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Motorists Making Illegal Left Turns Off State Highway 160 To Reach SR-159 After Nevada DOT Installed Barrier To Deter Left Turns To Cut-Through Street

(Publisher’s Note: We report occasionally on road safety and bicycle safety issues on this news site. This is one of those stories.)

By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

They drive their Las Vegas-bound cars along State Highway 160, with some of these motorists wanting to make a left turn to reach State Road 159 and the busy Red Rock Canyon corridor.

These drivers should be making their left turns at a traffic signal at SR-160 and SR-159.

Instead, LVSportsBiz.com has witnessed countless motorists making an illegal left turn around a Nevada DOT-installed barrier on State Road 160 that was designed to stop motorists from making a left turn onto a quiet cut-through street to reach State Road 159.

Channel 8 traffic reporter Nathan Tannenbaum did a report on my letter to him regarding this traffic issue of drivers making illegal left turns.

It’s a risky driver move that could easily result in a crash as these illegal left turns are happening amid motorists travelling in both directions at 65 miles per hour on SR-160, which functions as a highway north of Interstate 15.

The drivers are making these illegal left turns because they think they are saving a few seconds by avoiding a traffic signal a mere half-mile down the road. Some are Las Vegas and Pahrump commuters, while others are heading to Summerlin or visiting the popular Red Rock land.

LVSportsBiz.com contacted the Nevada Department of Transportation to see if there are any more safety additions that can be implemented to stop drivers from making this illegal left turn on to Avery Street.

“We appreciate you contacting us regarding the issue of drivers making illegal left turns from Hwy 160 to Avery Street. We share your concern about the safety implications of such actions,” Nevada DOT spokesman Justin Hopkins told LVSportsBiz.com in an email.
“NDOT has made significant efforts to enhance the safety of the Hwy 160 corridor over the years. As part of these improvements, dedicated deceleration and acceleration lanes were installed for Avery specifically to deter this left-turn movement,” Hopkins continued.
“However, it’s important to note that the issue you’ve highlighted primarily pertains to enforcement rather than engineering. While we can implement physical measures to improve safety, such as lane configurations, addressing drivers who disregard traffic laws falls under the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies.”
LVSportsBiz.com also contacted the Nevada Highway Patrol about this road safety issue and if we hear back we will add the information to this story.

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Tags: Justin Hopkins
Alan Snel: Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.
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