We have all kinds of problems around here, but there's no denying Las Vegas has made some significant advances over the past decade. You couldn't guess which one I'm thinking about today.

Pedestrian overpasses on the Strip.

Yep, those hulking walkways represent a huge step forward for the congested tourist corridor. They have made life substantially better -- and safer -- for motorists and fanny-packers alike.

So, we know the overpasses have been a big help on the Strip. Why not build some in other areas of town?

For example, on Maryland Parkway in front of UNLV.

Sometimes, the solution is obvious like that.

The general area surrounding UNLV is one of my favorite parts of the valley. Despite living in the northwest and working downtown, I often find myself drawn south on Maryland Parkway to the university district's eclectic mix of stores and restaurants.

That said, the UNLV area could be a lot nicer. It's definitely not comparable to university districts in many other cities. It's sorely lacking in the upscale restaurants and nightlife options that would not only entice students and faculty to stay around after class but to draw suburbanites as well.

In my recent travels, I have spent time on State Street adjacent to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and in Westwood next to UCLA. Each offers an invigorating atmosphere where students, professors, staff and regular folks converge to enjoy the best and most diverse aspects of modern culture.

That classic collegiate setting is what developers and university officials want to create along Maryland between Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue. Led by developer Michael Saltman, the "Midtown UNLV" project calls for a completely re-imagined neighborhood that opens the university to the street and transforms the other side of Maryland into a more desirable and useful destination for UNLV's population. One major goal is to create more attractive housing for students and faculty who would like to live close to campus.

Midtown UNLV is in the works, but it recently encountered a pesky planning obstacle. Developers want to narrow Maryland from three to two lanes in each direction. The goal is to slow down traffic rolling through the university district, thereby making it safer and more comforting for pedestrians. Also, narrowing the street would bring a more pleasing human scale to the neighborhood.

It's a decent idea -- right out of the New Urbanism planning textbook -- but it doesn't sit well with some people who regularly drive Maryland Parkway. They don't want to slow down. They fear more congestion. They see Maryland as a long-standing commuter thoroughfare, not a boulevard of architectural dreams.

As much as I like the New Urbanism in theory, I sympathize with the neighborhood motorists in this instance. Maryland Parkway is, for better or worse, a significant element of the Las Vegas transportation network. It's not some little-used side street. It's what traffic engineers and the Road Warrior call an "arterial."

The answer? Pedestrian overpasses.

We know this works beautifully on the Strip. We also know that overhead walkways are common all over the country. When I attended the University of Nevada, Reno, way back when, I traversed a handy pedestrian overpass several times a day. The thing was old when I got there, and it's still standing today, providing safe passage for students across Virginia Street while allowing motorists to get where they need to go efficiently.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who is trying to mediate the Maryland Parkway debate, has suggested pedestrian overpasses. She's right on the mark.

By the way, Las Vegas is notorious for dead pedestrians. We have a higher percentage of them than most other cities. A big reason: Many motorists here are downright contemptuous of people on foot. Despise 'em! All they are is in the way. Must be worthless bums if they don't have cars, right?

All the more reason to build some pedestrian overpasses on Maryland Parkway.

They don't have to be as expensive as those footpaths of splendor on the Strip. Keep it simple. Build basic, sturdy structures that will hold a few dozen people at any one time. And make them high enough so the trucks can go under.

Here's another free idea: Once you've got those overpasses up and running, put some attractive signs on them that boast about UNLV. About the Rebels. About the Midtown UNLV project. About the free lecture Saturday night, don't miss it! In other words, put the overpasses to work on more than one level.

I don't see a downside.

Now, as for Midtown UNLV generally, it's an awesome plan. UNLV suffers mightily from the fact that most students and faculty don't live near campus. Once upon a time, more kids lived in the numerous apartment complexes around UNLV, but times change. Now all the college material seems to live in Green Valley, where things are newer and, I guess, safer.

Even the young hipsters, it seems, are trending toward suburban flight.

Saltman and Co. intend to build new housing in the area geared toward students. Everyone agrees the whole deal hinges on this.

Pedestrian overpasses fit into this puzzle perfectly. If it's easy and convenient to get to campus from this new housing, students are more likely to live there. It's gotta be cheap, though. Don't forget that. Most students are broke half the time.

One more incentive: If Midtown UNLV succeeds, it'd put UNLV well ahead of rival UNR in this arena. UNR has a larger number of students living in campus dorms, but there are very few interesting places for them to go on foot.

Take that, Wolf Pack!

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is Stephens Media's director of community publications. He is the author of "Sun, Sin & Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas" and, coming in October, "Politics, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue: The Las Vegas Years of Howard Hughes." His column appears Sunday.