by Alan Snel
The fee station off SR 159 for the popular Red Rock Scenic Drive outside Summerlin is getting some new improvements.
The proposed work includes:
- Building an additional controlled entry lane at the fee station and a five-foot-wide bicycle lane with a separate controlled entry system.
- Building a ride-share lane at the fee station entrance.
- Widening the entrance roadway leading into the fee station area to accommodate the addition of the new controlled entry lane and bicycle path and widen the roadway exiting the fee station area to allow traffic to merge gradually.
- Building a maintenance/emergency vehicle entry at the intersection of the Visitor Center one-way exit road and State Route 159.
- Installing new exterior light-emitting diode lights at the fee station and parking area.
- Replacing the existing fee station septic system.
These improvements are funded. But there’s still some red tape.
“The fee station improvements are going through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and the draft environmental assessment is now in the public comment phase, but those improvements are already funded,” BLM spokesman John Asselin wrote LVSportsBiz.com.
The timeline for the fee station work is unknown right now: “We cannot start the contracting process, and eventually construction, until the NEPA process complete. Until then, we do not have a construction timeline, and will put out information when we get to that point,” Asselin said.
Meanwhile, there is also a proposal to increase the annual Red Rock pass from $30 a year to $45.
“These proposed fees include reservation fees for camping and the timed reservation system, and an increase to the annual pass fee from $30 to $45. The business plan also revisits planned 2023 fee increases that were approved in 2017,” the BLM said.
Here are the notices around the scenic drive about the proposed fee increase and ways to comment.
The Bureau of Land Management runs the Red Rock National Conservation Area.
In addition, it would help safety on the scenic drive if people did not stop their cars to park in the travel lane, like these folks did this morning for a “photo shoot.”
The scenic drive is a popular natural resource used by both locals and Las Vegas visitors, many of whom go from the Strip to the Red Rock Loop.
LVSportsBiz.com is on the Loop all the time.
