Indio City Officials Speak Out Over Street Construction Concerns

The City of Indio officials are responding to the concerns of one resident who complained about the Herbert Hoover Pedestrian Improvement Project, saying they have a broader plan in place,  to help keep residents safe in their neighborhood.

“The city is doing a lot of great projects for the community to improve our roads and to improve our infrastructure.” says Timothy Wassil, the Public Works Director, for the City of Indio. 

The Zalay Ranch and Park Paseo communities are currently in the middle of the street maintenance program, to revamp pavement and provide safer areas for those in the community to walk. 

“We have 13 roads that are affected with this project… and we’ve constructed over 20,000 linear feet of sidewalk, which is about 100,000 square feet, and we’ve also upgraded 56 ramps, handicap ramps.”

Some neighbors voiced concern with the construction, upset that these street repairs are in poor condition, and are now looking for answers.

“We’re very sorry to hear that we really try to accommodate many of the residents. 

Just keep in mind that it’s almost like when you do a remodel to a home versus a brand new construction when you’re remodeling. Sometimes it’s harder to make things match exactly and better to the existing condition.” Wassil says.

While some neighbors are not happy with early construction, the city hopes when neighbors see residents and children using the sidewalks for better safety, they’ll change their mind.

“It’s better for them to be on the sidewalk than to be on the street, and of course, it’s very important for the kids, they can be on their bicycle, they can walk on the sidewalk, and it’s safer for them.”

Officials also say with construction under way, they’ve been able to adjust around the needs of the residents, and will continue to do so. 

“Some of the residents, we actually moved the sidewalk further out towards the road, so we don’t chop off their front yard and they were happy. We widened some of the driveways a little better. We redesigned them and constructed them differently.”

If you have any questions or concerns about the Herbert Hoover Pedestrian Improvement Project, you can call 888- 248- 5007, the City of Indio set up this number, specifically for this project.