Residents protest proposed rail line

Stephen Curran

Friday, June 24, 2005 | 9:55 a.m.

If the standing-room-only crowd at Thursday's Regional Transportation Commission-sponsored discussion of a proposed light rail for the Las Vegas Valley was any indication, resentment for the plan appears to be growing.

Dozens of people -- mostly Green Valley residents for whom the train would run in or near their backyards -- packed the meeting room on the first floor of the RTC building near downtown Las Vegas, audibly groaning at a lone supporter who spoke in favor of the project and applauding the several residents who took the microphone to criticize it.

Two newly appointed members of the RTC's fixed guideway steering committee accused the county agency of "hand-picking" members of the group, which will recommend to elected officials a plan that could include a light rail or expanded Metropolitan Area Express Service from the Nevada State College at Henderson to a planned UNLV satellite campus in North Las Vegas.

Beverly Dix, a retired educator who represented the Quail Ridge homeowners association in Green Valley, said she asked to join the committee after learning of the plan fairly recently.

She publicly accused the board, which can also recommend to not implement any fixed guideway service for the route, of being biased in favor of a pricey system that would ultimately leave taxpayers with the tab.

"I feel a lot of things were determined ahead of time," Dix said. "They hand-picked the members of the board."

As one of two ex-officio members, Dix and medical professional Wendy Lee Meoz can voice opinions at the board's meetings but can not make any official motions or vote.

Meanwhile board member M.J. Harvey, who leads the Paradise Town Board and has traveled with the committee to study light rail systems in Portland, Ore., and New Jersey, encouraged the board to consider study a more limited route that would begin on the south Strip and continue to North Las Vegas.

The route most discussed travels through 11 miles of Green Valley before heading north on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard.

"You need to start considering a different route for the southern portion," she said to applause.

Harvey's comments reflected what had become a seemingly growing group of residents coming out against the project. One group, Stop the Guideway, launched a Web site last month with an online petition opposing it.

A study completed earlier this week by Strategic Surveys found that almost three quarters of residents living within a mile of the route would support the project, which early estimates have pegged at almost $2 billion, and half of the 800 surveyed said it would help offset the stifling traffic in Southern Nevada.

Charles DeWeese, project manager for Parsons, the firm contracted to design the light rail, said residents' concerns over traffic back ups at potential train crossings were unfounded.

If built, however, the train would share space with the existing Union Pacific line, which would run its shipments at night while passengers would commute up to every 15 minutes during the day, he said.

"I think what comes to mind is the yellow Union Pacific barreling by for six or seven minutes in a queue of 100 cars," he said of the long waits typical of long freight haulers.

"But having the freight trains operating at night may be an issue," he added, prompting sarcastic laughter from several residents.

Miyoko Ono-Moore, a band assistant at Clark High School and staunch supporter of the project, said her comments reflected a larger -- yet unseen -- group of homeowners.

"This is a very small group," she said of the vocal opponents. "They're very verbal but I wish more people would come out for it."

Ono-Moore, who also lives in Green Valley, said the onus was on the homeowners who bought their homes knowing a rail line was only feet away.

"I selectively chose not to live along the tracks when I bought my property here," she said, eliciting groans.

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