By Paulina Rojas

OASIS, Calif. — Many of those who call the Eastern Coachella Valley home depend on public transportation. Even on days when temperatures exceed 100 degrees people can be seen standing at bus stops, many which lack shelters to protect riders from the sun and rain.

But there is a group of community-based organizations working to make this issue a thing of the past.

“Valley wide, there are a lot of areas without shade structures at all,” said Bill Schinsky, director of the Coachella Valley Art Center, “which is very surprising considering where we live.” The Coachella Valley sees some of the hottest temperatures in the state.

CVAC along with organizations that include Building Healthy Communities (BHC), the SCRAP Gallery, the Land Use Planning Awareness (LUPA) Project and the Women’s Policy Institute are part of the B.U.S SHELTERS collaboration.

In August, the group held a demonstration in Oasis where community members were surveyed on the need for shelters and were given a glimpse of a temporary bus shelter prototype built by Schinsky.

“Since I have the space and we were talking about what we wanted to see happen, it all boiled down to the fact that we would have to build a prototype,” Schinsky said. “I realized that I had materials here that I could use, so why not use it and see what happens.”

Schinsky constructed the prototype out of lumber, window and solar screen, which, provides protection against the sun.

“That was my mindset, we’re not here to build a structure, we’re here to get a point across and I think it was very successful,” he said.

Miguel Vazquez, Healthy Communities Urban Regional Planner for Riverside University Health System agrees that the demonstration was a success.

“The demonstration was a way to get a feel for the need of these structures in the east valley,” he said.

Vasquez also mentioned that during the demonstration over 50 community members stopped by to check out the prototype, which was on par with his expectations.

The Women’s Policy Institute was at the demonstration collecting community input on bus shelters and bus ridership.

While the project is still in it’s initial phase, the next steps in the process will be to set up meetings with the local public transit agency, Sunline, to discuss options and what can be done to bring the bus shelters to the Eastern Coachella Valley.

The idea for the project was partly inspired by young people on the BHC Youth Council, who two years earlier noticed the lack of bus shelters in their community and began speaking out about the issue. Vazquez believes that the Bus Shelters project could also set a precedent for involving youth in future endeavors.

“It is especially important for youth to see that their ideas led to community transformation that brought people together,” he said.

Another component that makes the bus shelter project unique is the incorporation of art.

“It was important to bring creativity to the process. To come up with infrastructure … that is able to become part of the fabric of the community,” Vazques said. “We do want to incorporate a cultural element into the design of the bus shelters.”

This is something Schinsky can get on board with.

“There is no reason why a bus shelter cannot be creative, colorful, stimulating, besides also being practical and providing a necessity, especially in the desert,” he said.

About the author:

Paulina Rojas joined Coachella Uninc. as a beat reporter in February 2016 after working as a city reporter in the eastern Coachella Valley for more than a year. Although born and raised in New York City, Paulina feels right at home in the eastern Coachella Valley. She loves the warmth of the people and buying fresh bread from her favorite bakery in downtown Coachella. Paulina is a graduate of the University of Houston, and her work has appeared in The Las Vegas Review – Journal, The Houston Chronicle, HelloGiggles and Vivala. View her author page here.

With California’s budget crisis, residents are becoming aware of current economic issues the state faces. With higher tuition rates for public universities and spending cuts slashing everything from education to health care programs, just how is our government going to tackle other issues we are currently facing?

Governor Jerry Brown recently announced that mid-year cuts to education will impact school transportation budgets by $1.5 million throughout California.

“In this district, transportation is a must,” said Linda Aguirre, director of transportation for Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). “A lot of these kids would not be able to get to school without transportation, which means there will most likely be a higher drop-out rate.”

Even though final decisions have not been made, the news about cutting money from school transportation has caused concern among parents, students and community members.

“Rumors are flying,” said Steven Young, student transport specialist at Coachella Valley High School (CVHS), who explained that $1.5 million is equivalent to cutting 10 bus drivers. “This is going to affect us big time.”

Inland Congregation United for Change (ICUC) represents local residents who are worried about these looming transportation cuts.

“(The cuts) would leave the youth stranded,” said Allex Luna, a community organizer for ICUC.  “How’s this going to affect them academically?”

Cuts in transportation could lead to a chain reaction, affecting families and students. Without a method of transportation, Luna fears there could be a drastic negative effect on school attendance.

