Holiday driving tips: See and be seen, learn to play outfield

It's beginning to look a lot like collision season. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says 20 percent of all collisions take place in shopping center parking lots during the holiday season.

And that's before you get in the door and start jockeying for position to snag a "Star Wars" toy.

Luckily, the good folks at AAA Nevada came up with a list of common-sense driving tips before drafting their holiday shopping lists to help prevent motorists from having an unintentional run-in with fellow shoppers.

Here are some of those tips, shared by AAA Nevada's Cynthia Harris:

See and be seen. Use headlights in parking garages, even during daylight hours. You'll be more visible to other drivers and pedestrians.

Learn to play outfield. I've yet to see many shoppers willing to park in outlying areas where traffic is lighter and the risk of collision reduced. But you have to admit, if you park in the back 40, you'll be among fewer vehicles.

Stay out of tight spots. Avoid parking between tall SUVs or minivans where it might be harder to back out of a space. This, of course, is easier said than done because of the abundance of tall SUVs, and there's no guarantee that once you've parked, a pair of tall SUVs won't park next to you.

Stay out of reverse. You might get lucky if you get to the mall early because you might find two spaces together nose to nose. If you pull through two spaces, you won't have to back out when you leave.

Watch out for minis-hoppers. Children can be hard to see in busy parking lots and often make quick, unpredictable moves in their excitement. Anticipate the surprise moves, and if you're a parent, keep close watch, even hold hands, with the little ones.

Watch for clues. When on foot, be on the lookout for clues to vehicle movement — reverse lights, car exhaust, big smiles from people because they're leaving the mall.

Protect your purchases. Put your shopping bags in the trunk so they aren't visible to would-be thieves. It takes only a few seconds to smash a car window and make off with your holiday purchases.

Gas line pain

In the past, we got upset about gas lines because there were fuel shortages and cars waited in lines extending out onto city streets.

Now when we talk about gas line pain, it's about natural gas lines being installed beneath city streets that result in lane closures and long lines of traffic.

Henderson residents have been particularly pained by a project that frequently backs up Horizon Ridge Parkway. Several Warrior readers wrote in about the status of the project, including this one from Tammy:

"Can you find out what is happening with the gas line project on Horizon Ridge Parkway, between Green Valley Parkway and Valle Verde Drive? It seems to have come to a stop with Horizon Ridge eastbound permanently reduced to one lane. Traffic is frequently backed up for a long way."

This is one of those good-news replies, Tammy (and all other inquiring readers). According to City of Henderson spokesman Keith Paul, most of the excavation and paving work is completed.

"Southwest Gas is currently pressurizing the line, exercising the valves and conducting leak detection," he said. "They still have open trenches with plates in some locations so that they have access to the lines and valves. They are also staging equipment in the area. Those two reasons necessitate the lane closure. The work occurs at night, which is why motorists don't see activity during the day."

But here's the good news. Southwest Gas indicates the work might be done by the time you read this. Pending some unexpected bad weather, the last of the paving should be completed and ready for travel on Monday.

"The pipe has been installed, the gas is flowing and the lanes should all be paved over the weekend and ready for vehicle traffic," said Southwest's Sonya Headen.

Heavy traffic

Two big events could clog some city streets more than usual this week.

Tuesday night is the Republican presidential debate, which begins at 6 p.m. at The Venetian. That means the traditional evening rush hour probably will be heavier than normal along the Strip and Spring Mountain Road and it also will get heavy upon the event's exit at around 8.

On Saturday, the Las Vegas Bowl makes its annual visit to Sam Boyd Stadium with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff between Brigham Young and Utah. U.S. Highway 95 at the Russell Road exit, Boulder Highway, Galleria Drive, Gibson Road and Broadbent Boulevard should start filling up in the late morning.

The game is a sellout, which means not only will there be tons of traffic in the area, but many motorists will be Utahns unfamiliar with the terrain.

And don't tailgate on the way to your tailgate.

— Questions and comments should be sent to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number.
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ROAD WORK AHEAD

■ Robindale Road will be closed at Bermuda Road for sewer line construction with incremental road closures west to Gilespie Street throughMarch 4. Construction will occur Mondays through Fridays from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closures will remain in effect while work isn’t being performed. Property access will be maintained throughout the project.

■ The left and left-turn lanes of Tropicana Avenue at Rollingwood Drive will be restricted through Friday. At least one lane will remain open in each direction on Tropicana and restrictions also will be in place on Rollingwood. Work on Rollingwood is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Tropicana from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday.

■ The intersection of Wigwam Avenue and Bermuda Road will be closed and north- and southbound traffic on Bermuda restricted to one lane in each direction for a sewer line project scheduled through Friday. Wigwam traffic will be detoured to Fairfield Avenue. In the second phase of the project, Wigwam and Fairfield will be closed and traffic will be detoured to Bermuda.

