Road widening proposal angers neighborhood residents

Valerie Miller

Friday, Aug. 20, 1999 | 3:58 a.m.

Don't ruin our community.

That was the loud and clear message received by Henderson city officials from 400 residents at Thursday's neighborhood meeting about the possible expansion of Horizon Ridge Parkway.

Residents of Sun City MacDonald Ranch, who were mostly retirees, crammed the Desert Willow Community Center, 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, to protest the possible expansion of Horizon Ridge from 100 feet and four lanes to 120 feet and six lanes.

It was announced at Thursday's meeting that the item had been pulled from the city's Master Streets and Highway Plan, so that the Planning Commission will not be voting on it when it votes on the rest of the plan at its Aug. 26 meeting.

But the battle isn't over yet for residents. The City Council is slated to consider a separate study of the Horizon Ridge Parkway expansion at its Sept. 7 meeting.

"I think you have (in Sun City) a very committed group of people because they have a sense that if you go to six lanes you will destroy this community," resident Alfred Valdez warned city planners and public works officials on hand for the meeting.

"A lot of people who live here are in their 70s and 80s. This is the place where they came to finish out the rest of their days," Valdez continued as his voice began to crack with emotion. "And they are not going to do that with six lanes of traffic bringing increased noise, pollution, crime and hazardous living.

"If you are going to do this (expand Horizon Ridge Parkway), you are going to have to buy these houses because you will be taking away people's homes."

There are close to 1,700 homes in the age-restricted Sun City and approximately 1,000 homes in Sun Ridge, another MacDonald Ranch community. Both developments are close to Horizon Ridge Parkway and to Eastern Avenue.

City officials tried to ease residents' concerns about the possible road expansion by saying that it was just that -- a possibility, and it could be years in the future.

"What we are trying to do is to have the right-of-way in place and reserve the right-of-way now, instead of in the future when there is more development and it will cost taxpayers a lot more money," Henderson Public Works Director Mark Calhoun told residents at Thursday's meeting.

But MacDonald Ranch developer Rich MacDonald said that he felt expanding Horizon Ridge Parkway was an idea whose time should never come.

"I think that this should be put away and forgotten," MacDonald said after the meeting. "Traffic should be on the beltway or they should complete Lake Mead Drive because people will take freeways when freeways are available, and traffic shouldn't be force-fed down here (through Horizon Ridge)."

MacDonald also supported residents' concerns about the future of the area.

"This community has my name on it and I plan to live here someday, so I don't want to see it ruined in 10, 15 or 20 years," he said.

Many residents also complained about what they said was already an unsafe road in Horizon Ridge Parkway, and asked for more safety measures now instead of increasing the hazards by expanding it.

"Don't put in left- and right-turn lanes and more lanes to make it easier for people to speed -- put in a stop sign," Del Burris said to a loud round of applause from fellow residents. "More lanes will bring in more traffic and that's the last thing we need in a residential community."

Two people who said they knew firsthand about the hazards of Horizon Ridge Parkway were Irving Abilock and Myrna Meola, who were both seriously injured in an accident on the parkway in April.

"I was almost paralyzed in the accident and we feel increasing the road is just going to make it horrible to cross," Abilock said.