HENDERSON (KTNV) — As our coverage of traffic issues on Southern Nevada streets continues, we've asked to hear from you about safety concerns in your neighborhoods.
A viewer in Henderson reached out to me about a crosswalk issue on the Union Pacific Railroad Trail in Henderson — one of the most popular trails in town, especially for cyclists.
Viewer Jean Dawson emailed, saying some of the crosswalk flashers on Horizon Drive east of College Drive hadn't been working for months.
She even sent in this video to show us the problem:
I met up with Jean last week for an interview and to see the intersection myself:
"This is a problem," Jean told me when I asked why she reached out to Channel 13. "Someone is going to get hurt at this intersection."
When I was in the area with Jean last Friday afternoon, I saw a handful of cyclists and families using the trail and frequently using the crosswalk.
"We're out here to get the fresh air, to enjoy the bike path, but we don't want to get killed doing it," Jean said. "That has happened way too often in this town."
Jean told me that she'd reached out to folks at the City of Henderson multiple times and multiple ways — calling 311, filing online reports and calling the mayor's office — but felt like she hadn't gotten anywhere.
"They actually reached out to us and said it was going to be three months before we got this fixed," Jean told me, adding the Henderson representative cited issues with procuring parts for the repair.
That wasn't acceptable for Jean, though, so I took her concerns to the City of Henderson last week, asking when the crosswalk lights would be repaired.
As it turns out, in the time it took for me to reach out to the city, crews had fixed the lights and reconfigured how they work.
Instead of the buttons activating lights on both sides of the crosswalk, it's now separated, with buttons in the gated-off median to activate flashers one side at a time. A Henderson spokesperson told me in a statement that the update was made for safety reasons, since it can be hard to cross Horizon — a very wide street — all in one go.
The spokesperson told me this new design increases driver awareness and gives pedestrians more time to safely cross the street, adding that these "two-stage crossings" are frequently used in Henderson where appropriate.
I walked with Jean through the crosswalk to see the new design in action, and — sure enough — the lights were all working as they should.
While she's still got some concerns about the safety of the crosswalk, Jean tells me she's happy that the flashers have been repaired.
"That feels better, yes," she said. "Once you guys called, they were Johnny on the spot!"
If you have any questions or concerns about a crosswalk, a dangerous intersection, or ongoing road construction in your neighborhood, feel free to send them my way, and I'll try to get some answers for you, just like I did for Jean. You can reach me directly by email at Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com.
