Indio and Coachella Valley Residents: Receive Safety and Traffic Alerts for the Coachella Music Festival

The information below, provided to me in a media release,is something to share with the folks in Indio and adjacent Coachella, who are very much impacted by Coachella-related traffic this month...

With Coachella just around the corner, the Indio Police Department is providing residents and attendees with important safety and traffic updates as the annual festival impacts the area during the weekends of April 15th and April 22nd.

By simply texting the word COACHELLA to 888777, out-of-town festivalgoers and residents of Coachella can opt-in to receive important safety and traffic information directly from Indio PD. Text message alerts may range from information about road closures, delays, and detours for locals, to locations of hydration and first aid stations for festivalgoers, as well as real-time updates should an emergency occur.

The alerts, powered by Nixle Community Engagement service by Everbridge, are part of the City of Indio’s commitment to safety and security for the Coachella Music Festival. The technology has been used at similar large-scale events, including the recent Super Bowl 50, where out-of-towners and locals were provided with Super Bowl-specific incidents as they occurred. For events of this scale, mass alert and notification technologies like Everbridge and Nixle allow law enforcement and public safety officials to:

·         Give people an easy way to opt-in no matter where they are coming from

·         Reach people directly on their cell phone via text if police departments have to get a message out to the public that they know they will see