“Every time you’re in that seat, the school gets paid,” said Luna, meaning that a decrease in the attendance of schools could lead to even more cuts in education.

According to Luna, more than three-fourths of the school’s population takes the bus, which shows just how many students would be affected by cuts in transportation.

Some motivated students, such as Yesenia Isidoro, will find any way to complete high school.

“I wouldn’t want to let my parents down,” said Isidoro, a senior at CVHS. “I think I would buy a bike so I could get to school every morning.”

Diana Reza, a sophomore at CVHS described her everyday bus experience. “The bus is already three people per seat. I’m pretty sure all the bus doors would break because everyone just shoves and rushes in to find a good seat.”

The situation could be even worse for students at schools further east. “Transportation is already an issue. I couldn’t imagine how much more affected the students would be if bus routes were completely cut,” said Berenice Venegas, a junior at Desert Mirage High School. “I live in Mecca, it doesn’t have many resources.”

Eastern Coachella Valley communities, such as North Shore and Oasis, do not have sidewalks or street lights, making it difficult and often dangerous for students to making the long walk to and from rural schools.

“It’s important to keep in mind that parents or guardians aren’t always going to have the opportunity to drive students to school every morning, due to their jobs or simply because they don’t own a vehicle,” added Venegas.

“Things are operating as normal, but for now we are just waiting for a decision,” said Linda Aguirre, director of transportation for CVUSD.

“Normal,” to some bus drivers already means carrying double loads and making several trips until all students arrive home.

“Buses have always been packed. In order to have one driver for one bus stop, we would have to hire more drivers, and unfortunately we don’t have that luxury,” said Aguirre.

As administrators await the official decision from the school board, ICUC is beginning to tackle the issue with “one-to-ones.” These are one-on-one meetings between community organizers and individuals for the sake of research.  They are also meeting with groups of parents and teachers to set up public partnerships. Allex Luna, a community organizer with ICUC, said the group hopes to solve this issue before the school year is over. They plan to mobilize the community with press releases, phone calls, and social media.

“Not many people know that there are people trying to make a change,” Luna said. “The (ICUC) leaders represent change.”

“I’ve always contended that students are the reason we have a job, without kids we don’t have that either,” said Aguirre, director of transportation at CVUSD. “In this district, transportation should be a right, not a privilege, because our district is very rural.”

“It is not safe to walk home.”

To join ICUC’s efforts, contact Allex Luna at (760)398-0877 or at [email protected].

(Photo: Rosa Say via flickr)

Thankful for Bus Transportation in East Valley

By Santos Reyes
Coachella Unincorporated

Here in the Coachella Valley we are all struggling as a community. One of the problems I hear about a lot in the valley has to do with transportation. The fact that residents can’t afford a car doesn’t stop them from getting where they need to go. I am thankful for the bus transportation we have in this valley. From experience, a lot of citizens from Coachella rely on the “Sun Bus” to get to where they have to go—to school, work, or just to get around in this valley.

I am thankful for many events that took place in my life. Through those times, I thank God for the little things and for the great things. Growing up, I have always viewed my grandfather as a hard-working man. Waking up at 6 a.m. to drag my brother out of bed to cut my mother’s lawn was his way to keep himself active. My grandfather had the responsibility of driving my grandmother around due to the fact she did not learn how to drive her entire life. They say things happen for a reason but though we don’t know why they happen we can’t stop them from ever occurring.

October 2001 was a time that struck our family the most. My grandfather was in a car accident and was hit by a semi truck. Thankfully, he survived but my grandfather had bruising in his head and needed surgery. The doctors conducted a test on my grandfather and realized he was a few seconds off, meaning my grandfather does not react to his actions as much as a healthy human being would. This caused my grandfather to not be able to drive anymore.

Over the years, my mother was there to take care of my grandparents and take them where they needed to go. There were times my mother and aunts were not available to take my grandfather somewhere and he had something to fall back on and rely on. My grandfather would take the “Sun Bus” sometimes to get around, either to visit his friends or family or to visit the local church. Being that the local market was a 15-minute walk, my grandfather found it faster to take the bus where he had to go. There were times my grandfather would show up to my house unexpectedly in the morning just because he wanted something to do. To this day, my mother still gives my grandparents rides. I am just still happy my grandfather has something to fall back on. I am thankful for the transportation that is here in the valley, not only because my grandfather has something to fall back on but also for the citizens of Coachella who don’t have the luxury of having a car. They know there is a bus to rely on to let them live normal lives.