Council considers naming monorail after Broadbent

Sito Negron

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.

Naming the Las Vegas Monorail after Robert N. Broadbent, putting cell phone relays in public parks, gathering the cash for new soccer fields and amending rules regarding parking in front of homes are among the agenda items for Wednesday's Las Vegas City Council meeting.

The new parking rules are aimed at preventing people from leaving cars on their front yards, particularly in older parts of the city. Current laws allow people to leave cars on paving, gravel and chat, a form of fine gravel. The proposal would allow front-yard parking only if the surface is paved.

"(The ordinance is) letting people know you can't turn your homes into parking garages and used car lots and auto mechanic shops," said Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly, who with Ward 3 Councilman Gary Reese is recommending the measure.

Harold and Mary Hidden, who live in one of the oldest parts of Las Vegas, say the proposed change has good and bad points. They said their neighborhood, just north of downtown off Las Vegas Boulevard and Bonanza Road, is more than 50 years old and in need of help. Modest two-bedroom bungalow-style homes built in the 1940s show their age, and many of the houses do not have a paved driveway.

"Any cars that are not licensed or running shouldn't park (in the front yard," said Harold Hidden. On the other hand, said Mary Hidden, "If (the car) is licensed and they're using it, what are you going to do? It's their yard."

Both said it would be helpful if the city was able to provide a fund for people who have no paved driveway and are unable to afford surfacing their yard.

Reese said the city is "willing to assist."

"If there's a senior out there who needs our help we can try to figure out ways to help them. I just helped an old lady get a rock wall," the councilman said. "We're not the bad neighbor. We're the good neighbor."

In other action, the council will consider:

The city's resolution renaming its portion of the monorail after Broadbent -- who died in early August -- follows a similar action by the private Las Vegas Monorail Co. Broadbent is considered responsible for the success of the project, the only privately funded transit system in the nation.

"It was a stealth cell tower, actually camouflaged into the lighting," he said. "We got a two-for-one." The four sites under discussion are All American and Freedom parks, and the Angel Park Golf Course and Angel Park Wash.

Besides the aesthetic benefit of attaching cellular towers to existing structures, the city also is "looking for the opportunity to compete with the private sector for the (lease) revenues," Mack said. That helps offset municipal operation and maintenance cost, he said.

Although the bond sale will specify that the money be used for recreation, it will not specify that it be used for the soccer complex, which gives the council flexibility to explore other ideas.