Editorial: Deadly intersections

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

This week the parents of Debbie Blinder, a 7-year-old girl who last month was hit and killed by a sport utility vehicle at a busy intersection without traffic lights, pleaded with Clark County officials to be more pro-active in installing traffic lights. The intersection at Desert Inn Road and Hualapai Way, where the girl was killed, had qualified in May under Clark County Public Works' guidelines to get lights, but the agency at the time didn't have the money to install them.

The roads in Las Vegas are deadly. Part of it is because of driver inattention or recklessness, for sure. Limited government funding and bureaucratic red tape also are contributing factors. One of the reasons why Public Works can't quickly put up traffic lights -- which can cost upward of $250,000 per intersection -- is that the Regional Transportation Commission's board approves its capital funding projects, including money for traffic lights, just once a year, in October. Public Works Director Marty Manning says one way to expedite the installation of lights is to create a revolving fund that wouldn't require the approval of the entire RTC board, a system that would allow funds to be disbursed throughout the year. The RTC should embrace this sensible suggestion immediately.