Forum focuses on quality of life

Thursday, Sept. 25, 1997 | 10:50 a.m.

Las Vegas has the chance to become a model for the ideal city of the future.

"We want to create a model for the world," local League of Women Voters President Ruth Mills told an audience of some 150 people at a public meeting at UNLV Wednesday night.

The meeting, sponsored by the League, was the second of a series dealing with the quality of life in Las Vegas.

During Wednesday night's session the audience was invited to join panels that were set up to examine a number of issues of concern to the public.

At the next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 29, each panel will present reports that will be turned over to the media, elected officials and candidates seeking public office.

Each panel will focus on a different area of concern, including education, population growth, economic diversity, environment, traffic, and health.

Mills said the town meeting was called to encourage people to become involved in growth issues facing Clark County.

"What quality of life do you want in Las Vegas?" she asked. "What is your vision? Your views are important as we prepare for next year's election. Your elected officials need to know."

According to Mills the challenge is to find a balance to growth that enhances the quality of life here today and won't compromise future generations, in other words making the Las Vegas Valley a sustainable community

She said there are these three factors in the success of a sustainable community:

James Deacon, chairman of environmental studies at UNLV, touched on a number of "vital signs" that are useful in making decisions about growth and its impact on the quality of life.

"Hundreds of cities in the United States and the world are examining the quality of life question," noted Deacon. "We are not isolated, unique or the first."

Among the vital signs mentioned by Deacon were:

He suggested linear parks, or parks along highway rights of way or flood channels for use by bicyclists to decrease auto traffic. He also suggested increasing the number of bus lanes and constructing special lanes for cars with hybrid engines.

Housing costs could be reduced, he said, by creative construction -- such as an increasingly popular method of building a house out of bales of hay.

One Brazilian city reduced its garbage collection costs by offering a sack of food for every sack of garbage turned in.

"There is no longer any municipally funded garbage pickup there because there isn't enough garbage to be picked up," said Deacon.