Why changing Boulder Highway’s name might help save lives

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The word “highway” invokes the image of a road with a high-speed limit, connecting two cities with little to no foot traffic, and initially, Boulder Highway was just that, however, after years of development safety activists point out the name might be causing some drivers to go beyond the limit.

Constructed in 1931, Boulder Highway was the link between Las Vegas and Boulder City which later became a primary route for workers building the Hoover Dam.

The town of Midway and the Pittman Ranch area, found along Boulder Highway, would service commuters in what would later become the town of Henderson.

93 years later The City of Henderson is asking residents to “reimagine” the thoroughfare, following a transportation study, with new proposed separated lanes of transit, crossing designs, cycle tracks, improved lighting, and open space for parks.

The Reimagine Boulder Highway Initiative does not suggest a name change, but Erin Breen, director of the Transportation Center at UNLV, said some people who are part of the initiative have discussed the potential.

“When you hear highway it denotes high rates of speed,” Breen said. “It makes people a lot more comfortable speeding on that road, which was built on the southwest model of wide, flat, and really straight.”

Breen said it might sound silly but the name change from “accident” to “collision” when referring to crashes helped avoid the suggestion of something un-preventable.

“The word accident gives people the connotation that there was nothing that could be done,” she said. “But you start to realize how much words really matter.”

Boulder Boulevard is the name Breen said she and others have suggested which would remind drivers the “Highway” is no longer just a connector between two cities but a way to access homes and businesses

“The wildest thing”

In 2014, Breen and 10 volunteers began to ask Las Vegas valley pedestrians and drivers their thoughts on Boulder Highway, taking in suggestions, complaints, and ideas.

With the survey results completed Breen set out to have the first committee meeting for the Boulder Highway Coalition at Boulder Station but there was one issue: not enough space.

“The person that we were meeting with said we don’t really have convention space here,” she said. “They took me upstairs and showed me this small room.”

Breen assured the staff member that the small room would be fine because although they would send out 100 invites, she only expected 25 people to show up to volunteer to help with Boulder Highway, but she was wrong.

“87 people showed up,” she said.

The volunteers sat on tables due to lack of space, but it indicated to Breen the high level of interest to make a difference on Boulder Highway.

“Boulder Station was trying to keep up with the coffee,” she said. “It was just the wildest thing.”

One of the first changes the group made was to change the Henderson side of Boulder Highway to match the speed limit of the rest of the roadway to 45 mph in early 2015.

Soon after the speed limit change Breen said the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Department of Transportation got involved in their committee to support additional change.

Breen pointed out that some changes that were initially planted by the Boulder Highway Coalition would later go on to influence the goals of The Reimagine Boulder Highway Initiative.

“RTC and NDOT decided we were definitely on to something,” she said.

2 killed, 4 injured after crash at east Las Vegas valley bus stop

Bus stop crash

On Wednesday night, police told 8 News Now that a white four-door sedan had been driving in the wrong direction just after 7:30 p.m. in the 3600 block of Boulder Highway. The driver was seen traveling in the southbound lane going north just moments before the bus stop crash.

In court on Thursday, prosecutors alleged that Cynthia Phelps, 64, drove 65 mph and then attempted to drive away from the scene. She now faces DUI charges as well.

Breen said she has lost track of how many times she has been asked to comment on people struck and killed by drivers.

“Five people at the bus stop, I was just horrified,” she said. “Far too often because a driver makes a mistake, like the one last night, which is 100 percent preventable.”

Though a name change would not have prevented the driver in Wednesday’s crash from allegedly getting behind the wheel drunk, Breen said authorities should question who let her get into a car drunk.

“Where was that woman drinking,” she said. “And why aren’t we making that establishment a part of the equation.”

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