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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
The mystery of the much-discussed but never-built paved trail from Summerlin to the Red Rock scenic drive is starting to get solved.
A federal agency says the trail will be advertised for construction by the end of October. The Federal Highway Administration is the lead agency for the Red Rock trail, which has been discussed for literally decades.
Despite all the trail talk, nothing has been built. Blue Diamond resident Heather Fisher has led the push to get this “Red Rock Legacy Trail” built. The Summerlin-to-Red Rock Loop segment would be just the first phase of the paved trail that would run through Red Rock Canyon.
Here’s a look at the first segment:
Here’s the entire trail layout:
The paved trail is badly needed because of dangerous motorists on State Road 159, which connects the fast-growing Summerlin suburb outside Las Vegas with the very popular Red Rock National Conservation Arena and its toll-use Red Rock “loop.”
Speeding and illegal passing are routine along State Route 159 in Red Rock Canyon. Many bicyclists have decided to not ride the SR 159 shoulders because of the reckless drivers. Other bicyclists still pedal the shoulders.
The loop, or scenic drive, is nearly 13 miles and exits a little more than two miles down the road from the entrance where tolls are collected. By the way, it’s October, so you need a reservation to drive the Red Rock loop. Bicyclists do not need a reservation.
Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, who rides his bicycle often and knows this SR 159 corridor, has supported this trail project for many years and knows its importance for the safety of people who currently use this stretch of roadway.
“Phase 1 pf the Red Rock Legacy Trail will provide a safe alternative for cyclists, runners and other outdoor recreationists to access Red Rock Canyon NCA, including Calico Basin and the Red Rock Canyon Visitors Center,” Jones told LVSportsBiz.com.
“In conjunction with Phase 1, Clark County will be constructing a trailhead parking lot adjacent to West Career and Tech Academy so that residents and visitors alike can park and access the multi-use trail. This project, and its future phases, has been a model for partnership between federal, state and local agencies and I am so excited to see it get under construction next year,” Jones said.
So many others can’t wait to see work begin on this trail.
LVSportsBiz.com contacted U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen’s office about what’s going on with this trail. NFL stadiums are designed and built in three years in Las Vegas, but this trail project has languished in government office files for more than 20 years.
The federal Bureau of Land Management, the state Department of Transportation, the city of Las Vegas, Clark County and Summerlin master developer Howard Hughes Corporation have all been involved in the trail, though they all have not delivered the trail yet after all these years.
Here was an email from Rosen’s office:
LVSportsBiz.com asked the trail’s project manager, Emilio Burgos, about when the trail construction will begin, when it will be completed and how much it will cost. He responded by saying these questions were sent to the agency’s PR department.
If we get any answer, will be sure to include them in this story.
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Some other road improvements along Charleston Boulevard in Summerlin are also supposed to move along in Summerlin in 2025.
The ridiculously-designed Charleston-Sky Vista Drive intersection, the last intersection on Charleston as you drive west to Red Rock Canyon, will be receiving a traffic signal in 2025 after multiple car vs car, car vs bicyclist and car vs pedestrian crashes.
Also, work will begin in 2025 on a 215 Beltway Trail tunnel that will allow walkers and bicyclists on the 215 trail to cross Charleston by traveling underneath the busy road. Right now, the trail crossing is at at-grade and walkers and bicyclists take their lives in their hands by crossing Charleston because drivers are also turning on and getting off the 215 Beltway.
Welcome to Las Vegas and Clark County — not exactly the mecca for pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure.