Cones blocking long traffic lanes irk Las Vegas Valley drivers
David from Henderson spotted a pet peeve shared by many Southern Nevada drivers: orange cones blocking long segments of traffic lanes, even though construction workers are concentrated in a small area.
The latest locale, he said, runs along Stephanie Street, where Henderson city officials are bringing the sidewalks into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Commuters might not actually see any activity because most of the work is done during evenings and early mornings and on weekends, said Kathleen Richards, a spokeswoman for the city of Henderson.
“In many cases, the cones need to remain in place during non-work hours to protect motorists from trenches or other construction hazards,” Richards said. “That being said, we are sensitive to motorists’ concerns regarding cones and regularly work with contractors to remove and restrict non-essential barricades.”
On a wider scale, orange cones may block roads that have open trenches caused by underground utility work. Cones can also denote wet pavement or simply create a safe path for pedestrians during a major construction project, said Catherine Lu, a spokeswoman for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.
Drivers who have questions about orange cones cropping up in their neighborhood can always call the RTC’s “Seeing Orange” hotline for more information at 702-928-2663 and get a response within 72 hours.
Slow-moving trucks
The morning commute for Amy from Las Vegas typically requires driving up the steep hill on the southbound 215 Beltway between Cheyenne Avenue and Lake Mead Boulevard in the northwest valley, where she gets stuck behind heavy trucks trudging along at 35 mph.
Given the 65 mph speed limit on the freeway, Amy said she notices other drivers slamming on their brakes or making sudden lane changes to get around the slow-moving trucks.
“Is there a minimum speed limit for trucks traveling on the freeway?” Amy asked. “Heavy trucks should be banned from this area during the morning commute.”
Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Jason Buratczuk said that there is no minimum speed limit on the freeway. The only requirement, he said, is that slower traffic keep to the far right of the road.
Pedestrian signal timing
Jan from Las Vegas thinks the pedestrian signal is too short at Charleston Boulevard and Indigo Drive in Summerlin.
“A person can’t get halfway across Charleston before the signal changes,” Jan wrote in an email to the Road Warrior.
Margaret Kurtz, a spokeswoman for the city of Las Vegas, said the walk symbol is typically displayed at signals for seven seconds, followed by a flashing countdown display. That countdown clock is calculated to allow a pedestrian to step off the curb and get across the street at an average walking speed of 3.5 feet per second.
“The calculations were reviewed by staff and appear to provide adequate time to cross Charleston,” Kurtz said, adding that traffic engineers will double-check their work.
Additional turn lane needed
Tex from Las Vegas wanted to know why the Nevada Department of Transportation built a single left-turn lane from eastbound Blue Diamond Road to northbound Decatur Boulevard in the southwest valley.
“The traffic backs up several times a day,” Tex said.
NDOT spokesman Tony Illia said the agency is planning to spend $15,000 to add another lane to this turn pocket and upgrade the signal head by the end of this year.
Rapid housing and commercial development along Blue Diamond has caused traffic to significantly jump from 26,000 cars a day in 2007 to 56,000 vehicles daily in 2017, Illia said.
Activate yellow arrows
Lillian from Las Vegas wanted to know why the flashing yellow left-turn arrows aren’t activated for the signals at Pollock and Silverado Ranch roads in the south valley, even though they are equipped with this capability.
Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said the flashing yellow arrows are activated only during some non-peak hours.
No yellow arrows here
John from Las Vegas wanted to know whether county officials plan to install flashing yellow left-turn signals along Town Center Drive at Twain Avenue and at Griffith Peak.
Kulin, the county spokesman, said the specialized signals weren’t placed here because of visibility limitations caused by the geometry of these intersections.
Road work ahead
Downtown
— Rancho Drive will be restricted at Washington Avenue from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. daily through Sept. 14. Crews are working on a storm drain project.
— Washington Avenue is restricted between Robin Street and Baker Avenue through October. Crews are working on a storm drain project.
— Ogden Avenue will be restricted between Main Street and City Parkway through mid-October. Crews are making street, sidewalk and lighting improvements.
— The Charleston Boulevard onramps to southbound Interstate 15 are closed until mid-October. Crews are rebuilding the intersection.
— The D Street offramp from northbound Interstate 15 is closed through mid-November. Crews are widening the freeway.
— Interstate 15 will be narrowed in both directions between Sahara Avenue and D Street until Nov. 20. Crews are widening the freeway.
— The ramp connecting southbound U.S. Highway 95 to southbound I-15 will be reduced to one lane and detoured through Nov. 20. Crews are widening I-15.
— The ramp linking southbound U.S. 95 to northbound I-15 is closed through Nov. 20. Crews are widening I-15.
— The Martin Luther King Boulevard onramp to southbound U.S. Highway 95 is closed until early 2019. Crews are building a high-occupancy flyover ramp.
— Gass Avenue will be restricted between Las Vegas and Charleston Boulevards through March 2019. Crews are making pedestrians and bicycle improvements.
Northwest
— Both directions of U.S. Highway 95 will be narrowed to two lanes at Elkhorn Road through December. Crews are building a new carpool ramp.
— El Capitan will be restricted between Lone Mountain and Ann roads from Monday to the beginning of August 2019. Crews are installing a storm drain system.
North Las Vegas
— Pecos Road will be closed at the 215 Beltway through the end of October. Crews are building a freeway bridge.
Henderson
— Stephanie Street will be restricted between the 215 Beltway and Cielo Abierto Way through October. Crews are repaving the road and making other improvements.
Gasoline prices
The average gasoline price Friday in the Las Vegas Valley was $3.10 per gallon. It was $3.18 in Nevada. The national average of $2.83 is down 8 cents from a week ago, down 4 cents from a month ago and up 32 cents from a year ago.
