LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — If you drive along Flamingo Road on the east side of the Las Vegas valley, you've probably noticed how busy it is.
Now, there's an effort in the works to help keep you, other drivers and pedestrians safe.
We're talking specifically about the section of road between Paradise and Pecos roads — an area that has seen a lot of crashes. I drove down Flamingo to talk with Kyandy Childs, someone who sees those dangers firsthand every day.
Childs is the owner of Scrapbooks R Us on Flamingo Road near Eastern Avenue. Driving to and from her store every day for years, she's become familiar with the flow of traffic and the issues related to it.
"We do get a lot of pedestrians, and that street gets a lot of accidents," Childs said.
The Nevada Department of Transportation is now taking a closer look at the area of Flamingo Road between Paradise and Pecos.
"It does have a very high number of fatal and serious injury crashes we have seen, especially over the last five years," said Justin Hopkins, public information officer for NDOT.
According to NDOT's data, 1,014 crashes have happened in the area from 2016 to 2020. Nineteen of those were fatal crashes.
The agency is looking for both long-term and short-term solutions for problems on this stretch of road, Hopkins said.
"There are some short-term fixes, like improving lighting, changing signals so they align with the traffic lanes," Hopkins said. "Retro reflective backings on the signals so [it's] easier to see it could be improving the sidewalks.
Some of those short-term fixes could happen within a year or two. The long-term fixes will obviously take longer.
"Things like re-aligning where transit is, giving transit a dedicate lane, pedestrians and cyclists a dedicated lane," Hopkins said.
NDOT now wants people who use the area to weigh in. Their survey is posted online through the end of February. On that page, you can also see some of the changes that have already been proposed.
Childs knows there are issues — but what those solutions are is still up in the air. She thinks more police enforcement may help for a few reasons.
"People speed; they go right through the red lights," Childs said. "The don't stop, because you are not going to get a ticket."
