Drivers have connectivity, not dead-end, problems

Driving around the southwest part of the valley is a little like taking on a labyrinth, except it's really not a lot of fun and one can easily burn a quarter-tank of gasoline trying to make it to the desired destination.

It goes something like this: You exit Interstate 15 and take Dean Martin Drive to Sunset Road, thinking you might just zip on over to Decatur Boulevard. But you hit Arville Drive and then a big patch of desert. Dead end. Even though your destination is in sight, you have to take a detour up to Russell Road, one of the rare east-west routes in the southwest valley.

Or how about this: You're headed north on Decatur in an attempt to hop on the Las Vegas Beltway only to be turned away at the last second by a giant berm.

Or this: You're happily making your way down Jones Boulevard thinking it has to hit Blue Diamond Road. It too is within sight, but you can't get there from here. Instead you have to turn right on Torino Avenue, left on Bronco Street, right on Pebble Road and left onto Torrey Pines. Then, with no signal on Blue Diamond, it's a quick game of Frogger to head east on Blue Diamond.

Seems a bit ridiculous, right?

"It definitely is a problem from a mobility standpoint," said Jacob Snow, general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission, the agency that is charged with making our mobility, er, commute a bit easier. "Anytime you lose connectivity you're going to create problems."

Connectivity is the problem. Roads such as Sunset, Valley View, Jones and Post look like dotted lines on the map, but the transportation commission and Clark County planners are working on solutions. Unfortunately, money has become just as big an obstacle as the Union Pacific railroad that dissects this southwest quadrant of the Las Vegas Valley and causes most of the headaches.

A prime example of the railroad's interference with moving around this part of town is Jones Boulevard. Clark County has attempted to negotiate the needed right-of-way from two private developers and the railroad in order to finally punch Jones through to Blue Diamond.

The last-ditch solution would be to simply take the land through eminent domain, but the county has no plans to do that at this time.

The stub of pavement at the end of Jones is evidence that the county had intended to connect the arterial to Blue Diamond, but between the property rights issues and lack of funding, there is no telling when this will happen, if ever.

Russ Morgan lives in Silverado Ranch and works at Jones and Cougar Avenue. He figures he tacks five unnecessary miles onto his daily commute because there is no direct route.

"You have to zig-zag through neighborhoods," Morgan said. "When I go to Wigwam, it's right across the way, but I have to really go out of my way to get there. I have to drive a big loop."

The dead-end thoroughfares are not only an inconvenience, but neighborhood killers, Morgan said. Residents who once enjoyed their unique rural environment have witnessed their quiet roads turn into busy streets as commuters scramble to make their way past the railroad tracks or the beltway.

"I think this is killing that area," Morgan said. "Homes are boarded up and it looks like the life has been choked out of those neighborhoods. If they put Jones through, it would become quiet and nontraveled again."

Morgan's concerns about feeling disconnected from the east side of the valley will be alleviated to some extent when Sunset Road is extended across Interstate 15 within two years. But coming west, it will still dead-end just past Arville.

County officials hoped to provide an additional east-west route in the southwest by pushing Valley View through to Decatur, but that project was stalled because of a lack of funding. That much-needed extension won't come until at least 2013.

A tad of positive news for those who travel or live in the labyrinth: The county is constructing railroad underpasses on Warm Springs at Decatur, and it will soon connect Decatur to the Las Vegas Beltway from the south. Soon, there will be a way out.

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