Water Street set for big makeover

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, March 1, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

Henderson's main thoroughfare through its old downtown is going to get a significant makeover to help spark its rebirth.

At a public meeting with Water Street business owners and residents, the city's Redevelopment Agency floated plans to uproot and rearrange palm trees and cut lanes of auto traffic from four to two.

The plans for a "pedestrian-friendly" streetscape would be paired with a $4.2 million project to build a storm drain system to eliminate surface run-off on Water Street between Ocean Street and Lake Mead Drive. The project would also upgrade and add new underground utilities at no additional cost to taxpayers, agency administrators said. Construction on the project could start as early as August, with estimated completion in May 2002. Residents can hear about the plan again at a public meeting April 4 at the Henderson Convention Center.

"When I come through Water Street, the shade is very pretty, but it's not where the people are," Dan Cleland, a land planner with URS Engineering, said.

Cleland said his design priorities center around merchants, pedestrians and vehicles, in that order.

Residents and business owners responded with guarded optimism to the plans.

Some worried that by reducing traffic lanes to one in each direction, traffic might back up.

Another business owner wanted to know how the plans would accommodate buses and future traffic increases.

The agency did not have traffic count numbers available, although a study has been conducted, Cleland said.

Planners said a center lane for left turns and pull-outs for right turns would keep traffic moving smoothly.

With the space gained from eliminating two lanes of traffic, planners hope to create a more plaza-like atmosphere to attract more shoppers.

Preliminary plans also would move trees out of the median and onto sidewalks to provide more shade for pedestrians and more visibility for drivers.

One resident was concerned that the upscale atmosphere planned for Water Street would need to attract a demographic from beyond the immediate neighborhood in order to succeed.

"Most of the locals will walk across the street to the Eldorado (Casino) or the Rainbow (Casino) for a 50-cent cup of coffee rather than pay $4. I'm not sure how local Henderson can support this type of thing," he said.

But most business owners did not share that concern.

"I'm all excited," said Jan McWhirter, who has run a candy and cake supply store at 30 Water St. for 16 years. "I think we'll have more foot traffic."