Churchgoers, residents get compromise

Sito Negron

Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 | 8:33 a.m.

Residents along Cashman Drive will be allowed to close their street every day but Sunday, when someone from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be allowed to unlock the gate and let the faithful worship.

An entry to the church parking lot, at 3400 W. Charleston Blvd., is off Cashman, which the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday agreed to close with the exception of Sunday services and a handful of special events throughout the year.

Not everyone was happy with the compromise, which came after almost two hours of discussion about whether or not churchgoers had the right to use the public street or if neighborhood residents had the right to squeeze out traffic in the name of safety.

Ryan O'Neill said he figured some of the churchgoers were simply being petty in refusing to drive an extra few blocks to take an alternate route to services.

But Paul Christensen, a former city councilman and chairman of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and a member of the church, figured the opposite.

"It's a sad day when the council can determine what times people can go to church," he said.

The discussion was interrupted for about 10 minutes when a microphone began to feed back, filling the council chambers with an annoying buzz.

When the council reconvened, Mayor Oscar Goodman, jokingly, said, "I did not think it was a religious matter -- now I'm not so sure."

When the buzz briefly reappeared later in the meeting, Goodman looked up, raised his hands, and said "Are you telling me something?"

The street was closed a little more than six months ago after residents approached Councilwoman Janet Moncrief and asked her for help in calming traffic.

Speaker after speaker provided stories about speeders on the street, used not only by churchgoers but also by employees at the AAA automobile insurance office and the Water Authority.

In the end, the council came down on the side of residents.

Moncrief said she made her decision based on the principle that "the number one thing is to preserve neighborhoods." She also said that she asked herself, "If I visit that church or worked at the Water District, would I mind that extra minute (of driving)?"