■ Lane restrictions are planned through Friday for field survey work in various locations on a major water reclamation project: on the westbound center lane of Windmill Lane at Rainbow Boulevard; the westbound left lane and two-way left turn lane on Windmill between Seven Valley Street and Torrey Pines Drive; the westbound left lane and two-way left-turn lane on Windmill between Torrey Pines and El Camino Road; the westbound left lane of Windmill at Jones Boulevard; the central portion of the westbound left lane of Windmill at Decatur Boulevard; the westbound right lane of Windmill at Cameron Street; two-way left-turn lane on Windmill at Arville Street; the northbound right lane of Windmill between Arville and Blue Diamond Road; the edge of northbound Blue Diamond at Arville; the edge of eastbound Wigwam Avenue from Arville to Hinson Street; and the edge of eastbound Wigwam from Hinson to Valley View Boulevard. Work is planned Mondays through Fridays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

■ Lane shifts have occurred along the northern 215 Beltway between North Fifth Street and Aliante Parkway for the construction of permanent roadway, a concrete barrier and street lights. Speed limits have been reduced to 45 mph and the shift will be in effect through mid-December.

■ Work on the Regional Transportation Commission’s Flamingo Road Corridor Improvement Project will move to between Eastern Avenue and Jimmy Durante Boulevard through the end of December. Daytime and overnight construction is scheduled. Construction will continue on the west side of Flamingo from Rainbow Boulevard to Hotel Rio Drive through fall 2016. Work will not take place on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

■ Interstate 15 traffic has been shifted to southbound lanes at Milepost 16 in the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona for the demolition of a bridge that is being replaced. There will be a single lane of traffic in each direction of I-15, but motorists should expect traffic delays of up to 15 minutes through December.

■ Main Street traffic has been shifted from the west side of the roadway to the new pavement on the east side to allow workers to begin sidewalk removal between Bridger and Bonneville avenues. Work will continue between Bonneville and the U.S. Highway 95 overpass through the end of 2015.

■ Lane restrictions are planned in both directions of West Charleston Boulevard between Montclair Street and Decatur Boulevard Mondays through Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Access to businesses might be temporarily altered and travel lanes reduced through the construction zone. Left-turn lanes at the intersection of Charleston and Decatur will be reduced to single lanes. Montclair will remain open, but there will be no access to or from westbound Charleston. Montclair will be restricted to right turns only onto Charleston and motorists turning from Montclair onto eastbound Charleston will only be able to turn right at Decatur. The project is scheduled to be completed in late December.

■ The westbound travel lanes of Patrick Lane will be restricted from Pearl Street to Pecos Road Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.through Dec. 30 for a water reclamation line project. Traffic will be shifted to the right lane during construction.

■ A major sewer line project continues at Durango Drive-Rampart Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue. The project will add 1.1 miles of 30- and 36-inch sewer pipe from that intersection to the Durango Hills Water Resource Center and eastward along Cheyenne past Cimarron Road. Tunneling along the route will continue through December. Two travel lanes are expected to be maintained through the duration of the project, but Lake Mead Boulevard is recommended as an east-west alternative route and Buffalo Drive is recommended for north-south traffic.

■ Travel lanes will be restricted and a flagger present on a 21-mile upgrade of state Route 160, the highway between Las Vegas and Pahrump, between Mileposts 22 and 43. The project includes the addition of 14 paved median crossovers. Work is scheduled through early January, Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Travel lanes will be open when construction isn’t occurring.

■ Northbound and southbound Decatur Boulevard will be pushed to the east half of the street between Via de Palma Drive and Sahara Avenue, Mondays through Fridays through Jan. 15 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a sewer line project.

■ Geotechnical exploratory drilling along the east and west sides of Interstate 15 between Sahara Avenue and U.S. Highway 95 at Martin Luther King Boulevard is scheduled during the daylight hours through Jan. 15 for the Project Neon Spaghetti Bowl project. Moving lane restrictions are planned and there will be some temporary noise and vibration disruptions.

■ Traffic will be restricted on Main Street between Bonneville and Hoover avenues through January for a pair of utility projects. NV Energy will relocate conduit through mid-November and Southwest Gas pipeline relocations are planned from mid-November through January. Traffic will be reduced to single lanes during the work on the Main-Commerce project.

■ Fifth Street in North Las Vegas is closed between Cheyenne Avenue and Losee Road through February for the construction of an overpass route that will connect Fifth to East Carey Avenue.

■ Craig Road will be restricted to two lanes in each direction at Simmons Street for a water drainage project that will be completed in February.

■ Restrictions will be in place through February on Lamb Boulevard between Wyoming Avenue and Vegas Valley Drive on a water pipeline rehabilitation project. Lamb will be reduced to one lane in each direction and left turns will be prohibited. Two lanes will be open in each direction during daylight hours. Work is scheduled Sundays through Thursdays, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

■ RT bus Transit Route 109, the Maryland Parkway route, will be detoured due to road construction through April. Stops on George Crockett Road will not be served. Alternative stops are available on Routes 117 (Las Vegas Boulevard South and Silverado Ranch Road) and 217 (Warm Springs Road and downtown Henderson).

■ The ramp connecting Sunset Road to the southbound Airport Connector is closed through fall 2016. Traffic lanes and shoulders will be restricted on the Airport Connector between the 215 Beltway and the airport tunnel through mid-2016 for the construction of a flyover lane from the southbound connector to the eastbound Beltway.

Gasoline prices

The average gasoline price Friday in the Las Vegas Valley was $2.52 per gallon. It was $2.49 in Nevada. The national average of $2.02 is down 3 cents from a week ago, down 19 cents from a month ago and down 60 cents from a year ago.