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CV Link
Is it a bike path, a car wash, or something more?
By Dori Smith For Desert Mobile Home News
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V Link continues to be in the news, with pro and con comments appearing regularly in The Desert Sun. Some are from residents and some are from city leaders— all with opinions about a project that is estimated to cost $100 million. So what exactly is CV Link? It’s a large concrete path that will run 50 miles from Coachella to Palm Springs. CV Link is the first of its kind to incorporate pedestrians, bicyclists, and low speed-electric vehicles in one project, according to the project’s Website. The idea is to encourage residents and tourists to get out of their polluting vehicles. To allow joggers and walkers a safe place to exercise. To provide bikers and golf-cart drivers with a path away from cars. To encourage
workers to jump on their bikes or in their golf carts for commutes. Some basic questions answered: Where: The route will largely follow the Whitewater River Channel, what locals call “the Wash.” But there will be exceptions. For example, Monterey Country Club’s golf course travels through the Wash. So, in that area, CV Link will have an “on-street” portion. What: CV Link will be a concrete path to be built, in many instances, on top of the Wash’s levees. It will have a separate path for pedestrians, while bikes and low-speed vehicles (maximum 25 mph) will share a 14-foot-wide swath. All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorcycles will be prohibited. Visit this site for artist renderings: cvag.org/cvag_ image_library.htm.
Special Features: Plans call for water fountains, lighting, shade/windbreak structures with solar panels, Wi-Fi, vehicle charging stations, rest areas, benches, restrooms, and even public art. Cost: The estimate is $100 million. Around $81-82 million has been raised to-date through grants from governmental agencies and other entities. “A big part of that cost is because we’re very concerned about bike and pedestrian safety,” says Erica Felci, CVAG’s governmental project manager. “Last year, we had 30 pedestrians hit and killed on the roads. So a big part of the plans and a reason for the cost is that we are planning bridges and undercrossings at major intersections so that CV Link users will be separated from the traditional roadways.” For example, CV Link would build a bridge over Cook Street near Palm Desert High School.
Timing: Construction on a portion—2.5 miles in Cathedral City— will start in a few weeks. That path will travel from Ramon Road in Cathedral City to Vista Chino in Palm Springs. Cathedral City had secured grants for its path, which will be built to CV Link standards. It will take three years to build the entire structure, with completion scheduled for 2020. Maintenance: CVAG estimates that operations and maintenance will cost between $1 and $1.6 million per year. The CVAG Executive Committee has not yet decided how that will be paid for or managed. Felci adds: “CVAG has proposed close to 24 options for ways to cover the operations and maintenance costs.”
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