HENDERSON (KTNV) — As we continue our coverage in the Fight for Safer Streets across the Las Vegas valley, we're listening to your questions and concerns about our roads and taking them straight to the top.
That's what happened last week — a viewer reached out to me with his urgent safety concerns about an intersection in his neighborhood, so I headed out to the south valley to meet up with him and hear his concerns first hand.
Brian Kirby told me he lives near the intersection of Cactus and Jones, and said he's seen so much dangerous driving there over the years that something needs to be done, adding that traffic there has gotten exponentially worse.
"I noticed you were talking about the intersections, and this has been a sore spot for quite a while," Kirby told me, when I asked why he wanted to reach out to Channel 13. "It's a recipe for disaster, I'm afraid there's going to be a major accident here. It's a matter of time, it's inevitable — it's not if, it's when."
I stood with Brian for a few minutes watching traffic and saw exactly what he was talking about.
The only traffic control at the intersection? One stop sign for eastbound Cactus — that's it, the rest of the traffic flows through uncontrolled, leading to frequent chaos when drivers are trying to make turns.
Brian tells me he thinks a stop light would do wonders here.
"There's no light, so they just take a chance — see, they just cut in front of that truck right there," Brian told me as he was describing the traffic pattern at the intersection in real time. "I try to avoid this as much as I can, but sometimes I have to go down here."
Cactus and Spencer is literally right on the border between Clark County and the City of Henderson, so I reached out to both to find out who's in charge of this intersection, and track down some answers about getting a signal here.
A Henderson spokesperson told me their public works department actually conducted a traffic study at Cactus and Spencer last October and determined that it does, indeed, need a traffic signal!
While Henderson will be leading the way on the project, a Clark County spokesperson told me they'll be helping out with the cost once the design is complete.
As far as when the new signal will be up and operational? We're still not sure — Henderson tells me they're still in the planning phase, and a construction timeline has not been finalized yet.
In the meantime, local Brian Kirby has a message for drivers around town and in his neighborhood.
"Take your time, it's not worth it — to shave off seconds or minutes off your travel time, go earlier," Kirby said. "Take a deep breath, the road rage isn't worth it."
If you have questions about traffic or road work here in the Las Vegas valley, please send them my way – I'd be glad to look into it and try and get some answers, just like I did for Brian.
You can email me your traffic questions and concerns directly at Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com.
