The community center at Lazy 5 Regional Park was lined with easels displaying large project boards explaining the status of the road projects, the possible solutions to area traffic and the issues taken into consideration when planning a road project, one of which is the environment.
Members from RTC stood by each board to answer questions and explain the information, which directly concerned roadwork at the Pyramid Highway/McCarran Boulevard intersection, as well as the proposed Pyramid Highway/U.S. 395 connection.
“For the short term, we are working at Pyramid and McCarran to improve the right turn,” project manager Doug Maloy said. “This project will help people in the commute.”
The planned work at the intersection of Pyramid and McCarran would create a southbound right turn lane at the light. Maloy said the hope is that the right turn lane would help ease traffic congestion. This project was slated to begin in the fall of 2008, but could begin soon.
The Pyramid Highway/U.S. 395 connection is in the third stage of the process before the project can begin construction. The RTC has already evaluated the area’s need and collected data, now the RTC is evaluating the alternatives and developing the concepts. The next step is to prepare and environmental impact statement.
“For this project, we are talking about 2015 (completion) at the earliest,” Maloy said, adding that construction would start in 2011 if the Pyramid Highway/U.S. 395 connection project is approved.
Maloy said that the RTC has narrowed the project down to three alternatives from the original 18 project suggestions.
The three remaining suggestions include:
• A freeway that would connect Pyramid Highway, McCarran Boulevard and Wedekind Road.
• A freeway that would connect Pyramid, McCarran and Wedekind to Vista Boulevard.
• A freeway that would connect U.S. 395 to Vista and turn Pyramid into a freeway.
“We are trying to respond to growth out here,” Maloy said. “There are about 40,000 cars per day that use this road. That is quite a lot of traffic and it is pushing its limits.”
When choosing an alternative, the RTC considers existing and future growth as well as ways to provide efficient travels routes and address traffic issues and alleviate congestion and respond to safety issues.
Maloy said that the RTC likes to have public input on the commission’s projects because it helps everyone involved with the project understand how it can affect the community.
Richard Depoali attended the open house to gain information on the road projects, which affect his daily commute.
Depoali lives off of Emerson Way in Sparks, not far from the intersection of Pyramid and McCarran. He was concerned about how construction would affect his neighborhood.
“How much traffic will be forced onto residential streets?” Depoali asked.
Susana Contreras has similar concerns and was hoping to gain more information at the open house, as well.
“My backyard backs up to McCarran,” Contreras said. “I am here to find out more (about the project).”
RTC community relations and public affairs officer Michael Moreno said that the commission likes it when people come to open houses because there are people there to answer questions. Moreno also said that if people missed the open house, they can go to www.rtcwashoe.com and click on “Hot Topics” in the right hand corner of the site. The link will take visitors to a page where they can get all the information presented at the open house on the projects they are interested in.
Andy
Thanks again.