By Cassie Tomlin (contact)

Thu, Oct 23, 2008 (midnight)

The city will hold a town hall meeting by December to get feedback on a possible new street to allow traffic from the Lakeview neighborhood to exit via Canyon Road.

Though the proposed road — there are two possible routes — has met opposition from residents in the small subdivision off U.S. 93, city officials say it would be a proactive traffic-controlling measure for when the Hoover Dam Bypass opens in 2010.

Highway 93 is the only way into and out of Lakeview.

The proposed $700,000 road would either take traffic from Canyon Road down a utility corridor to Ridge Road, or from Canyon north of the neighborhood to connect with Lakeview Drive near Hillcrest Lane.

The Nevada Department of Transportation and the city last month approved several improvements to U.S. 93 to help control the influx of 2,000 tractor-trailers expected daily when the dam bypass opens and heavy truck traffic is allowed through Boulder City again.

However, no improvements are planned for Lakeview Drive at the highway.

Residents were hoping for an acceleration lane to make merging into highway traffic easier, but NDOT won't consider that project. So city officials designed the other routes to help neighborhood traffic avoid U.S. 93.

The City Council voted Oct. 14 to host the meeting after hearing from three residents who oppose the road.

Mike Adams, who lives at Hillcrest Lane and Ridge Road, said about 60 residents met with Scott Hansen, director of public works, on Aug. 27 and thought they'd expressed enough concern about the street that the city had abandoned the plan.

He said the road would disturb at least 10 homes, and he didn't think most of the 100 residents who live in the neighborhood would use them much.

He said, more likely, cars from Las Vegas would cut through the neighborhood, with boats in tow, to Lake Mead.

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or cassie.tomlin@hbcpub.com.