LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Sunrise Manor dirt roadways under construction have east Las Vegas residents outraged.
John Lear, a 50-year resident, is demanding Clark County Public Works to stop it's projected asphalt sidewalk on North Hollywood Boulevard from Charleston to Lake Mead Boulevards.
Clark County spokesperson, Dan Kulin said residents had refused a special improvement tax to put in cement sidewalks, so now taxpayer money from the county is being used to put down asphalt instead.
Almost a dozen people signed a petition to put a stop to an "asphalt path" project.
The county said they plan to have it done by the fall of 2019 but will work with residents should they wish to have cement.
Lear told 13 Action News that his biggest concern about not having a cement sidewalk was that he would lose property value on his home.
"It's toxic with fumes and children walk on it. It devalues the property of the house too - you know there's all kinds of reasons we don't want to have asphalt," Lear said.
Yvette Chevalier, a Sunrise Manor resident, said she's just glad something is happening and will no longer have to be a concern with dirt roads.
"If the asphalt comes and makes my lung problem worse, that would be a concern. I have COPD, so I probably should not be breathing this, to begin with," Chevalier said. "I think cement is better, but I would also take something over nothing - as it has been like this for 25 to 30 years."
Kulin provided this statement below:
"As part of the Hollywood Boulevard widening project, the County is adding an asphalt path to areas that do not already have a sidewalk so children have a safe route to walk to and from school. This is a common solution used throughout the valley in neighborhoods near schools that do not have sidewalks.
Years ago there were plans to put sidewalks and street lights in the few areas in this community that do not already have them. As in the rest of the County, such improvements would be paid for by the property owners. However, the residents decided they did not want these improvements.
If residents are now saying they would like to create a special improvement district and move forward with a more traditional sidewalk and street lights, we are certainly open to discussing that with them again.
Also – The asphalt path is made of the same material used to pave roads here and around the world."
