Summerlin introduces new urban trail design

As the first community in Southern Nevada to incorporate roundabouts into its street plan, the master-planned community of Summerlin recognized the circular junction’s proven safety, environmental, and traffic flow benefits.

By design, roundabouts are known to reduce the number of auto collisions like those that occur at traditional intersections. They improve traffic flow by keeping it moving without the stops and starts of intersections, and they eliminate idling at intersections, which reduces automobile emissions.

Today, Summerlin land planners will incorporate another novel approach to transportation via an urban trail design to expand access for cyclists and pedestrians connecting them to a future planned urban center in Summerlin West. An emerging trend nationwide, “complete street” design accommodates multimodal transportation in a more integrated and safer manner.

According to Julie Cleaver, senior vice president, commercial and residential planning for Summerlin, the urban trail was developed from several focus groups conducted with mountain bikers, serious cyclists and casual riders.

“To ensure we created an inclusive experience along the roadway for all cyclists regardless of their level, we enlisted their various inputs to really make this a community effort,” Cleaver said. “Our design was guided by sensitivity to the potential conflict between casual riders, cars and pedestrians. By incorporating a complete street design approach, we are able to safely accommodate all users.”

“For more efficient circulation in the planned commercial area west of the Summerlin Parkway interchange with the I-215 bypass, we have designed a dedicated bike lane that’s part of the streetscape,” Cleaver said. “This allows the bike lane to be separated from motor vehicles and creates a safer experience for the cyclists. The urban trail will be located in the heart of the urban core and connects to other bike trails that lead the surrounding neighborhoods.”

Cleaver said the new design also includes a generous landscape strip to provide shade and separation between cyclists and pedestrians and enhanced street lighting and signage to ensure everyone is aware of the directional flow.

In its 34th year of development, Summerlin offers more amenities than any other Southern Nevada community. These include 300-plus parks of all sizes; 200-plus miles of interconnected trails; resident-exclusive community centers; 10 golf courses; 26 public, private and charter schools; a public library and performing arts center; Summerlin Hospital Medical Center; houses of worship representing a dozen different faiths; and office parks and neighborhood shopping centers.

Downtown Summerlin offers fashion, dining, entertainment, Red Rock Resort and Class-A office buildings. City National Arena is home of the Vegas Golden Knights’ practice facility. The Las Vegas Ballpark is a world-class Triple-A baseball stadium and home of the Las Vegas Aviators.

Summerlin offers over 100 floor plans in nearly 20 neighborhoods throughout eight distinct villages and districts. Homes, built by many of the nation’s top homebuilders, are available in a variety of styles — from single-family homes to town homes, priced from the $400,000s to more than $1 million.

For information on all actively selling neighborhoods, visit Summerlin.com.

Before you visit, call the builders to check on hours of operation. Phone numbers for each neighborhood are on Summerlin.com.