LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Indian Springs residents are calling for traffic safety improvements along US-95 after a motorcyclist died Friday when crashing into a wild burro near Corn Creek.
I drove to Indian Springs to speak with locals about their growing concerns over wild burros on the highway they say puts drivers' lives at risk.
WATCH | Residents express concern over road safety following deadly wild burro crash
"It's safer for me to go during the day," Salas said.
Andre Salas lives in Indian Springs and says he travels along US-95 to get to work in Las Vegas about three to four times a week.
While the daytime drive offers views of distant mountains and desert cacti, he says nighttime presents different dangers.
"Never at night, cause it's too dangerous," Salas said.
He constantly watches for burros on the roadside, saying some even wander onto the highway.
"A lot of them like to walk onto traffic. It is dangerous not just for them but for the drivers," Salas said.
Local resident Ferris Joseph has also encountered the animals and nearly hit one.
"When I'm coming back from Snow Mountain to Indian Springs, I just swerved around it. It was at night," Joseph said.
We first learned about the burro issues after Friday's fatal motorcycle crash. An Indian Springs viewer contacted us via email, expressing concern about the public safety hazard and noting the lack of warning signs alerting drivers about the animals along the highway.
"There has always been wildlife and donkeys crossing this path of freeway, but these past two years, there has been an excessive and worsening presence of wild burros on the roadway, resulting in numerous near-misses, multiple animal-versus-vehicle collisions, and most recently a fatal motorcycle versus burro accident, which tragically resulted in the death of both the rider and the animal. This area is extremely dark at night, traffic moves at highway speeds, and drivers are not expecting large animals standing directly in travel lanes. There are very few warning signs, and while the area is considered open range, the current conditions pose a severe and foreseeable danger to motorists and the animals alike." — viewer email
During the drive to Indian Springs, I observed mostly open range signs but none specifically addressing wild burros.
When asked if there's enough signage, both residents agreed that more is needed.
"I think we need a little bit more than what we had at one once," Salas said.
"There could be more signage," Joseph said.
I contacted the Nevada Department of Transportation about plans to add more wildlife signage along the road.
They shared the following via email:
"NDOT has not received formal complaints or service requests specific to this location through its customer service channels. Members of the public are encouraged to report roadway concerns to NDOT Customer Service at 775-999-7000 or info@dot.nv.gov, so they can be reviewed and routed appropriately. Wildlife sightings may also be reported to the Bureau of Land Management or the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
NDOT is awaiting the completion of the ongoing crash investigation before commenting further."
Locals want to see several traffic safety improvements, including better signage, lighting, fencing, and animal management.
"Put up fencing so that the animals don't try to cross," one resident suggested.
Do you have a safety concern about the roadways you travel on? Tell us about them at ktnv.com/letstalk.
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