A little patience could prevent a wreck

By Mandy Walton

Thursday, April 23, 2009 | 7:59 p.m.

Recently, I was stuck in traffic at Fiesta Henderson Boulevard and Lake Mead Parkway right about 4 p.m. Afternoon traffic was heavy as usual.

There seemed to be a huge backup of some sort, and when I could finally see, I noticed that a CAT bus was stopped at a fairly new bus stop. This one is eastbound on Lake Mead Parkway, just after the intersection and light at Fiesta.

Cars were trying to go around the bus, almost causing accidents with other motorists traveling at a high rate of speed coming off of the I-215. Other drivers were attempting to make a right from Fiesta onto Lake Mead Parkway by going around the bus and into the middle lane.

There is no turnout or emergency lane for the bus to pull into, so the right lane was at a standstill while the bus was stopped.

I just kept gasping and thinking to myself, “There’s gonna be an accident, there’s gonna be an accident.”

I began to wonder what I could write about the situation. Instead of just complaining, I decided to call the Regional Transportation Commission, get some information and let them know that it seemed like a hazard to me.

I spoke with Allison Blankenship, public information supervisor at the RTC. She was extremely helpful and said she’d research the situation for me.

After research, Blankenship told me that “the stop is in the best location at this time for the needs of the riders in that area.”

Concerning the amount of traffic around the stop during the afternoon, she also told me that the FAST (Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation) team has reviewed the area.

“If they had noticed that [the traffic] was so extreme, they would have implemented strategies to resolve it,” Blankenship said.

I then started to wonder about the crazy drivers. They’ll be the ones who need to make a change since the bus stop is going to stay in its current location. I called the Henderson Police Department to find out about the law regarding traffic and buses.

“The safest thing to do is wait behind the bus,” said Todd Rasmussen, public information officer at the Henderson Police Department. “If the motorist can change lanes safely, then they can do so, but they need to remember that motorists traveling in other lanes are traveling at a much higher rate of speed than those stopped behind the bus.”

Everyone should just take a breath and wait the extra few seconds it may take for the bus to stop, drop off and pick up, and get going again. I believe that many accidents can be avoided by waiting instead of trying to shave a few seconds off of your travel time.