Road Warrior readers sharing brain waves

It’s two for the price of one as this week’s installment of Road Warrior questions-answers opens with readers sharing like concerns in the same areas of the valley:

We open with Bob and Carol – sorry, no Ted and Alice for fans of the 1969 film – who inquire about the need for traffic signals on St. Rose Parkway in Henderson.

Bob is worried about the intersection of St. Rose and Bermuda Road: “This intersection has always been a challenge, but with increased traffic on St. Rose and a new Burger King at the intersection it now is a highly dangerous place to enter eastbound St. Rose from southbound Bermuda. Evening rush hour is particularly hazardous.”

Carol, meanwhile, is concerned with the intersection of St. Rose and Maryland Parkway as it applies to pedestrian safety: “The city has built a beautiful walking path on the south side of St. Rose and in recent weeks I have seen a man in a wheelchair and an elderly man crossing all six lanes. The elderly man heading north from the trail seemed to have plenty of room until he got to the second to last lane on St. Rose, where the traffic which moves up to 70 mph caught up to him. It was pretty scary. The man in the wheelchair was going to McDonald’s on Eastern because the path on the north side doesn’t extend to Maryland.”

The Road Warrior always gets his money’s worth when he checks with city of Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards: “While St. Rose Parkway is a Nevada Department of Transportation roadway, Henderson has proactively pursued and obtained federal funding through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program to install traffic signals in the Transportation Department’s right of way at the intersections of Maryland Parkway and Bermuda Road.

“Due to the width of St. Rose, we will need to use signal bridges to span the roadway, like those on Blue Diamond Road. The signals are currently being designed; once design is complete, the bidding and project award process will take about three months. Signal bridges require quite a bit of lead time to build so we do not have an estimated construction and installation completion date.”

That two-for-one deal worked so well, let’s try it again. Readers Mike and Rodney are of like minds when it comes to needed road widening and pavement smoothing on Rainbow Boulevard in the southwest valley, but with a twist. Mike inquires about the stretch between Blue Diamond Road south to Mountain’s Edge Parkway; Rodney asks about the area between Mountain’s Edge north to Blue Diamond. Hey, perhaps they wave at each other when they pass in traffic? Mike suggests: “Please drive it and find out. But take some Excedrin Migraine with you.”

The Road Warrior has enough headaches, thank you. Instead, we checked with Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin, who tells us: “We have a project in design for Rainbow Boulevard, from Cactus Avenue to Blue Diamond Road. Construction could begin in the fall and it would take about nine months to complete.”

Walter’s car might be idling as he waits for signal lights to change, but his mind certainly isn’t. He’s revved up: “When we really get serious about gas prices we will pay the price for computers to run the traffic signals in such a way that green lights do not point to a street with no traffic. An example of extreme wastefulness is the signal at the corner of Del Webb and Rampart boulevards. I’ve timed the wait on Del Webb and the worst was 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Three times the traffic traveling south from the signal at Cheyenne Avenue and Rampart turned green before the signal on Del Webb turned green for those turning left. If a signal does not turn green or stays green facing an empty street, the traffic waiting at the red light is idling and wasting gas. How about writing about that?”

You actually said it quite well, Walter. Because you did, the folks who operate the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada’s Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation took a look, and here’s what has been done: “RTC Fast technicians have adjusted this signal so that Del Webb will receive its full 25-second cycle, which is typical for a minor street that feeds into a major arterial. The green light on Rampart is set for 140 seconds, which is appropriate for a road that accommodates higher volumes of traffic. Motorists should notice a difference with this adjustment as it allows a greater volume of traffic on Del Webb to pass through.”

Phoebe sees an accident waiting to happen on Washington Avenue, between Rancho Drive and Jones Boulevard. She says in addition to speeders showing no regard for the stretch being a “high-traffic” street with schools, playgrounds and a park that attract families, simple road markings have fallen into “horrendous” disrepair: “The lane markings, left-turn arrows and crosswalks are so worn that they’re almost invisible. The lane reflectors are missing, chipped or submerged into the street. Staying within a lane, or finding the markings for a left turn is really hazardous.”

We checked with the city of Las Vegas, and spokesman Jace Radke says that portion of Washington is on its rehabilitation schedule for the next 18 to 24 months, pending available funding: “In the meantime, we will have our maintenance staff check the roadway and repaint the markings as needed. This corridor has a posted speed limit of 35 mph and also has numerous school flashers that reduce the speed to 25 mph or 15 mph at various locations where schools front or children cross. In addition, we have a dedicated pedestrian traffic signal for folks crossing to/from Lorenzi Park at Baker Avenue. We will have staff verify that the flashers are activating properly at the beginning and end of school hours and also verify the speed limit signs are still in place.”

If you have traffic questions or gripes, email them to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. lease be specific, and include your phone number. Not all questions can be answered in print. Follow the Road Warrior on Twitter: @RJroadwarrior.