La Quinta Village complete streets - a road diet project

“A Road Diet Project” was designed to transform the area into a place where people could walk, bike and drive golf carts to their destinations, and also encouraged kids to walk and bike to school, by removing traffic lanes and adding complete streets and active transportation solutions.

This included changing the existing four lanes of traffic, using four signalized intersections and one stop-controlled intersection, down to two lanes of traffic using five roundabouts, dedicated bike/cart lanes and multi-use paths and crosswalks to improve the mobility and safety of all users. The benefit of this will be a decline in motorist speeds and calmer traffic flow, further enhancing the pedestrian and bicyclist experience. Also, four new mid-block crossings with flashing beacons and median refuges will be installed throughout the corridor to improved safety measures even more.

• Corridor 1. Calle (Ca.) Tampico from Washington Street to Eisenhower Dr.
• Corridor 2. Eisenhower Dr. from just north of Ca. Tampico to Ca. Sinaloa
• Corridor 3. Ca. Sinaloa/Ave 52 from Jefferson

GHD identified this project for the Active Transportation Program grant and provided grant application services including; preliminary costs estimates, cost/benefit analysis, conceptual design, and assisted with the various narrative responses. The ‘La Quinta Village Complete Streets, a Road Diet Project’ was successfully awarded the ATP Cycle 3 Grant Funds to move forward with the project.

GHD managed the environmental clearance, right of way acquisition, preliminary and final design for the project. Our team’s understanding of the City’s objectives, the grant funding requirements, and having the right team and approach in place allowed us to accelerate the schedule. This resulted in clearing environmental, finalizing right of way acquisition and utility coordination, delivering the final plans, and submitting the request for allocation of construction funds more than one year in advance of the original grant schedule.

GHD is involved in all phases of the project, including:

• Active Transportation Program Grant Application Assistance
• Environmental Clearance / Preliminary Design Phase
• Final Design
• Right of Way Acquisition
• Public Outreach
• Construction Support
• Interim Construction Management

• Awarded Active Transportation Program grant which provided the funds necessary to complete the project.
• Expedited schedule permitting the project to receive State Only Funds and allowing construction to begin a year early
• Increased community engagement through educational videos and public outreach communicating expectations and proper usage for the community

Once constructed;

• improved mobility for all La Quinta Residents and visitors,
• improved safety for all roadway users,
• enhanced environment for the community through landscaping and potential for future public art,
• reduced idling by vehicles, which results in a reduction of emissions and improved air quality, and
• improved water quality through the use of bio-retention facilities (similar to rain gardens) and water quality basins.