Road sign makers should mind their P’s and Q’s

Our first reader, Susan, has a couple of questions that lead me to believe she would be an ideal copy editor. I notice misspellings or misuse of punctuation or grammar on signs as I’m driving around town, but I have disclosed this previously: I am an admitted traffic geek.

Here’s Susan: On Dorrell Lane, heading up to Fort Apache Road there are signs that read, “speed humps.” Is that right? I’ve heard of Speed Bumps but not “humps” like on a camel.

The “speed hump” sign is not a mistake. They serve the same purpose in slowing traffic, but technically there are differences between the two.

According to several engineering websites, humps are lower and wider and placed farther apart. They are typically placed in neighborhoods. Speed bumps are the ones that give your vehicle a good jolt. We see more of those in parking lots and garages.

I don’t think engineers in these parts follow those technical guidelines when placing signs. As I drove down Campbell Avenue, I noticed the bumps were really humps but were indeed labeled bumps.

And …

Just further up Dorrell there is a street called Chieftain. Well there is one section of Chieftain that is newer and it reads, “Cheiftain.” My god, doesn’t anyone in Las Vegas know how to spell? Or does that not bother anyone but me?

This is not the first time readers have recognized misspelled street signs. Some, such as the one you pointed out, are typos. Others are just plain confusing.

The city or county’s public works departments are responsible for signs across the Las Vegas Valley.

The one that has always thrown me off is Raphael Rivera off Decatur Boulevard near Interstate 215 in the southern portion of the valley. In all references I can find, with the exception of Wikipedia, which is not dependable, the correct spelling of the Spanish explorer’s name was Rafael. There even is a Rafael Community Center in the city of Las Vegas.

Marlies asks: We have a house in Mesquite and fly in and out of Las Vegas every month to our home in Washington. Because there no longer will be economy parking at the airport, I was trying to find the transfer station with free parking you mentioned in your article. You said it was about seven minutes to the airport depending on various things. Do you by any chance have an address I can put into my GPS so I can go there?

We’ll get to the economy parking part of this in a minute, but the address of the transit terminal is 6675 Gilespie St. on the southwest corner of Gilespie and Sunset. And, yes, it takes less than 10 minutes to reach the airport.

I flubbed when I recently answered a question about this station. The route – 109 north – that goes to the airport, runs 24 hours a day.

As far as economy parking at McCarran International Airport, it’s not going away, but it will be relocated at the end of August. There will be a new lot immediately east of Terminal 3 that will offer uncovered spaces.

Also, the airport plans to open a second surface lot near the main terminal that once served as an employee parking lot. In both cases, a shuttle will not be located; the terminals will be within walking distance of the parking lots. Passengers will see the economy rates increase from $8 a day to $10.

Here’s Ralph’s airport-related question: Because they are “testing” the lighted signs for the airport, the airport tunnel signs no longer say speed 55 mph. Does that mean that the speed from Tropicana to just past the tunnel where the next 55 mph is just 35 mph? If not, shouldn’t someone put a temporary sign up stating the correct speed limit? I slow down to 35 miles per hour until I come out of the tunnel and get a lot of honks and waves for doing that.

I’m surprised anybody pays attention to the speed limit in the tunnel. Every time I’m driving through it I feel like 40 million Kurt Buschs blow by me. About 10 years ago, that was a popular camping spot for traffic officers, and they nailed motorists left and right.

But, to answer the reader’s question, the lighted signs with the speed limit posted should be up and running again.

Several readers say Boulder is growing older: What is going on at Boulder Highway at Sahara Avenue? Traffic is a mess and work appears to stop for days on end. Is there an end in sight?

This is a $9 million Clark County rehabilitation project that started in March. Massive concrete storm drain boxes are being dropped below Boulder Highway from Sahara Avenue to the Flamingo Wash. The project was expected to be completed soon, but there have been delays.

The folks who live near Lone Mountain Road feel your pain. Same situation. The company that landed the contract was Williams Brother Inc., and according to Clark County, it walked away from the project shortly after it began. The county is putting the project back out to bid, and work should resume soon. The projected completion date is December.

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.