CV/Link: Connecting the Coachella Valley, Health Impact Assessment

Executive Summary

Building the CV Link – a 50-mile multiuse path for pedestrians, bicyclists, and low-speed electric vehicles –– will benefit the health and wellbeing of many people in the Coachella Valley by connecting communities, increasing opportunities for exercise and recreation, enabling active transportation, stimulating the economy and improving air quality. Because the population of the Coachella Valley is diverse, with significant health and income disparities, the project’s benefits to those currently facing poor health outcomes could be improved through implementation of additional initiatives.

This Health Impact Assessment finds that about 175,000 people in eight cities live within 1.5 miles of the path’s proposed initial route, and that this is the population that can be expected to make greatest use of CV Link. Construction of the core CV Link project is estimated to cost approximately $100 million from regional, state and federal funds. The core project, scheduled to begin construction in 2017, runs along the Whitewater River wash from Palm Springs in the west to Coachella in the east. Later phases would extend CV Link north to Desert Hot Springs and southeast to the Salton Sea. Additional connector routes are planned to connect communities throughout the Coachella Valley to the core alignment.

This Health Impact Assessment is based on a synthesis of an extensive set of health, income, employment and other demographic data; case studies of similar projects in other locations; plus community surveys, workshops, focus groups and stakeholder interviews. In the process, some Coachella Valley community members raised concerns about whether CV Link provides disadvantaged communities with a resource that will be of greatest use to them. These concerns, including access to the path, should be addressed.

Health benefits of CV Link include:

• Increased physical activity. CV Link will be a new venue for physical activity, whether for fitness, recreation or active transportation. Studies show that people who live near trails or multiuse paths get more exercise, and are more likely to meet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s goals for physical activity. Physical activity is associated with many health benefits, such as weight control, prevention of many chronic diseases and improved mental health. In addition, disabled and elderly individuals may achieve more physical activity by having a safer alternative to walking and bicycling on busy roadways.
• Better access to recreation, jobs, schools, and transit. CV Link will be both a recreation and transportation resource in its own right and will also provide access to many additional resources. The route will pass within one mile of more than 52,000 jobs, more than 350 transit stops, 35 public schools and more than 850 acres of park land.
• Improvements in air quality. CV Link can reduce air pollution slightly in two ways. It will decrease vehicle miles traveled and thus vehicle emissions in the Coachella Valley, as some people will replace car trips with use of the pathway. Paving parts of the Whitewater River wash also will reduce airborne dust and particulate matter. By 2021, CV Link could reduce air pollutionc in the Coachella Valley by an estimated 4 million pounds a year – and by 2035, reduce an estimated 7.5 million pounds a year. These are beneficial but small reductions relative to the total amount of air pollution in the valley, which contributes to heart attacks, asthma, bronchitis, hospital admissions, and lost workdays, and climate change. In many areas, CV Link will provide users with an active transportation resource removed from traffic pollution. Due to poor air quality in the Coachella Valley overall, there will be some days when users should modify or restrict their outdoor physical activity to protect their health.
• Reduced pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities. Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of unintentional fatal injuries among Riverside County residents ages 1 to 24. Almost every week, a pedestrian or a bicyclist is injured or killed by a motorist. By providing a protected alternative artery to youth and others who walk, run or bike on streets, CV Link can increase safety both for those people and for motorists. In many places, the arteries used to reach CV Link could be made safer by adding sidewalks, bike facilities, traffic calming devices and crosswalks.
• Economic development. CV Link may lead to economic benefits for people and local governments in the Coachella Valley through health care cost savings, prevention of traffic accidents, more jobs and increased property values.

Recommendations

The HIA’s recommendations are meant to maximize the benefits of building CV Link and to address some of the access and equity questions raised by community members. The recommendations include:

• Prioritize CV Link Development in Communities with the Poorest Health Conditions. In order to prioritize serving disadvantaged communities with the poorest health conditions, begin construction in disadvantaged areas of Coachella and Indio and continue pursuing grant funding for the development of the Desert Hot Springs extension and the East Valley Direct Route in Phase 2 development. However, pockets of disadvantaged communities with poor health conditions are found throughout the Coachella Valley and adjacent to the CV Link alignment, such as in Cathedral City and north Palm Springs.
• Continue Outreach and Education Targeting a Diverse Audience. Develop more outreach materials and continue to utilize methods to educate a wide and diverse range of community members about the availability and benefits of CV Link.
• Crime and Collision Prevention. Through measures outlined in the CV Link Master Plan and the full HIA report, ensure that users of CV Link are as safe as possible from vehicle collisions and potential crime along the route. For example, educate Low Speed Electric Vehicle users about safety measures, ensure that jurisdictional pedestrian and bicycle plans are adequately designed to ensure safety of pedestrians and cyclists, and incorporate Crime Prevention through Environmental Design measures (CPTED).
• Target CV Link Related Jobs to Locals. In order to keep economic benefits within the Coachella Valley and to provide jobs to those who need them most, community leaders should encourage employment policies that target construction and maintenance jobs to residents and businesses in communities along the route and the Coachella Valley as a whole, and to economically disadvantaged groups specifically, and ensure that all jobs created by the project pay a fair wages.