; Poris said the street improvements would be included in the Park/CIP discussion and that relocations or improvements to hydrants and utilities would be coordinated with the Fire Department.
Asked about natural-gas service on the block, Poris said many homes are on propane and that the city would inquire with the gas company about any capital-improvement-program schedule for new lines. On hydrants and fire flow, Commissioners emphasized NFPA guidance that recommends at least 1,000 gallons per minute for typical residential areas; Poris said hydrant relocations or main improvements would be evaluated with fire staff but that he did not yet have exact hydrant-flow numbers for the block.
The Commission asked staff to follow up with the Fire Department on hydrant capacity and with the gas company on line-extension plans before the next meeting. The Commission did not take formal action beyond asking staff to agendize the Choya Drive issues with the park project and pursue grant opportunities.
Next steps: staff said they will agendize Choya Drive with the Courtyard Park project, pursue February grant opportunities, coordinate hydrant and gas-line checks with Fire and utilities, and aim to start construction this summer.
