By Joe Moeller ▪
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Charleston Boulevard and Sky Vista Drive is the last intersection you pass through before heading out to the Red Rock Conservation Area.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said since August 2021, they’ve responded to 19 reported crashes at that intersection and 13 of those involved an injury.
Now, changes are on the way to make the road safer.
Many people said the problems come from the abrupt merging of westbound lanes on Charleston and how fast cars leaving Red Rock are going.
Cailey Wolf comes to Red Rock every week and said it’s time improvements were made.
“I think changes would be beneficial. It’s kind of a mess when it goes down to one lane,” Wolf said. “If you’re not from the area, it’s tough to merge over.”
Heather Fisher, from Save Red Rock, said she’s been pushing for change for years.
“You have two types of riders out there. You have pedestrians and you have the whole school system and you have drivers. They each need to have their own safe avenue,” Fisher said. “When I was riding there one time, I came across a police officer that said he sees a lot of accidents there involving bicyclists and cars.”
The City of Las Vegas is in the early phases of redesigning the intersection.
A city official tells Channel 13 a traffic light is part of the proposed plan.
Clark County also plans on adding a parking lot just west of the intersection.
The Nevada Department of Transportation said a designated path is in the works as well to help make it safer for hikers and cyclists.
“There is obviously a lot of concern along this Charleston Boulevard stretch,” said Justin Hopkins, NDOT’s spokesperson. “The trailhead will be right around this area near the area of Sky Vista and Charleston and it will go out to the scenic area.”
NDOT said they expect to start the path this spring and construction on a parking lot is expected to start early next year but city officials said there is no timeline yet for the intersection changes since they’re in the early design phase.
