By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It stands as an ugly monument to the changing times of Red Rock Canyon — a giant busted TV screen sitting on the side of the road on Nevada 159 about a mile outside the suburban sprawl of Summerlin.
A friendly couple I met that was scooping up garbage like glass bottles, soda cups, beer cans and fast food wrappers found the discarded mega-screen in a ditch off 159 and brought it up closer to the road shoulder.
We talked briefly about the added road traffic, the more garbage along the two-lane state road and the near-hits between people driving cars and people driving bicycles.
Federal officials with the Bureau of Land Management, which runs the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, decided to take action to deal with the high number of motorists during nice weather who descend on the popular 13-mile Red Rock scenic drive, which is four miles west of the last house in Summerlin off 159.
So, motorists must make a timed reservation to get onto the scenic drive, which is al toll road that required a federal fee to use. It all starts Oct. 6.
Here’s the info: Timed entry reservations will be mandatory for all visitors October 1 to May 31 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Timed entry reservations will not begin this year until November 3. Timed entry reservations are not required between June 1 and September 30.
Timed entry reservations will be for entry during the reserved time window. After entry, visitors may continue to use the area until closing time. The reservation does not restrict the amount of time visitors may stay inside the fee area.
Timed entry reservations do not include the entry fee for the Scenic Drive – visitors must also have a daily pass, Red Rock Canyon Annual Support Pass, or an America The Beautiful Pass. Passes allow entry to the pass holder and passengers in their vehicle. All passes will still be available for purchase at the Red Rock Canyon NCA fee gates. Daily passes will also be available at Recreation.gov.
Recreation.gov will charge a $2 processing fee for timed entry reservations. Timed entry reservations may be made up to 30 days in advance.
Not mentioned in the BLM press release were bicyclists. I heard bicyclists are not affected and do not need timed reservations like the motorists.
We saw the crush of visitors in March, April and May when the pandemic shut down the Red Rock scenic drive and even the Calico Basin area. There were motorists parking their cars on shoulders blocking bicyclists, lots of trash along the road and even car accidents.
Only a week ago I saw lots of trash on Nevada 159 outside the scenic drive exit and adjacent dirt parking lot. I was so upset over the garbage that I returned later in the day with plastic bags to collect the cans, cups and debris. It’s only going to get worse as the temperatures cool.
I was bicycling on the Red Rock scenic drive this morning. There are five to 10 minutes of solitude and tranquility interrupted by dicey moments of chaos. As I was climbing the scenic drive approaching Mile 4, there were three Spandex cowboys biking quickly up the steep hill that I was slowly negotiating, a line of six motorists and and head of all of us were four very slow-moving bicyclists on heavy two-wheelers when a woman on a bike is pedaling in the wrong direction down the hill coming toward us. Bicyclists can be as dumb and dangerous as motorists on the Red Rock loop.
But LVSportsBiz.com does support the BLM move to require timed reservations for the scenic drive, which hopefully will also reduce car traffic on Nevada 159.