To the editor:

There is a heated debate on the placement of roadside memorials for those who have died on our highways. Federal law says roadside memorials are unauthorized.

I have a solution to this eternal problem. For those who have lost loved ones and want to place a memorial, we suggest the most appropriate place is in front of the Nevada Department of Transportation. After all, the majority of Nevada's highway deaths are a direct consequence of NDOT's practices and policies.

If enough crosses are placed at the entrance to their offices, maybe NDOT will change its errant ways and become the traffic engineering and safety agency it should be.

Make no mistake about it; poor engineering practices, dangerous highway design and a lack of safety reviews is the greatest threat to motorists, not speed, drunken drivers or road rage. These unsafe conditions couldn't exist without the full support of NDOT.

The real problem on state Route 160, better known as Blue Diamond Road, and for that matter Nevada as a whole, is that NDOT has no true roadway safety oversight plan in place. Moreover, they are unable to say no to political whims, regardless of the effect this may have on a roadway. Both these facts are evident on Route 160.

Consequently, local entities have wrongly been permitted to expand their tax bases on the cheap without regard to the impact such projects can have on the roadway's primary function, capacity or safety. Without strong oversight, human catastrophes like Route 160 are a predictable byproduct.

Surely, it comes as no surprise to NDOT that Route 160 is a primary arterial in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. Nor can the ever-increasing number of accidents and deaths be considered a new phenomenon, either. The scariest part is that NDOT truly doesn't appear to know what to do. All of its purported solutions are known to be ineffective and actually increase accidents.

Instead of investing in traffic safety engineering solutions that do make us safer, NDOT continues to blame the driver. NDOT insanely believes the urban safety myth that illegally posting a lower number on a speed limit sign and enforcing it when accident risks are at their lowest will solve everything.

Even more incredibly, its only solution on Route 160 appears to be nothing more than a hope that its public press campaigns decrying safety will take the heat off its poor design and planning decisions -- campaigns that, in the end, will only exacerbate this safety crisis by adding to the number of families who will want to place memorials on this highway.

How do we make Route 160 safer and improve traffic flow? Two critical factors must be addressed. Route 160 is a primary arterial and its job is to move traffic safely and efficiently, while the adjoining land use needs local mobility as well as access to the area. The satellite view of this area clearly shows that both these divergent needs can be met.

NDOT needs to immediately implement a phased-in, area-wide access management plan. It must eliminate entry points, aggregate traffic to a few collector points, install roundabouts instead of signals and stop virtually all uncontrolled cross-traffic during peak hours. Roundabouts have been found by the Arizona Department of Transportation to reduce fatal crashes by 90 percent and injury crashes by 75 percent.

It's time for NDOT to adopt contemporary solutions that will make our roads safer and improve flow. If the families of those who have lost their lives or have been maimed started placing memorials on NDOT's doorstep, its employees wouldn't be able to get through the front door. Then, just maybe, we can convince NDOT or Gov. Kenny Guinn to have the roadway safety agency start implementing practices that prevent the carnage on our highways, improving the quality of our lives, too.

Chad Dornsife

PORTLAND, ORE.

THE WRITER IS DIRECTOR OF THE BEST HIGHWAY SAFETY PRACTICES INSTITUTE.

Gibbons' world

To the editor:

After reading Erin Neff's Tuesday column about the gubernatorial "platform" Rep. Jim Gibbons presented in a taxpayer-funded mailer and his refusal to debate fellow candidates, I thought I'd offer him some suggestions.

We, the people of Southern Nevada, are not worried about cracking down on graffiti. Las Vegas' mayor has already threatened to cut off the thumbs of taggers.

We are not worried about "being safe." We already have some of the highest-paid police officers and corrections officers in the United States.

We are not worried about the war on drugs; no need for you to hang out with drug czar John Waters.

Gang violence? Not a biggie.

What we are worried about is the runaway growth of government, the salaries of public employees and the cost of their retirement benefits, which allow them to work until age 50 and then suck off of the taxpayers for the rest of their lives with free health care while the rest of us pay our own bills.

We are worried about the excessive taxation that was placed on us by a so-called Republican governor in cahoots with a Democrat-controlled, government-employee heavy Assembly that gave its cronies big raises and benefits boosts.

We are worried that you refuse to support the proposed Tax and Spending Control amendment, which would put any tax hikes to a vote of the people.

I think you've been in Washington too long, Rep. Gibbons.

These are the issues that the regular guys, private-sector employees and taxpayers are worried about.

Pattie Purcell

LAS VEGAS

Affordable housing

To the editor:

I read with great interest Monday's article, "Affordable housing: City tests land act provision." I am aghast at the widespread misunderstanding of the valley's affordable housing problem.

The truth of the matter is that housing prices within this valley are way out of whack with median incomes, and because of that home values may very well decline. Local politicians and media bodies can wish away this fact as much as they want, but eventually the chickens come home to roost.

Currently, median home prices hover around $340,000, excluding condos, and around $310,000 with condos. The median household income in the valley is around $47,000.

Until three years ago or so, median home prices were generally around 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 times median income. Simple math tells us that median Las Vegas homes now cost roughly 6 1/2 times the median income, or an over-valuation of 30 to 40 percent. Eventually, the equity-rich Californians who have been supporting our over-valuation will cease to arrive.

What supported this rise in home prices throughout the valley was the availability of easy credit and low interest rates. Easy credit is coming to an end, interest rates are rising, and as such, the basic market forces of supply and demand will re-assert themselves on the housing market.

When that happens, our problem of affordable housing will be solved.

Peter Thompson

LAS VEGAS

What a performance!

To the editor:

What an entertaining performance by Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson in his March 18 response to columnist Erin Neff's criticism of his profligate habits with taxpayer funds. Elmer Gantry would be proud.

Mr. Atkinson's moans and whines escalated into self-righteous indignation, culminating in a veritable mushroom cloud of outrage.

If the taxpayers give this clown even more money to throw around, will he chase his tail and jump through hoops of fire on command? With the news as grim as it is these days, we need all the laughs we can get.

Nancy Karr

LAS VEGAS

Break out the violins

To the editor:

Lord knows no self-respecting young female would be caught dead without her water bottle and cell phone. Now two spoiled brats from Indian Springs High School have proven that, and got their 15 minutes of fame, by protesting a brief water bottle ban at their school (Tuesday and Wednesday editions).

Their excuse? "We live in the middle of the desert." Break out the violins. The last time I checked, classes were not being held in the shade of a cactus plant.

If it were up to me, I would have chained them to the water fountain with my own handcuffs and left them there overnight.

How in the world did anyone born before 1960 survive without their security blankets, and why are these young people searching so hard for rules they can break?

Hugo Riefstahl

LAS VEGAS