New System Helps Ease Traffic Headaches

PALM SPRINGS – It’s only a matter of time before rains pour through the valley again and roads shut down.

All the U-turns can drive people up the wall.

But, now there’s a way to avoid the inconvenience.

Palm Springs Police can send you a text message and email blasts through a system called “Nixle.”

The real time alerts are aimed at helping reduce road congestion and cutting crime.

“Like if there’s a series of crimes that are occurring in a specific area we can target that specific neighborhood and send out alerts to the people that live in that neighborhood,” says Melissa Desmarais, with the Palm Springs Police Department.

You can sign up for the alerts through the palm springs police department’s website or going to the Nixle site directly.

At least 300 people have signed up already.

They’re urging visitors and full-time residents to join.

Jean Solomon says she’d use the system.

“Actually Palm Springs is an incredibly pleasant place to live and generally we don’t have that many road problems so this would just be icing on the cake. Make things a little bit better even,” says Solomon.

Others aren’t so quick to sign up.

“You’re driving on the road and you get a text message and you get a text the road is closed then it’s kinda contradicting the law cause I guess your not allowed text message while you’re driving,” says Palm Springs resident Travis Yates.

“If this was more important to me I would have. I mean if it was crucial but I like to not be alerted. I don’t like machines talking to me, telling me what to do,” says snowbird Brian Cranley.

The information comes straight from the police department to your phone or computer.

In the future, you’ll get safety tips, even suspect pictures.

But for now, they say people are in the drivers seat for just how much info they want to get.