Street name honors former councilman

Former Palm Desert Councilman Richard S. Kelly made a lasting mark on the city through his work on transportation projects, and now a city street bears his name.

The Palm Desert City Council unanimously approved a resolution changing the name of 35th Avenue to Dick Kelly Drive in honor of former Councilman Richard S. Kelly in March.

On Tuesday, city workers installed the new signs as Kelly’s wife, Mary Helen, and daughter, Kathleen, looked on. Kelly died in August 2010 while serving his 28th year on the Palm Desert City Council.

The family wished to keep the event private, according to city spokesman David Hermann.

The renamed road intersects with Monterey Avenue, just past Gerald Ford Drive in Palm Desert.

Kelly was a champion of safe, efficient transportation, including the construction of new roadways and bridges, said Hermann, adding that he was an early supporter of Palm Desert’s Golf Cart Transportation Program.

The program allows people to use environmentally friendly .

While on the SunLine Transit Agency board, he worked to convert the mass transit agency’s fleet of buses from diesel fuel to clean alternative fuels, Hermann said.

He also helped establish a Coachella Valley-wide developer fee that offsets road improvement costs as well as Measure A, a half-cent Riverside County sales tax dedicated to transportation.

A pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Kelly remained dedicated to public service throughout his life including a 36-year-career with the phone company improving Coachella Valley telephone service.