Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ROAD WARRIOR Q&A: Problematic Placement

Driveway connected to the beltway

A semitrailer prepares to pull onto the Las Vegas Beltway near Rainbow Boulevard Monday. Photo by Gary Thompson.

This week readers want to know why officials allowed a trucking company to install a driveway connecting to the Las Vegas Beltway, what's being done to curb tailgating and who to call about a neighborhood oil spill.

• Joe Mikulka asks: About two weeks ago, a driveway was installed connecting a trucking company yard to the Las Vegas Beltway near Rainbow Boulevard. I was astounded when I saw it. Traffic there is traveling 60 mph, and you now have 18-wheelers forcing their way into traffic. I know that the beltway there will eventually become a frontage road, but I question the wisdom of this driveway being there now.

The driveway linking Sullivan Transfer's trucking operation to the Las Vegas Beltway has been there since at least the spring, according to county officials.

But a bad idea is a bad idea, regardless of when it's brought to fruition.

Clark County's justification is that it's all part of the development plan for the area, even if that means allowing a driveway for big rigs to be put in place where traffic regularly exceeds 60 mph. In fact, officials said there will likely be more driveways connecting to the beltway before it's reconstructed as a full-fledged freeway with frontage roads.

"It's a commercially zoned area, (and) that's why this business was allowed to build there and have access to the frontage road," said Clark County Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton. "I understand why everyone is concerned, but that's why it was designated with a 45 mph speed limit. It wasn't designed to be a freeway yet people have been using it for three or four years as a freeway."

• Thomas Hirsch asks: Something must be done about tailgating in the Las Vegas area. Just about every time I'm out driving at least one tailgater is dangerously near, even though I usually drive at or slightly above the posted speed limit. By the looks of their contorted facial expressions, many of the tailgaters seem mentally disturbed and probably should not be allowed to drive. I would guess that many accidents are the result of tailgating. What can be done? Do the police ticket tailgaters?

Citations for following too closely account for nearly 7 percent of the tickets the Metropolitan Police Department issued to motorists involved in accidents last year. It ranked fourth for citations issued under those circumstances behind driver inattention (30 percent), failure to yield (25 percent) and making an improper turn (9 percent).

"It is a serious problem," said Sgt. Phillip George, who heads Las Vegas police's transportation safety bureau problem solving unit.

Police have used a number of enforcement schemes in the past year to target aggressive driving, including tailgating. But because 33 percent of all crashes last year were rear-end accidents, indicating a major tailgating problem, George said police plan a special initiative to target motorists following too closely.

"Unfortunately, with all the aggressive driving that goes on in Las Vegas if you give someone space they will cram their car in between and therein lies our problem," he said. "It's going to be unpopular, but we can write a lot of citations for it because they are following too close."

• Duane Irons asks: I have a neighbor who parks his vehicle backwards in his driveway with his front wheels in the gutter. Not only does he block the sidewalk, but the reason he does this is because it leaks oil. Not just a drop here or there, but I'd say a half to a full quart everyday. There is water that runs in the gutter every day and that is not good for the environment. Is there someone to call and report this "Valdez?" And will anyone really do anything about it?

The Clark County Health District is one of several agencies that investigates illegal dumping of oil.

Doug Joslin, environmental health inspector for the district, said they take those reports seriously because everything that hits the drains in the streets will eventually end up in Lake Mead, the source of the Las Vegas Valley's drinking water. The fine for illegal oil disposal can range from $500 to $5,000 for the first offense.

"I don't want to give impression that one leaky car is going to be the death of us," Joslin said, "but we do take it seriously."

The district fielded 1,100 such complaints last year.

"Sometimes when we get there, as an environmental crimes unit, it doesn't meet our standards," Joslin said. But if Irons' account is accurate, Joslin said, his neighbor sounds like a good candidate for prosecution.

"There's intent there," Joslin said. "He's parking his vehicle a certain way because he's aware of the problem; he obviously has to be putting oil in it (the vehicle). It transcends your car and my car that may leave a small stain on the pavement."

To make a complaint with the Clark County Health District's Solid Waste Department call 383-1027 or contact them online at www.cchd.org/complaint.

If you have a question for the Road Warrior, call 387-2906 or e-mail MSquires@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number.One and a half hours on a two-lane blacktop brings you to a hidden oasis near Death Valley. Tom Hawley explores "China Ranch" tonight on News-3 at 4 and 6.