Carver Tract Receives Approval for Sidewalks

CARVER TRACT – Carver Tract, an unincorporated Riverside County “island” between the Cities of Indio and Coachella, is slated to get sidewalks, a major improvement for the 200-home neighborhood built in the years following World War II.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to approve a plan to construct sidewalks in Carver Tract. The county transportation department will next complete the design and go out to bid for a construction contractor. Work on the project could start next summer.

“Carver Tract is a small, older neighborhood that has been long neglected, with a lack of basic infrastructure such as sidewalks, curb and gutter, and street lighting,” Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in a prepared statement. “The Riverside County Transportation Department has pursued multiple grants, and prevailed in this recent effort. I commend the Transportation Department for finding a way to get this done to bring infrastructure that has been long needed for Carver Tract residents.”

The Carver Tract Sidewalk Safety Improvement Project will install sidewalk along the south side of Leyte Ave., the north side of Corregidor Ave., the north side of Lingayen Ave. between Van Buren St. and Luzon St., and the west side of Luzon St. between Avenue 48 and Leyte Ave.

The sidewalks will improve pedestrian access to local community facilities and services such as Martin Van Buren Elementary School, Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, Fred Young Farm Labor Center and Rancho Las Flores Park.

The project also includes installation of concrete curb and gutter. The project is anticipated to begin late summer 2020.

Earlier this year, the county transportation department applied for funding for the project under the Riverside County Transportation Commission’s SB 821 Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program, and received a $575,000 grant in a competitive selection process.

Riverside County will commit $575,000 in gas tax revenue to serve as a 50 percent local match toward the total project cost, estimated at $1.15 million.

Existing sidewalk adjacent to Van Buren Elementary School, on the east side of Van Buren Street between Avenue 48 and Manila Street, was constructed in a county transportation project in 2016. A future widening project on Avenue 48 will expand sidewalk along Avenue 48. In addition, the Transportation Department will continue to seek grant opportunities for future phases to put in more sidewalks within Carver Tract.