Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ROAD WARRIOR Q&A: Henderson linkup lags

Green Valley Parkway project now slated to be completed in May

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This week, readers want to know when Green Valley Parkway will connect to Green Valley Parkway and if a handicapped parking permit from outside Nevada is handy in the Silver State.

And the Road Warrior learns that a valley driver is grateful for Jesus and sport utility vehicles, though not necessarily in that order.

Marvin Flaks asks: About one month ago, an article said that the connection between Green Valley Parkway, which now ends at Horizon Ridge Parkway, and the east-west segment of Green Valley Parkway, which now crosses Eastern Avenue, would be completed by March 1. It hasn't happened yet, notwithstanding a lot of work underway. A lot of us who live along Green Valley are wondering when the connection will be completed.

The completion date for that project has been delayed because of the rainy weather as of late and tougher-than-expected excavation issues, things that have plagued many road projects valleywide.

The targeted completion date is now May 2, Jonna Sansom, a project engineer with the city of Henderson, said in an e-mail this week.

The $2.2 million project began in late 2004 to add a curve linking a north-south section of Green Valley to an east-west stretch of the same road, between Horizon Ridge to the north and Eastern to the west, according to Sansom.

When completed, the link will have two lanes of traffic in each direction, along with shoulders and a median in that fast-growing section of the valley.

There will also be a walking path on the north side of the road, a new stoplight at Sandy Ridge Avenue and modified stoplights at Eastern and Horizon Ridge, Sansom said.

Funding for the project comes from Question 10 sales tax dollars, city spokesman Cindy Herman said.

S.E. Niederman asks: Could you please advise if people such as tourists from other places like other states or countries, such as Canada, can legally display their handicapped signs on their rental or borrowed vehicles bearing Nevada plates? I am asking because my parents will be visiting so they will be using my car, and they have a handicapped sign to hang on the rear-view mirror. I certainly don't want them to have any problems.

You shouldn't have any problems if the handicapped placard is from another state. Like driver's licenses from elsewhere, they're honored in Nevada when held and used by an out-of-state visitor.

"I don't know about Canada, but other states, yes," said Tom Jacobs, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. "There's kind of a reciprocal agreement. They honor all out-of-state placards."

And if it's not an American parking placard, that's OK too. That's according to the Nevada Revised Statutes -- the state's book of laws -- in Section 484.408, Subsection 5(d).

That permits "special license plates, a special or temporary parking sticker, or a special or temporary parking placard displaying the international symbol of access issued by another state or a foreign country."

That jibes with Las Vegas police policy. Officials say they wouldn't ticket someone parked in a handicapped space with a handicapped placard, whether the placard is from Carson City, California or Canada.

"As long as it's from an official government, we'll honor it," said Capt. Tom Conlin, who heads the department's traffic bureau.

Hit 'n Run: Seen by Road Warrior co-worker Henry Brean on the Nevada vanity plate of a brand-spanking-new shiny black Hummer sport utility monster on Rainbow Boulevard near the Las Vegas Beltway on the morning of March 3: "THXGSUS"

You know, like "Thanks, Jesus."

He might have healed the lame and fed the multitudes, but I'm not sure exactly what part of the Bible has Jesus getting true believers a great deal on some SUV bling-bling. But I'll have to check.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call the Road Warrior at 387-2904, or e-mail him at roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com or OSofradzija@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number.