Indian Canyon to convert from one-way to two-way street

Construction is underway on a conversion project along Indian Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs. The well-known Indian Canyon one-way street, traffic traveling north, is converting to a two-way.

“There’ll be two northbound lanes, a center turning lane, and a southbound lane,” said Marcus Fuller, assistant city manager/city engineer for Palm Springs.

It’s a change that may take some time for drivers to get used to.

“I’ve always understood that Palm Canyon went that way and this one goes that way. So, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of confusion,” said Neil Dunlop, a frequent visitor to the area.

However, people we spoke to said they are on board with the project

“If it helps traffic, I think that’s certainly a good idea,” Dunlop said.

That’s the goal, according to Fuller. He said it’ll help the flow of traffic in downtown, especially when Palm Canyon is closed for Village Fest on Thursdays and parades throughout the year.

“And that became even more important as we saw how the downtown has exploded and more and more traffic and people downtown,” Fuller said.

The new lanes will also hopefully help businesses, like Hemp City, right between Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon.

“Right now it’s a one-way street. It’s just having to take detours down the street, or you have to go this way. It’ll just be a lot better,” said Claudia Rivera, an employee of Hemp City. “Kind of give us more traffic on both sides.”

Fuller says the conversion will include the stretch between Alejo and Camino Parocela. Streets are expected to close while crews work at traffic light intersections.

The $5.5 million project was approved in 2016 and is expected to be complete by December.