Henderson trail project winds through approval process

By Jeremy Twitchell

Friday, April 24, 2009 | 1:59 a.m.

A 10-mile trail corridor along Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson is set to begin the city’s approval process after a second public meeting Wednesday night.

The $7.2 million trail would run from Boulder Highway to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and on both sides of the road for much of that distance.

The project budget also includes money for trailheads at each end of the city’s Wetlands Trail Connector, which runs north from Lake Mead Parkway, between Calico Ridge and Lake Las Vegas, to the Desert Wetlands Park.

The project is funded by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, which allows cities and counties to tap into the proceeds of federal land sales to fund parks and trails projects.

The plan will now go to the Henderson Parks and Recreation Board for review and then to the Henderson City Council for final approval.

Only a handful of residents attended the public meeting, but aside from some suggestions about specific design elements, response to the proposal was positive.

Henderson Park Planner Patricia Ayala said the Lake Mead Parkway Trail will provide connectivity between trail systems along Boulder Highway, the Wetlands Connector and the River Mountain Loop Trail.

“It’s one of the things we’ve been trying to do. We are trying to ensure that the east part of Henderson is connected to the federal lands,” Ayala said. “There are some great things happening in that area.”

Ayala said the presence of the trail, which is being designed for walkers, runners, bikers and horse riders, will draw people to east Henderson and create a stronger unity between the older and newer parts of town.

Project designer Steve Noll of Design Workshop said the trail will have an urban feel where it begins at Boulder Highway then become increasingly natural as it draws closer to Lake Mead.

The trail will be 12 feet wide on both sides of Lake Mead Parkway from Boulder Highway to Lake Las Vegas Parkway, and then the south trail will cross under the road and join the north trail for the rest of the way.

It will have primary way stations — places with benches, shade, water, trash and animal waste facilities — at key points along the trail, and minor way stations with just benches and shade at regular intervals.

The Wetlands Connector Trailhead will have regular and equestrian parking lots, as well as elevated viewpoints of the Las Vegas Valley.

In a pubic survey that Henderson commissioned for a recently compiled Parks and Recreation Master Plan, residents expressed a strong desire for more trails.

Noll said he thinks Henderson is doing a good job responding to that desire.

“I’m always amazed at how many trails Henderson has under development,” Noll said. “It’s phenomenal.”