Editorial: Are we there yet?

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 8:55 a.m.

Earlier this week a national report was released that showed Las Vegas was one of the top 20 urban areas in terms of traffic congestion. It's not surprising Las Vegas made it onto the list since it has been one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities over the past decade. What is interesting is that the report says traffic in Las Vegas actually has improved, albeit slightly. The report found that in 2001 the annual amount of time lost because of traffic delays -- for the average driver who takes a cross-town trip of 25 minutes each work day -- was about 51 hours compared to 2000's 53 hours.

Nonetheless, many Las Vegans who commute every day would disagree with the Texas Traffic Institute's assessment. Statistics can be meaningless in the real world. An average is just that and doesn't factor in all sorts of variables, such as where people live in the valley and what route they take in their daily commute. "The traffic here is ridiculous because it takes you an hour to get somewhere that's 10 minutes away," said William Hughes, who was headed home on Tuesday to Summerlin from Henderson.

Some of the rush-hour commutes have improved, but there still is plenty of gridlock on local streets and especially on highways when there is a wreck or even something as minor as a stalled vehicle on the shoulder. Las Vegas' top-20 listing in traffic congestion proves that voters were correct last year in approving the 25-year, $2.7 billion bond issue to pay for transportation improvements. The measures, which will include more lanes and more mass transit, should reduce traffic delays. But the improvements probably won't be perceptible for some time to come.