LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With more and more high profile crashes involving pedestrians, E-bikes and E-scooters happening all across the Las Vegas Valley, improving road safety continues to be a topic of conversation and concern for locals.
Traffic safety advocates, police officers and local officials are once again joining forces to remind both drivers and pedestrians to pay attention while on the roads, especially as we head into a long Nevada Day weekend, with Halloween and a time change top of mind.
WATCH | Pedestrian safety takes center stage this long weekend
Boulder Highway is one of the most notoriously dangerous corridors for pedestrians in the valley, which is why pedestrian safety was the focus of two events there on Thursday.
Tanya Rossback tells Channel 13 she walks Boulder Highway every single day, and sees just how dangerous it can be first hand.
"I think it's very unsafe, I see [people] run across Boulder Highway all the time instead of using the crosswalk," Rossback said. "An innocent person driving could hit and kill them, and they can feel horrible for the rest of their lives, even though it's not their fault.
Believe it or not, that's exactly why a giant squid crossed the road.
No, that's not the punchline of a joke – CCSD Police Officer Keith Habig donned a big bright red inflatable giant squid costume and repeatedly crossed Boulder Highway at Whitney Avenue, as part of a multi-agency enforcement effort on Thursday morning.
"It's about raising awareness, being aware of your surroundings, that way you can see what's going on so you can stop," Habig said.
Motorcycle officers from Metro Police, Henderson Police and CCSD Police were standing by watching Habig cross the street, and pulling over drivers who didn't stop at the crosswalk, were speeding or were visibly distracted while driving.
Henderson Police Sergeant Richard Paul says officers stopped 63 drivers, most of which were for crosswalk violations, adding 44 drivers were issued citations and 19 were issued warnings.
"I was kind of surprised by these numbers, this is something we often do, working as a team conducting these operations to make our roadways safer," Paul said. "These numbers are much less than what we'd normally see, and I'd attribute that to efforts by law enforcement and others to make our roadways safer."
The squid costume might look a little ridiculous, but with Halloween coming up it serves as an important message for drivers to look out for trick-or-treaters and to follow the rules of the road, especially after several children have been hit and killed by cars over the last few weeks across the valley.
"The way I look at it is that every single one of us is at fault," Habig said. "We all need to do a better job – we can all be smarter and safer if we can talk it out and be aware of our surroundings."
That's also the message of the annual "Dusk2Dawn" campaign which kicked off Thursday – another multi-agency venture promoting heightened awareness of pedestrians from dusk to dawn after we move our clocks back on Sunday, and lose an hour of daylight.
"This Sunday at 2 a.m. we fall back to standard time, so that means when people leave work on Monday afternoon it's going to be darker," said Erin Breen with PedSafe Vegas, who spearheads the Dusk2Dawn campaign. "They're not used to that, and neither are the pedestrians."
That message goes for E-bikes and E-scooters, too.
"They are being ridden everywhere, and a lot of times they're being ridden badly," Breen said. "They're being ridden opposite traffic, and that makes it so much more dangerous because oftentimes drivers aren't watching for you."
Signs displaying a chalk outline of a pedestrian in the roadway with the message "Can you see me now?" and "Don't lose your life on a seven lane dash" will be posted at bus stops and inside RTC buses as part of the campaign, which are appreciated by daily commuters like Tanya Rossback.
"I think that'll help out, if people will look at it and obey the laws, you know?" Rossback said.
Pedestrians and local officials alike say they're proud of the progress made on Boulder Highway thus far, but added we still have a long way to go, and it will take all of us to get there.