Residents offer ideas for cleaning up valley

Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

Citizens are concerned about the state of the environment in the Las Vegas Valley and have concrete suggestions on how to improve it, ranging from improving mass transit to better recycling of water and trash, a study released today says.

The study, by the Sierra Club and Citizen Alert, is the result of five "town hall" style meetings held last year by the environmental groups.

The meetings were open to the public; after short introductions to the problems of air and water pollutions, those attending were asked to suggest ways to make the environment cleaner and safer.

Among the suggestions for air quality and transportation:

Another major concern was water quality. Among the suggestions:

Others suggested systemic changes for the region. Some wanted a regional planning commission that would have the power to create and enforce plans for Clark County. They also supported more parks and incentives to redevelop urban areas.

The study also found that most people felt the solutions they offered depended largely on personal education, responsibility and accountability among elected leaders.

Jessica Hodge, urban issues coordinator for Citizen Alert, said most of the suggestions that came out of the meetings were sensible and could go a long way to helping clean up the environment.

"We got some surprising suggestions that we hadn't thought of," Hodge said. "People went much farther than we thought they would for protection of the air and water."

Some of the suggestions, such as banning public fountains or requiring people to shower together, probably aren't workable, she said. But most were sensible alternatives to what is happening now.

"A lot of the suggestions were very doable in the scope of what we are working on in Southern Nevada now," Hodge said.

The response to the meetings, held from September through October, surprised organizers, she said.

"We were really surprised because Vegas was reportedly notorious for apathy," Hodge said. "But we had a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life show up ... They weren't necessarily members of our organizations. Many weren't involved with us before at all."

Margaret Pierce, conservation co-chairwoman of the local Sierra Club, said the reason that the meetings were well-attended is that many people are frustrated with the environmental problems, but they don't know what to do about them.

"There hasn't been a good opportunity for the people who live here to express concerns and come up with solutions," Pierce said. "The average Las Vegan deserves a voice."

The target audience for the final study includes most of Southern Nevada's policy makers, Hodge said. The city councils from Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson; the Clark County Commission; state legislators; and staffers from the county, regional water district and other agencies will receive copies of the report, she said.

The town hall meetings and the final study are important because they are geared specifically towards the needs of Southern Nevada, she said.

"We've all experienced the frustration of sitting in traffic at the Spaghetti Bowl in our attempt to get across town and disgust at the warning that flashes across our television screens on bad air days warning us that it is unhealthy to even send our children out to play," Hodge said. "Las Vegas is a unique city, which must find its own unique solutions to its growing pains."