MINUTES OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Sixty-eighth Session May 18, 1995 The Senate Committee on Transportation was called to order by Chairman William R. O'Donnell, at 1:38 p.m., on Tuesday, May 18, 1995, in Room 226 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Senator William R. O'Donnell, Chairman Senator Maurice Washington, Vice Chairman Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen Senator Jon C. Porter Senator Joseph M. Neal, Jr. Senator Raymond C. Shaffer Senator O. C. Lee STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Don O. Williams, Chief Principal Research Analyst Diane Rea, Committee Secretary OTHERS PRESENT: Tom Stephens, Director, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) Robert Hilderbrand, Chief Safety Engineering, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) Dick Schaffer, Pedestrian Safety Planner, Clark County Comprehensive Planning Dave Gay, Principal Planner, Clark County Comprehensive Planning Mark Brown, Vice President, Howard Hughes Corporation Marlen Schultz, Highway Safety Coordinator, Office of Traffic Safety, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV&PS) Susan Newberry, Bicycle Program Administrator, Office of Traffic Safety, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV&PS) Captain Carl Fruge', Traffic Division, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (METRO) Don Jonker, Director of Safety, MGM Grand Senator O'Donnell opened the hearing with Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.R.) 20. SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 20: Urges Congress to approve designation of National Highway System. (BDR R-1851) Tom Stephens, Director, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), testified and provided a handout on the National Highway System (Exhibit C). He said the National Highway System (NHS) has its genesis in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991. The purpose is to identify those highways which represent the intercity/interstate routes. He said if this is not done by September 30, 1995, the Interstate and National Highway System funding will not continue to come to the states. The proposed National Highway System for the State of Nevada is shown in (Exhibits D, E, and F). Mr. Stephens explained why the routes were chosen to be proposed national highways. Senator Jacobsen said he would rather see the Interstate expanded. He said the National Highway System is probably more beneficial, but the Interstate is the most important. Mr. Stephens said the only roads the state will get for Interstate are indicated on the maps in dark blue. Nevada's Interstate system is a bridge between the east and California. Senator Neal asked if federal money is used to maintain the roads indicated in red on the maps? Mr. Stephens said both federal and state money are used to maintain those roads. Senator Neal asked what is the advantage of making them part of the National Highway System? Will only federal money be used to maintain the roads? Mr. Stephens said that it allows for the continued use of federal money. If this bill is not passed by September 30, 1995, the flow of money to the states for these highways will stop. He said Nevada's share of that money is $51 million. Nevada will be in a bind on September 30 without this money. Senator Jacobsen asked if they should be asking for an acknowledgment of receipt for the resolution. Senator O'Donnell closed the hearing on S.J.R. 20. SENATOR LEE MOVED TO DO PASS S.J.R. 20. SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR PORTER WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.) * * * * * Senator O'Donnell opened the hearing on the pedestrian fatalities in Clark County. He said another elderly woman was hit and killed on the strip in downtown Las Vegas. She was a tourist. Mr. Stephens provided a handout (Exhibit G) showing the upward trend in fatalities in Nevada. He explained the largest cause is jaywalking and running into the traffic. He said some pages show the alcohol involvement; others are traffic accidents. He said the red marks on the maps show the fatalities and the blues are people hit, but not killed. Robert Hilderbrand, Chief Safety Engineering, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), testified an injury is determined from the information the responding officer puts on the accident form. NDOT relies on this information to get their statistics. Mr. Stephens provided two more maps showing all the pedestrian accidents from January 1994 through February 1995 (Exhibit H) and showing only the fatal accidents 5 years prior to 1993 (Exhibit I). Senator O'Donnell asked how many accidents involving pedestrian injuries there were in 1995? Mr. Stephens stated that the 27 shown is the statistical count up to a couple of months ago. Dick Schaffer, Pedestrian Safety Planner, Clark County Comprehensive Planning, testified the trends show a significant rise in bicycle/pedestrian accidents versus those of automobile accidents. He said the resolution for Clark County's bicycle/pedestrian accidents requires education of the residents and visitors, design issues addressed for the use of crossing barriers and pedestrian bridges, enforcement of the Nevada state statutes on