Judge sides with county in denying pedestrian bridge

Bill Gang

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 11:30 a.m.

There will be no fifth pedestrian bridge near the intersection of the Strip and Flamingo Road to accommodate customers of Caesars Palace and the Flamingo Hilton hotel-casinos.

A District Court judge ruled last week that the Clark County Commission did not abuse its authority in denying a variance to allow the resorts -- now both owned by Park Place Entertainment -- to construct the bridge.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Davidson said today the decision by District Judge Mark Gibbons is "precedent setting because it reaffirms the County Commission's ability to control these matters."

Attorneys for the resorts had argued to the judge that most of their customers want to travel between the two gaming properties and walking to the intersection would be an inconvenience.

Don Campbell, the attorney for the Barbary Coast hotel-casino at the northeast corner of the intersection, objected to the plan that would let potential customers bypass the smaller gaming property.

Davidson said that the first priority of county staff was to ensure the safety of pedestrians and then consider the esthetics of a proposed project.

"The third priority is the impact on adjacent property owners," Davidson said.

He said that while the county generally encourages casinos to get involved in the construction of such amenities as pedestrian bridges, "because they can get them done quicker than we can," the county staff recommended against the fifth bridge.

Hilton attorney Todd Bice suggested the county was pandering to the Coast Hotels in disallowing the bridge, but Davidson said "that is not true" and noted that the judge agreed.

"The record supported not granting a precedent-setting fifth bridge," Davidson said.

He explained that for Gibbons to overturn the commission decision he would have to conclude the commissioners abused their discretion or acted arbitrarily in denying the fifth bridge.