Recent storms renew neighborhood discussions on Araby Drive bridge

The desert deluge earlier this month is creating discussion in one Palm Springs neighborhood about building a bridge they already voted they did not want.

Heavy equipment is all that’s moving on araby drive at the wash cleaning up dirt and debris left behind by the massive Valentine’s Day flood.

“This was the worst. I’ve ever seen and I’ve been here since 1998,” Kerstin Pollack, who lives in the Araby Cove said.

She serves as the leader of it’s neighborhood group and says the damage has reignited discussion for a bridge at the wash.

“Now we may reconsider that and put in a low bridge we hope, instead of a high bridge,” Pollack said.

A low bridge being a street with culverts to allow water to flow under rather than a wide span bridge. Pollack also says Rim Road, the only other access point to Araby Cove can be dangerous at times.

“It’s narrow and has rocks falling down the hillside,” Pollack said.

In 2012 the neighborhood rejected a $11 million dollar proposed wide-span bridge for Araby Drive. Neighbors felt it was a waste of money at the time. That feeling remains the same for some despite the recent storm.

“I think it’s cheaper and easier to cleanup than it is to build a big bridge across,” Andy Hollinger, a resident of Araby Cove, said.

He has lived in the Araby Cove for 20 years, and isn’t concerned about the road flooding or the dangers on rim road and feels a low bridge isn’t a solution either.

“Let nature do it’s thing and we clean up afterwards. We’ve been doing that for many, many years in this community,” Hollinger said.

Pollack says it’s a debate that she and others will have in March at their next neighborhood meeting.

The city of Palm Springs says they aim to have Araby Drive open to traffic at the wash around March 15. Staff also says funds for the original bridge proposal have already been allocated to other bridge projects in the state .