F Street workshop maps out concerns over history and future development

By Dylan Scott

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | 12:21 p.m.

Citizens in West Las Vegas voiced their opinions Tuesday at a second design workshop on the reopening of F Street at I-15.

Seated in small groups at the Doolittle Community Center, interested residents engaged in nearly three hours of discussion about the new F Street connection, received updates from the previous design workshop and provided their perspective on what the project should entail.

Their primary concerns were drawn into a few categories: preserving and enhancing the community’s history, starting an overall improvement of the area, finishing the project in a timely and cost-effective manner and promoting economic development for the neighborhood.

"The design should restore and sustain the history of the community," read one of the cards submitted by the small groups. Another said it should "provide appropriate mobility for the best in community safety."

The attendees also touched on bicycle and pedestrian pathways, controlling the presence of the homeless and beautifying the location.

Representatives from the city of Las Vegas, the Nevada Department of Transportation and PBSJ, the participating engineering firm, facilitated the conversation.

The reconnection project was birthed from widespread protests when F Street was closed in September 2008 as part of widening I-15 north of the Spaghetti Bowl. The city and NDOT announced in May that a series of workshops would incorporate the community’s opinions into the effort.

Mary Ann Price, public information specialist for the city, said the next workshop would be announced after engineers and officials had time to review and revise the design plans. Interested citizens can check out the project’s Facebook page or Twitter account for updates.