Nevada State Senate Bill 179, sponsored by Senator Mark Manendo, is set to be voted upon later today in the Assembly. If passed, it will go back to to the State Senate for a final vote to approve amendments to the original bill. The purpose of the bill is to increase pedestrian safety in Nevada and could have a very real and important impact locally. The national average for pedestrian fatalities is 11% of traffic-related deaths; in Clark County, it’s 25%. In 2012, 42 pedestrians were killed here. So far, there have been 19 pedestrian fatalities already this year.
If passed, the bill will enable local governments such as Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson to create pedestrian safety zones where they have determined that heightened awareness would improve the safety of those on foot or bike. Within such a zone, additional signage will be provided, speed limits will be reduced, and fines will increase for motorists and jaywalkers who violate the laws and endanger pedestrians within the zone.
In addition to helping to create these zones, the bill proposes to upgrade Nevada’s current “yield for pedestrians” law to “stop for pedestrians.” If going straight, a driver would have to stop and stay stopped while the pedestrian is crossing the lanes of travel. If turning right or left, the pedestrian must be more than one lane away from the lane into which a driver is turning.
Erin Breen, the director of UNLV’s Safe Community Partnership, and longtime advocate for pedestrian safety, helped to craft the bill. “You’re taking your life in your hands when you cross a street,” says Breen. She says a Pedestrian Safety Zone, as outlined in the bill, is proposed for Downtown Las Vegas. If passed and adopted, the zone would include heavy gauge, bright yellow vinyl messaging signs directing pedestrians to make eye contact with drivers and to cross safely. Signage would also indicate the boundaries of the zone to drivers. Breen also says that speed limits on Stewart Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard would be dropped to 25 miles per hour to match other Downtown streets and that the Nevada Department of Transportation has agreed to cover the costs of the additional signage and necessary pavement changes for enhanced crosswalks. The goal is to make pedestrians more predictable, to teach motorists to be more aware of pedestrians in the walkable urban area of Downtown, and to ultimately save lives.
Breen advises that those interested in supporting the bill, can do so by contacting their representatives in Carson City. By visiting leg.state.nv.us, residents can find contact information for their legislators.