Transit links to rural Nevada are considered

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003 | 8:46 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Some rural communities in Nevada are dying because they don't have rapid transit to connect them to Las Vegas and Reno, which could help their economic development, according to a legislative committee.

While much of the attention has been on high-speed trains that would bring tourists from California, the committee intends to focus on the transportation needs of rural Nevada.

"A lot of rural communities are drying up because there is no rapid transportation," said state Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, chairman of the legislative committee studying long-range mass transit within Nevada and to urban areas of neighboring states.

At its first meeting Tuesday, much of the committee's discussion centered on possible ways to link the metropolitan areas with the rural communities.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, suggested establishing a light rail system between Las Vegas and Pahrump, a distance of 60 miles.

"A lot of people would rather ride the train than drive," Titus said.

She also suggested links from Las Vegas to Logandale and Sandy Valley.

"If you build it, they will come," she said of the potential ridership.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, said "lots of people" -- teachers, firefighters and others -- commute daily from Logandale to Las Vegas. He wanted to know if it might be feasible to developing a light rail loop in the eastern part of the state tying in Logandale, Mesquite, Caliente and Ely.

Such a system might eventually be expanded to include Reno, he said.

Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said he would want to first determine "what role the lack of transportation has placed in the decline of these rural counties." He said he wants to hear from officials in the small communities on how their economies are impacted.

Hardy also said the federal government, which would have to supply the money, "doesn't respond very well to the theory that 'If you build it, they will come.' "

Susan Martinovich, deputy director of the Nevada Department of Transportation, agreed to study the feasibility of such a light rail system in eastern Nevada. The cost could run into the billions of dollars, she said.

Nevada's Constitution requires that gasoline taxes and license fees be used on road improvements, not on rapid transit projects, which is why the money would have to come from the federal government.

Jacob Snow, general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, said the state Transportation Department helped in providing bus service to Mesquite and Laughlin. He said the next step is bus service to Pahrump.

Snow said there are plans for providing bus service from Las Vegas to workers who are employed at Primm casinos. He said the employer, under federal law, would be able to take $1,000 payroll deduction for each worker once the system is started.He said he hoped to interest other employers in Southern Nevada to subsidize transportation for their workers and then take advantage of the federal write-off.

Some of the 30 double-decker buses being purchased by the RTC would be assigned to the Primm route, Snow said.

Snow also detailed his plans for the light rail service from Henderson to the Strip and Nellis Air Force Base. Bike and pedestrian paths would line the light rail route, he said.

Snow said Nevada has to be more aggressive in competing for federal funds. He estimated that $30 million is collected in the state from the federal 18.4-cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline, but that the state receives back only about $10 million.