Editorial: It’s time to catch our breath

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

CONSIDERING the warnings, Las Vegans should not have been surprised that tougher air pollution rules were on the drawing board.

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on deadly carbon monoxide emission regulations which will be released this summer. Those regulations will alter the Las Vegas Valley's rating from "moderate" to "serious".

The new rules will probably mean oxygenated fuel may be boosted and required year-round. Increased car-pooling, ride-sharing and bus use -- options that are generally ignored in Las Vegas -- will be encouraged. The idea is to reduce the number of individual car trips.

One of the more politically explosive ideas is to subsidize the cost of emission cleanup in vehicles owned by the poor. A small percentage of cars and trucks on Las Vegas streets is causing the bulk of the pollution problem. But the owners often can't afford to have their vehicles tuned. One proposal would be to impose a $5 registration surcharge to cover these costs.

Many residents object to paying for others' tune-up costs. They argue that they're paying high enough fees without a surcharge and, if low-income people can't afford the cost, they should ride the bus. However, compared with onerous vehicle testing plans in the past, most motorists would get off cheap if $5 would bring the valley into compliance.

It strikes us that a comprehensive approach is called for. The valley's smog problem should not be treated separately from other traffic headaches, such as the ever-worsening congestion at rush hour. Long lines of cars waiting three minutes or more at traffic lights isn't helping air quality. Increased travel time necessarily means increased pollution.

And prodding drivers to take the bus probably won't work unless high-density areas are served by express buses. Unfortunately, express buses need a clear roadway to make their schedules; otherwise, they'll be stuck in the same traffic jam as the individual drivers. As it is now, buses are actually making the logjam worse.

One problem is that traffic volume has outstripped the roadway's ability to move cars. In the Summerlin area, traffic volume has converted U.S. 95 into a particularly clogged and dangerous route, which many drivers avoid.

As we've said before, it may be time for special rush hour considerations -- one-way streets, special lanes, limits on left turns, rapid public transportation -- to offset the limitations on traffic lanes.

That, coupled with reasonable and affordable smog checks, may stave off a confrontation with the Environmental Protection Agency until highway engineers can catch their breath.