Man says drivers use his street as a shortcut

If you ever see quirky traffic control devices or odd road configurations, point them out. There always seems to be an interesting story behind the reasoning for such setups. This week, Art hit us up with a question about a road that leads into, well, out of one of Las Vegas' ritzier neighborhoods. Here's Art:

Why is it is that motorists on Rancho Drive are prohibited from turning onto Waldman Avenue into the Scotch '80s neighborhood? I'm guessing it is because this is a wealthy neighborhood. I live across Rancho, and people use my street as a shortcut all the time. It also doesn't make sense that you cannot turn left onto Rancho. There are no obstacles preventing you from seeing oncoming traffic. I hope you can help solve this nagging mystery.

Residents in this neighborhood rallied in the 1990s and persuaded elected officials to make Waldman a one-way street at Rancho. This is something any community can do, by the way. The problem at the time was this: The intersection of Rancho and Charleston Boulevard became too congested. Traffic often backed up on Rancho so far south it reached Waldman. Motorists took to turning right on Waldman, driving to Shadow Lane and continuing north back to Charleston. The cut-through traffic became an annoyance to homeowners.

The reason left turns from Waldman onto Rancho are prohibited is similar. Motorists traveling west on Charleston would duck onto Shadow and then Waldman to reach Rancho rather than waiting at the signal to turn left onto Rancho from Charleston? I hope you could follow that.

Bob wants new lines: While lane markings here tend to be poor in general, the situation on Interstate 215 roughly between Lake Mead Boulevard and Summerlin Parkway is horrendous. At certain times of the day the confusion between the painted out lines and the other lane markers becomes impossible. I was driving southbound on 215 a couple of evenings ago and had extreme difficulty telling where the lanes went. Somebody is going to get killed there!

Good news, Bob, Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said within 30 days, crews will be out on the Las Vegas Beltway power washing those old painted lane markers off the surface. They will then install raised buttons, also known as Botts' dots -- named after the California Department of Transportation engineer who invented them -- so that it will be easier to see the lanes. The dots, obviously, last longer as well. This answer also applies to a similar question submitted by Helen, who shared Bob's frustrations.

Richard has a follow-up question to the new cellphone law: There seems to be an ambiguous area of the law. My question is how does the law apply to CB radios. As far as I know there are no devices available for CB radios to make them hands-free. Does the law exclude CB radios? I'm sure this is a concern for truckers and others who use CB radios.

Richard, there seems to have been some confusion over what devices are included in the law and which ones are not. This has been termed the cellphone law because motorists are no longer allowed to talk on their phones without a Bluetooth or similar hands-free device or to text while driving. They are also not allowed to hold onto or dally with GPS navigating devices. But now onto the question. Well, good buddy, CB radios are still permitted. The law does not relate to their use.

Mike is frustrated by the light: When they opened the Las Vegas Police Department's new headquarters at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Alta Drive, they installed a new traffic signal on the MLK side. The light constantly favors the driveway to the police headquarters, even if nobody is exiting the driveway, and stopping a dozen cars on MLK. Can they fix this?

Eventually that will be fixed. When new signals are installed, they are controlled by the jurisdiction in which they are erected. After they are equipped with traffic detection devices, signal control is handed over to the Freeway and Arterial Transportation system, which orchestrates the timing of traffic lights all over the valley from its facility on Sunset Road and Decatur Drive.

Edith is confused over school zone signs: Hopefully you can clear up my confusion concerning school zone speed limits. The new signs say "When Children are Present." There is no time listed as to when the speed limit is in force, so I assume it is only when children are present. However, there is another sign that says, "Fines are Higher" This also implies that they are higher when children are present, but since no times are listed, there would be no other time for regular fines. This is very confusing.

It is very confusing. I wrote a column about these warnings at the outset of the school year, but it's worth repeating because Edith is not the only residents who remains baffled.

Children are considered present when they are exiting the school bus or walking to campus in the morning or boarding the bus or walking home in the afternoon. Reduced speed limits are enforced a half-hour before classes begin and a half-hour after school ends.

For readers who have no children, here's a little help: High school students typically start classes between 6:30 and 7 a.m. and leave school between 1:20 and 2:15 p.m.; middle schools begin between 7 and 8 a.m. and end between 2 and 2:15 p.m.; and elementary schools start between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. and let out between 3 and 3:20 p.m.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904.