Traffic creates problems at Molasky

      Charles Delzotti doesn't have children who attend Molasky Junior High School but he still worries about traffic woes surrounding the new Northwest school.
      "When I look out my window every morning I see the kids walking down Buffalo," said Delzotti, who owns a home in the Pioneer Estates tract across Buffalo Drive from Molasky. "I see them walking through the desert and down the side of the road where there are no sidewalks. It's a clear danger to the kids and something has to be done."
      Delzotti joined about 40 parents of Molasky pupils who met with Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown and representatives of the Clark County School District on Oct. 22. The meeting was called by Brown, who had been receiving calls from parents concerned about the safety of their children walking to the newly opened school.
      Parents have been complaining about the lack of crosswalks and basic safety zones for their children to walk in each morning on the way to school. The participants at the meeting had a long list of complaints for Brown and representatives from the school district.
      Delzotti sees the danger every day and can't understand why the children are put in harm's way.
      "These kids have to walk in the desert and there is no sidewalk for them to walk on," Delzotti said. "Then you have school buses coming down Ahey Road, which isn't even paved. The kids and me are dealing with dust clouds and that isn't healthy for any of us."
      Brown was made aware of the multitude of problems facing people in the area by concerned parents.
      "We received calls from parents looking for ways to make the walk to school safe," Brown said. "Some of the problems are school related and some are the result of development in the area."
      Brown decided to put his feet in the children's shoes and agreed to walk the two miles from some of the children's home to Molasky to see how dangerous it can be.
      Brown carried a 20-pound backpack and a musical instrument from the east side of U.S. Highway 95 under the highway on Gowan Road and down Buffalo Drive to Gilmore Avenue and Molasky.
      "It was a real eye opener," Brown said. "I walked just under two miles and had to cross a freeway overpass to get to school. These parents and kids have raised some interesting points and we need to look at them and justify to the policy makers that we need to correct the problem."
      On his walk, Brown encountered obstacles and even standing water that convinced him the children are in some danger in their walk to school.
      Many of the problems Brown was confronted with fell completely outside the scope of his jurisdiction as a city councilman. One of those problems, the one that seemed to be the focus of the meeting, is the two-mile bussing zone.
      The Clark County School District only buses children who live two miles or more from their school. So, if a child lives 1.97 miles from the school, they must walk while their neighbor may be eligible to ride the bus.
      Despite his hands being tied in that area, Brown felt it important to hear his constituents concerns.
      "It would be very easy to sit back and say it was not my problem," Brown said. "But several of the concerns raised by the folks here does fall into the city's responsibilities. Maybe my involvement can also help them in making sure the other policy makers are made aware of the problems here."
      While most parents complained about he school district's two-mile zone, there are other traffic concerns Brown was willing to look into for the concerned parents.
      Dan Lopez is one of those concerned parents. Lopez's 12-year-old son must cross the busy Cimarron Road on his way to Molasky. The stretch of Cimarron, near Soaring Gulls Drive, is a hotbed for speeding motorists on their way to work early in the morning.
      The road does have the blinking school zone signs, but they only run from 8 to 9 a.m. and later from 2 to 4 p.m. That is fine for the children attending Garheime Elementary but for Molasky students who walk to school at 7 a.m., it raises some concerns.
      "If the lights were programmed to come on earlier, our kids would be safer," Lopez said. "Our kids are taking their lives into their hands every time they cross Cimarron. We need those school zone lights turned on earlier so they include the middle school students who walk to school earlier."
      Brown brought with him representatives of the city of Las Vegas Public Works department who diligently jotted notes concerning problem areas around the school, including the complaint of Lopez, who said some of the problems are easy to solve.
      "In our case all they have to do is reset the timer on these lights," Lopez said. "Such a simple thing can have a profound effect on the safety of our children."
      Brown and his assistant, Laurie Kruse, met with many of the parents and wrote down their phone numbers and concerns with the aim of looking into each one.
      "Some of these problems are the result of development in the area and will go away," Brown said. "Others are problems my staff and I will look into and make sure we solve to make the journey to school much safer for these children."