Heaven knows why Las Vegas pedestrians, drivers can’t get along

It was one of those surveillance projects that was surprising, but on the other hand expected.

The Las Vegas Police Department recently staked out the intersection of Boulder Highway and Tropicana Avenue, where officers had become concerned about the number of pedestrians jaywalking and motorists blowing through crosswalks. They videotaped the scofflaws, but never pulled out their ticket books.

The next day, they returned with their citations and pens ready and wrote a handful of tickets.

It was a study of sorts. Would motorists and pedestrians notice the presence of law enforcement and abide by the laws governing pedestrians and motorists? Nope. Officers returned the following day with no intention of writing tickets and noted that none of the bad behavior had changed.

“Enforcement is not the only key to break these habits,” said Metro’s Lt. Richard Fletcher. “People in Vegas step off curbs and cars don’t stop for pedestrians. This is a community problem; it’s the way we think.”

So how do we think and why?

I don’t know about you, but as I drive around the Las Vegas Valley I am mystified at the number of people who dart out in front of traffic. It’s ridiculous. Yes, pedestrians by law do have the right of way regardless of whether they are in a crosswalk, but that doesn’t give them license to meander across a six-lane arterial whenever they please.

And motorists grow irritated, sometimes disregarding pedestrians completely, other times skimming their heels.

Fletcher and I talked about other cities. In San Diego, for example, people walk to the coffee shop, they walk to breakfast, they walk to Petco Park to watch the Giants pound the Padres.

The culture is different in the Las Vegas Valley, where 29 pedestrians have been killed this year. If someone is walking without a dog’s leash attached to their hand, are they stereotyped – viewed as homeless or druggies or simply poor people? Does that make their lives less valuable than ours? Are we pedestrian profiling?

It seems as if a week cannot pass without a motorist striking and killing somebody walking, and that has left law enforcement and community safety organizations at a loss.

The Las Vegas police department is accustomed to solving such problems through education and enforcement. Those strategies have failed to reduce fatality numbers. The department took a new approach: They invited a wide variety of professionals, law enforcement officers and Regular Joes to participate in a July 19 symposium. The only other time such a measure had been taken was when sexual crimes were on the rise, Fletcher said.

“This was a community event for Southern Nevada,” he said. “How can we as a community better educate the public in traffic safety? What’s being done right, and what can we do better?”

About 100 brains showed up . Their suggestions are being compiled and will be sent to UNLV, where a report will be written.

One idea that came out of the daylong brainstorming session was to add another e-word to education and enforcement: engineering.

For example, sidewalks are cluttered with racks and objects that sometimes force pedestrians to step into the roadway. Fletcher said there is push for wider, less-cluttered sidewalks. When new roads are constructed or renovated, they should be more narrow so motorists aren’t tempted to speed and the entire span of the street will be well illuminated.

“There are some things we simply can’t do; we can’t take Maryland Parkway down to one lane,” Fletcher said. “We can’t do it.”

New or revamped streets should also include bus turnouts so that bus stops are not midblock and passengers don’t have to dart across the road to catch their connection. Bus shelters are typically not placed on corners because they impede traffic coming through the intersection and create a traffic flow problem for vehicles making right turns.

Another suggestion is to keep bins with bright-colored flags at corners, so pedestrians can grab the flag and hold it up as they make their way across the street.

Fletcher said there were discussions about taking a percentage of fines and putting it toward public service announcements. A portion of fines could be put toward funding better traffic control devices at pedestrian crossings. Metro alone writes about 200,000 citations a year, so even at a small percentage, the proceeds could build quickly.

Fletcher said the key is convincing judges to stop reducing moving traffic violations, for example, to parking infractions.

“Stop dismissing tickets,” he said. “You get a flat rate and that’s it.”

They discussed reducing speed limits on some arterials, including Boulder Highway, where pedestrians are frequently killed.

Even though the majority of pedestrians killed on Las Vegas roads are older than 50, there is a need to educate youths about traffic safety at a younger age, Fletcher said.

He supports the idea of bringing the “Every 15 Minutes” program to children attending elementary school. The program graphically demonstrates the consequences of driving under the influence or texting while operating a vehicle.

What will come from the symposium is yet to be seen, but Fletcher said concerns about the number of fatalities in the community is wide-ranging.

“We were at a loss and we didn’t know how this would turn out,” Fletcher said of the event. “There was a consensus of concern. We need to sustain the message and keep it fresh.”

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at 702-387-2904, or send an email to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Include your phone number.