Happy holidays La Quinta! As I am writing this we are on the eve of Thanksgiving, and we truly to do have much to be thankful for this holiday season. Personally, I want to express apprec
iation for the giving spirit of our community. I am thankful for the efforts of our elected leaders and city staff that have worked hard all year to keep our community prosperous, to our first responders that keep our neighborhoods safe. Most importantly I am thankful to all of you, our residents, for making La Quinta the Gem of the Desert!
We have much to update you on this busy holiday season. City Hall will be hosting an Open House on December 4th at 5 PM. This is an excellent opportunity to mingle with City Council and City staff. Small Bites will be served, all are welcome. Later that week our Annual Tree Lighting will be held on December 7th at Civic Center Park beginning at 6 PM. This free event is a great time for the community to come out and kick off the holidays together.
We are excited to welcome the IRONMAN Triathlon on December 9th. This event will begin at Lake Cahuilla at 7 AM and end at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden that evening. Please make a note that many areas around our City will be impacted by this event. We ask that residents check laquintaca.gov for updates as they become available.
On the subject of fitness, please mark your calendars for a community workshop for January 12th. The community will be invited to attend at the Wellness Center a chance to see what the City has done this past year and vote on what projects we should focus on for 2019. More details to come on our website.
On the city infrastructure front, the Village Complete Streets Project is approaching. This $10.5 million Complete Streets project is focused on making roadways safer and more accessible to pedestrians and bicycles in the La Quinta Village. The La Quinta Village Complete Streets project received $7.3 million in funding for construction through a grant program called the “Active Transportation Program”, and the City of La Quinta is investing $3.2 million towards these improvements, including landscape beautification and drainage improvements in the Village area. When complete, the project will construct five Roundabouts in the Village area, to include Tampico & Bermudas, Tampico & Desert Club, Tampico & Eisenhower, Eisenhower & Montezuma, and Bermudas & 52 Sinaloa. Construction is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2019.
We also have updates to share on the HSIP Signal Interconnect and Signal Upgrade Projects. The City has prioritized traffic signal and street sign upgrades to improve signal synchronization and traffic safety in the community. Through two federally funded HSIP grants, for a total of $3 million, the City will make improvements to all traffic signals, equipment and illuminated street signs in two phases. Construction will begin in December 2018 for first phase, focused on sign and signal cabinet upgrades. In the summer of 2019, the second phase will replace the existing communication with fiber optic cable and upgrade the technology of communication equipment.
Residents will continue to see North La Quinta landscape improvements. As part of the Capital Improvement Program, the City prioritized the renovation of the public landscape in north La Quinta over a four-year period, investing $10 million towards these beautification improvements. The improvements feature the Desert Oasis landscape palette, which uses hardscape textures with minimal planting to create an aesthetically pleasing environment with lower installation, long-term maintenance, and water costs. The landscape improvements at Quinterra and the Adams Park Basin project are currently under construction, with an expected completion of December, 2018. The Vista Highlands and Ocotillo projects are in the design phase with construction anticipated for Spring or Summer of 2019.
Thank you to everyone for your input and support as we work through the many projects underway in La Quinta. Our city and residents are truly on the move, building a strong community we can all be proud of.
