‘Quality of life issue’ City of Palm Desert taking proactive approach to mitigate sand build up

The City of Palm Desert is taking new steps to get rid of excess sand that piles up on our roads and sidewalks.

This Spring, we saw more windy days that brought a lot of sand build up.

“The past two or three years, we have seen an increase in sand... it's a quality of life issue," said Randy Chavez, Deputy Director of Public Works for the City of Palm Desert.

Chavez says the build up is everywhere, but Dinah Shore Drive is always hit the hardest.

I’s a problem that’s been around for years, but the city is taking a different approach with hopes to see change.

“Becoming more proactive, getting ahead of it. As opposed to being reactive and having to deal with the aftermath," Chavez said.

Instead of sending teams to manually remove sand after the fact, they’re working with property owners to mitigate sand.

"We could combine our efforts with the city and property owners, that seems to be very producing positive results," he explained.

Working with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, Chavez said they will also be sending street sweepers out every 2 weeks.

"Our additional street sweeper comes out and fills in those gaps where in between street sweeping," Chavez said.

He said they are dedicated to using preventative maintenance moving forward.

“Where in the past, the sand would build up to large dunes. So now, we're actually knocking those dunes down. We're going to have a vendor come on board every few months and re-address those areas and seal them," Chavez said.

The city has also been installing recycled palm mulch in certain areas to minimize sand build up.

"The mulch basically is an organic ground cover... which is reusing green waste generated here in the Valley," he added. "That weighs it down, and it basically mats together. And that helps minimize the blowing sand.

Chavez tells us this isn’t just about aesthetics, but safety as well.

“Residents now they want to see clean streets. They don't want to be dealing with roads and having to swerve and what not. So it's a safety issue as well. So we really take pride in how our facilities, our roadways look,' Chavez said.

If you are a Palm Desert resident having issues with sand build up, you can contact the city at 760-346-0611.