Editorial: Demolition without notice is inexcusable

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003 | 8:31 a.m.

It was a couple of weekends ago that Beverly Judd suddenly woke up to the noise of backhoes tearing down empty homes located behind her house. The demolition was part of the necessary construction to widen U.S. 95 between Rancho Drive and Rainbow Boulevard. What is completely unnecessary, however, is that this demolition occurred without advance notice to the people who live in the area. Along with the noise, the construction has created a significant amount of dust that is clearly a nuisance.

In the past the Nevada Transportation Department -- headquartered in Carson City, more than 400 miles away from Las Vegas -- has shown a lack of sensitivity to our region. This latest miscue involving demolition work continues that pattern.

In case any of the state's top transportation officials hadn't noticed, Las Vegas is a 24-hour city, so many people sleep during the day after finishing their night jobs. It's just common courtesy to notify someone in advance about demolition work -- no matter the time of day. A department spokesman doesn't make any apologies for failing to give a heads-up to the area residents, saying it was all done within the law. "Demolition takes place during daylight hours, so there is not the need to notify the adjoining neighborhoods," spokesman Bob Mckenzie said.

It sounds like Terry Murphy (see above editorial) got the wrong contract. She should be giving advice on public relations to the Transportation Department.