McCarran and questions of parking
We've received a handful of follow-up questions after McCarran International Airport introduced its new parking system, which requires visitors to pay $2 for up to one hour of parking. Aside from many readers expressing outrage at Aviation Director Randall Walker's claims that motorists were "gaming" the old system by parking in metered spaces with leftover time, we received these two concerns:
Disabled veterans have enjoyed parking for free at McCarran for years. Will McCarran's new Express Exit, where airport visitors must pay for parking at a machine, change this policy?
No, this policy will not change because it is state law. The law (NRS 482.977) says that vehicles with Department of Motor Vehicles-issued "Disabled Veteran" or "Ex-Prisoner of War" license plates are "exempt from the payment of any parking fees, including those collected through parking meters, charged by the state or any political subdivision or other public body within the state, other than the United States."
This privilege will continue at McCarran. Veterans with those specialized plates need to identify themselves to a parking staff member upon exiting the garage. Staff members can be found at the exit toll booth or they can be summoned via phones located next to exit lanes. The airport encourages these motorists to park in the long-term garage, but the exemption also applies to the short-term areas.
Other readers are concerned about disabled parking: It looks as though handicap parking spaces near the elevators have been removed. Will they be replaced?
According to Chris Jones, airport spokesman, the airport has and will continue to provide more handicap parking spaces than are required by law. The airport has never offered free parking to the disabled, so the perk mentioned above does not apply to motorists with handicap placards or plates.
Jack asks: The road people have put up an electric sign on Volunteer Boulevard in Henderson stating the street will be closed on May 3, 2010. It does not say why or for how long. Can you please find out what is going on and for how long?
I've included this project in the road work section, but because Jack and several others have asked this question, I thought I would address it in more detail. First, roads in that area will be closed or disrupted until the fall, according to the city of Henderson. The initial portion of the project is along Executive Airport Drive from Volunteer to Executive Terminal Drive. Executive Airport will be closed for 60 days. While Volunteer between the western Anthem boundary and Executive Airport will be under construction, it won't be closed.
The second part of the project will start next year. The city will widen Executive Airport to the Anthem boundary and Volunteer to Gilespie Street, near the M Resort.
Valerie has had enough with Durango Drive: How much longer are we going to have to endure the construction on South Durango between Tropicana Avenue and the Las Vegas Boulevard. It's been a mess since July 2009.
First, let me explain the project. Clark County and the Regional Transportation Commission are widening Durango to six lanes between Hacienda Avenue and the Beltway. They are creating left-turn pockets at major intersections, improving the drainage system to curtail flooding and adding a couple of new traffic signals where Durango intersects with Sunset Road and Russell Road.
This project has been delayed because crews ran into utility lines unexpectedly, which sounds odd but happens frequently across the valley. There is only one more area where utilities could surprise workers again. If everything goes smoothly, the cones and barriers will disappear by July.
Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904.
The northbound right-most lane on Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed from Flamingo Road to about 500 feet north of the Flamingo hotel-casino during construction hours, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Drivers will be able to turn right onto Las Vegas Boulevard and access the Flamingo hotel. On the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard, the southbound right-most lane will be closed about 1,000 feet north at Caesars Palace Drive.
■ For the next two months, traffic lane restrictions will be in effect intermittently seven days a week on Village Center Circle, on Hills Center Drive between Village Center and Lake Mead Boulevard, and on Town Center Drive between Village Center and Summerlin Parkway. These disruptions are necessary as crews resurface the roads. There will be rough-milled surfaces that could pose a danger to bicyclists.
■ For the next two months, traffic lane restrictions will be in effect on Durango Drive, between Cheyenne Avenue and Alexander Road, as part of a roadway maintenance and sidewalk improvement project. Temporary traffic lane restrictions will occur in work zones on weekdays and also may be in place during weekends.
■ Similar work is being done on Alexander Road, between Cimarron Road and U.S. Highway 95. This too will cause lane restrictions in work zones for the next two months. Alexander will reopen as work in each section is completed.
■ Helldorado Days festivities have forced the closure of Sixth Street between Stewart and Mesquite Avenue, Seventh Street between Stewart and Mesquite and Mesquite between Las Vegas Boulevard and Seventh until May 26.
■ Alta Drive, between Rainbow Boulevard and Lorenzi Street, will be closed through May 22 for a flood control improvement project. Traffic on Rainbow and Lorenzi is not expected to be affected, and motorists who typically take Alta are advised to use Charleston Boulevard instead.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
