Teresa’s Traffic Issue:

Teresa wrote in and says exiting at Las Vegas Boulevard from the I-215 Freeway going east- is drives both her and her husband crazy!  Teresa writes: “There are three lanes… one lane turns left, one lane goes forward and one lane goes right. The left turn lane is the lane that gets backed up. After all of the money spent building Town Square, it would be nice if you could get to it without a twenty minute wait and four stop light rotations! Why don’t they make the forward lane turn right, since it seems no one goes straight anyway?”

Melissa’s Answer:

I asked the County about this backed up intersection! Authorities said because of its current design and the way it was built, there isn’t enough room to allow dual left turns at the same time. Now for the good news! A construction project that is expected to start by the end of the year will do some work improvements on Las Vegas Boulevard that will create the space to allow two left turns going northbound on the strip, towards the Town Square overpass. When construction starts, this will make for one really busy area… and not to mention many frustrated shoppers! But in the long run… it will be good for everyone!

Joe’s Question:

Joe wrote in and says he’s happy that the road work extending from Maryland Parkway to the south side of St. Rose is finally done- but now he wants to know- what happened to the rest of it?! He says: “I discovered it’s sort of like an infamous bridge to nowhere. The new sections that were built are only about three blocks long! Are builders planning to put up developments around there? Even more importantly, will there be a traffic light here in the near future? One is needed here really badly!”

Melissa’s Answer:

A construction project that doesn’t finish the work?! What’s up with that? I asked authorities from the City of Henderson about it. They said the part of the road that was built, was done by the developers of the southwest corner of St. Rose and Maryland Parkway. This entire area is a classic case of different developers being responsible for improving different sections of the roads. A time frame of when these developers need to finish these improvements were not available. However, the plan is to eventually have a road connect to the extension of Sunridge Heights– which runs parallel to St. Rose. Also, the City hopes to get the funding approved for a traffic light at a City Council meeting being held on June 16th. My fingers are crossed to get that funding approved for a traffic light for Joe and everyone else who drives this area!

Many drivers around the Valley ask why there aren’t traffic lights at certain intersections– or requesting studies for ones in  busy areas that don’t have one!  With new areas still developing around town, not to mention all of the construction work– you may have found yourself stuck in traffic wondering- “why isn’t there a traffic light here?!”

So here’s the break down! When determining if an intersection needs a traffic light, a study is conducted. During the study, there are eight “traffic volume warrants” or determining factors that are looked at. All of these combined could determine if a light is needed and will be installed or not. At least one of these needs to meet the study in order to have a traffic light installed. However just one- will not always mean a traffic signal is required to be built. It depends on the intersection and what the research shows.

Warrant 1 – Eight-Hour Vehicular Volume Warrant. The volume of the traffic on the major and minor streets entering the intersection must be above a certain number during an eight hour time period on a typical day.      

Warrant 2 – Four-Hour Vehicular Volume Warrant. The volume of the traffic on the major and minor streets entering the intersection must be above a certain number for a minimum of four hours on a typical day.      

Warrant 3 – Peak Hour Warrant. The minor street traffic for a facility that attracts or discharges large numbers of vehicles of a short time suffers major delay or exceeds a certain value for only one hour of an average weekday.

Warrant 4 – Pedestrian Volume Warrant. The volume of pedestrians crossing a major street exceeds a certain number.

Warrant 5 – School Crossing. At an established school crossing, a traffic signal can be placed if the frequency and number of adequate gaps in the vehicular traffic for the number of students to safely cross does not exist.

Warrant 6 – Coordinated Signal System. To maintain the proper grouping of vehicles and to effectively regulate the group speed.

Warrant 7 – Crash Experience. When less restrictive remedies and enforcement has failed to decrease the crash rate.

Warrant 8 – Roadway Network. To encourage concentration and organization of traffic flow on major streets.

Beverly’s Question:

Beverly wrote in and wants to know why Las Vegas doesn’t have a truck route. She says: “There are many people & truckers who drive through Las Vegas to get to other destinations. It seems to me if there were a truck route for these drivers this would certainly help alleviate traffic on the 15 Freeway, especially with some of the H-O-V lanes currently under construction.” She also thinks  the 215 Freeway could be an option for one.

Melissa’s Answer:I thought this was an interesting question! Beverly makes a good point! California and other states on the west coast have them, so why wouldn’t we be a candidate for one? I asked the County and the Nevada Department of Transportation about this. Authorities say there’s never been a real need or enough demand for a route — plus there’s just not enough space in the valley to build one. Truck routes are designed around large urban cities to minimize traffic in its core. As Nevada continues to grow and develop– our construction projects will also progress and build roads to meet the demand. However until the city fully develops and reaches a capacity to where it needs one- there aren’t any plans to build one. As an extra tidbit, once the Hoover Dam overpass is finished next June- it will help reduce traffic congestion on the major commercial truck route between Phoenix and Las Vegas. At least truckers will soon have some relief on the commute, there!