Las Vegas neighborhood to restrict vehicle access to cut crime

A Clark County commissioner and Las Vegas police hope to reduce crime in a northeast valley neighborhood by restricting vehicle access at its entrances.

The proposal, which the Clark County Commission will consider Tuesday, would close two of the three entrances to the Sierra Sunrise neighborhood near Lake Mead and Hollywood boulevards for 90 days.

Since Jan. 1, the neighborhood has seen 473 calls for service and 769 police events, the Metropolitan Police Department reported.

“The No. 1 focus for the department is violent crime, and so that’s the main reason we want to start this project, is try to affect the violence that’s happening in Las Vegas,” said Metro Sgt. Landon Law, who works for the community outreach wing of the police substation that serves the northeast valley.

The plan would not cost the county any additional money, said Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who requested the closures with Metro. The county would use barriers and reflectors it already has to block access to the neighborhood, she said. Police said the closures would not affect pedestrian access to the area.

“In this particular neighborhood, we have more folks coming from the outside creating a problem within the neighborhood (and) we’re trying to create a safer environment for the folks that live here,” Kirkpatrick said.

Police said closing two of the access points to the neighborhood would deter criminals by giving them only one way in and one way out. If a crime occurs in the area, police said they would have a better chance of catching the criminal if there is only one exit for a car to pass through.

If the closures are approved, Metro would monitor criminal activity while the barriers are up, determine their effectiveness and share further recommendations with the county.

Law said Metro successfully deterred crime using a similar entry-restriction tactic in the northwest valley.

Mixed reactions

Kyle Seguin, 23, a 10-year resident of the neighborhood, said violence in the area comes and goes and drug activity is rampant.

Seguin said he sees police roll through the neighborhood every hour.

“I like when they cruise through here and kind of clean it up because it makes it better for my family,” said Seguin, who has two young sons.

He said he thinks adding barriers is wise and hopes it will deter outside traffic from causing trouble in his neighborhood.

“People that don’t stay up here bring the violence up here, make the crime rate up here, and then just leave and go back home,” he said.

Dakota Stoltenberg, 18, has lived in the neighborhood all his life. He said he has watched his neighborhood slide into a cycle of crime, especially in the past four or five years.

He said he occasionally sees a stripped car along the roadside and commonly sees needles in the streets.

“It’ll be good for the community,” he said of the barriers. “It’ll clean it up a lot.”

Resident Pier Carter, 24, said the neighborhood would be better off if officials invested in safety measures for kids. She wants to see speed bumps and crosswalks, not barriers.

Pier said the temporary roadblocks would be ineffective in stopping crime because people who commit crimes would still find a way to get away.

“Nobody’s worrying about them barriers,” she said.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.