If we create the traffic, NDOT will have to give BC a stoplight

Bill Erin

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | midnight

Yes, I have a plan for the stoplights the City Council wants at Yucca and U.S. 93 and at Lake Mountain Drive and U.S. 93. Unfortunately, it probably has as much chance of being implemented as the many "plans" the presidential candidates are touting these days.

The impediment to the presidential plans is Congress. The impediment to my plan is the Nevada Department of Transportation.

NDOT is primarily interested in moving traffic through Boulder City. They want it to move and keep moving. They don't care about Boulder City residents.

The problem is that with a steady stream of traffic up and down 93 with no gaps or breaks, Boulder City residents will have a near impossible and dangerous task crossing or entering 93.

The stoplights would not only give them that opportunity but also cause gaps in the traffic all along the highway.

NDOT says traffic entering and exiting at those two points does not warrant stoplights.

What warrants a stoplight? NDOT says there are eight reasons. For example, a large factory at the Yucca Street corner or a school might warrant a stoplight.

One of the main considerations, however, is traffic count.

Enter my plan!

It begins with the city getting a new traffic count at those two corners. Then, on the dates of the traffic count, we create the traffic.

All it takes is for the residents of Boulder City to organize and work together. If any town can, I have confidence Boulder City can.

Organize residents to drive in and out of Lake Mountain Drive and Yucca Street over and over on those dates.

One of the first steps would be to figure out how much traffic we have to generate. Given the mathematics some residents display in voicing their opinions regarding Boulder Creek, the hospital, and city finances, there are plenty of mathematicians here who should be able to figure out what kind of traffic count we need.

Then organize! Central Command could be at the Senior Center. A battery of seniors could call residents and get pledges as to how many times they will drive to Lake Mountain and Yucca and on how many days. Stickers — I drove to support stoplights! — could be issued to those who pledged.

The HOAs north of 93 could organize their residents with regular shifts. Let's have a rally with floats like the Christmas or Fourth of July parade that goes through the Lake Mountain 93 exit, up 93 to Yucca, up and down Yucca, with every car in Boulder City joining in the parade. A parade to end all parades.

Businesses in the industrial area could have their employees leave on a scheduled basis to drive up and down Yucca, in and out of 93. We could swamp the traffic count.

We could send press releases to the papers and broadcast media, invitations to Southern Nevada residents to join us, a storm of publicity that might even make the national media. It should shake up NDOT and the Legislature and make them aware of our problem.

I make no apology for my sneaky plan.

After all, we were hoodwinked into thinking the Boulder City Bypass would be built in conjunction with the Hoover Dam Bridge. Then it was separated into two projects. Then it was postponed until 2025.

Now we are told by NDOT that if we make extensive safety modifications to 93, NDOT and the feds may decide a Boulder City Bypass is not needed.

Bill Erin is a Boulder City News columnist.