Newkirk, B. (2014, November 21). Coachella, Mecca get money for transportation projects. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from The Desert Sun website: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/traffic/2014/11/21/coachella-mecca-road-work-money/19368383/
About $2.3 million has been dedicated to improving the sidewalks, safety at Grapefruit Boulevard and Fourth Street in Mecca. About $1.8 million is going towards “six miles of pathways connected to the proposed Coachella Valley Link path.” Coachella has many ideas for the use of this grant money, for example “bike lanes, sidewalk and other improvements along Avenue 50 and Avenue 52, which would feed into Coachella Valley Link.” It also plans to “fund improvements on side streets to better connect Avenue 50 and 52 schools.”
This article shows that more and more largely populated communities are actively trying to improve the streets and safety of the people living there. Lots of money goes towards transportation and encouraging more people to walk and bike rather than drive. I think this is a very smart way to get people out of their regular routines of driving. If the roads, sidewalks, and safety are improved around highly populated communities, I believe more and more people will be encouraged to walk, bike and utilize these improvements.
I totally agree, it is great that the safety of pedestrians in these urban areas is being prioritized. This increase in safety and function encourages civilians to use a cleaner form of transportation, children can walk or bike to schools and adults can commute to work by bike. What other steps could be taken to encourage the use of cleaner transportation because people will continue to use cars on new smooth roads? Additionally, all of this construction creates emissions, how can we reduce the emissions of construction?