pedestrian rights and duties, an alcohol-related outreach program, and a future funding study and an analysis of sites affecting pedestrian safety in Clark County. Senator O'Donnell asked if there are any plans for barriers and an elevated crosswalk on Flamingo at the strip? Mr. Schaffer replied that there are plans for NDOT to widen that area and he is involved in discussions with the casinos for the pedestrian bridges. Senator O'Donnell asked if that will cut down on the number of accidents in that area? Mr. Schaffer replied that until those projects are completed there is no way to know. Dave Gay, Principal Planner, Clark County Comprehensive Planning, testified he concurred with Mr. Schaffer's testimony. He said there are designs for the bridge over Flamingo and busy on-and-off ramps along the freeways. Mark Brown, Vice President, Howard Hughes Corporation, testified the Howard Hughes Corporation is developing Summerlin and are managers of the Fashion Show Mall on the strip. They have put considerable time and money into developing safe crosswalks in the areas for which they are responsible. He said the corporation will support and endorse public education programs. He offered their leadership and financial support in some sort of public/private partnership. He said they would like to see METRO (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department) broaden their training program, and would like to see the utilities take a more aggressive response in addressing these issues. Senator Jacobsen asked if there is a determination of fault for each fatality? Marlen Schultz, Highway Safety Coordinator, Office of Traffic Safety, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV&PS), testified the data on injuries is not collected, but the fatality information for a 5-year trend shows that approximately 50 percent are occurring in the Clark County area. She said 67 percent to 74 percent are located in the Clark County area and in 1995 they are at 82 percent, through May 11. She said the alcohol-related fatalities count is about 50 percent in Clark County. Senator Washington asked if the pedestrians who were impaired are at fault? Ms. Schultz stated that it does vary. The contributing factor is that the pedestrian was impaired. She said that she could not be specific as to the count even though the pedestrian may have been impaired, he may not have been the actual cause of the accident. Senator Jacobsen asked if it was the driver who was alcohol- related or was the pedestrian the one who was alcohol-related. Ms. Schultz replied that out of the 17 fatal accidents that were alcohol-related, 14 were pedestrian-impaired. She said in the Clark County area there are many senior citizens and they are significantly involved in the pedestrian fatalities. She said that the majority of these accidents are not occurring at intersections. They are happening where the drivers are not expecting to have a pedestrian. Susan Newberry, Bicycle Program Administrator, Office of Traffic Safety, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV&PS), testified she has created SALLY (Save A Life Like Yours). She is a character that was created to assist in the training for safety in the State of Nevada. She said their office is creating brochures for the safety needs of today versus the lack of that need several years ago. Education and planning are their primary concern today and she is working with a public relations firm. She said that existing policies are being ignored today and need to be enforced. She said the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) recently completed their planning document and did not mention pedestrians. Safety needs to be a transportation issue. She said there is no judicial support for Clark County and that is a problem which needs to be looked at. There are a number of laws that need to be strengthened and enforced. Senator O'Donnell stated that the budget for the Office of Traffic Safety is weak. They have all the statistics, but have no money to put their ideas into effect. He asked if ISTEA money could be put into use here. Ms. Schultz stated there is more specific money at NDOT for the planning phase of the program. Their office takes all the statistics and prioritizes them. The pedestrian/bicycle issues are considered a joint priority by NHSA (National Highway Safety Administration) and FHWA (Federal HighWay Administration). She said her office has been able to provide Ms. Newberry with funding to develop program materials under grant application submissions annually. She said it does require more funding than the office has been able to allocate. Senator Washington asked if Ms. Schultz's office considers pedestrian safety a high or low level of priority? Ms. Schultz replied they consider pedestrian safety a very high level of priority. The key to federal money is being able to identify a problem that shows significantly what the problem is and what they intend to do to combat it, in order to justify or warrant additional funds being spent in that area. Senator Porter said the statistics show 763 total accidents from January 1994 through February 1995. He asked how many were tourists? Ms. Schultz replied that she thought those numbers were provided by NDOT. Senator Porter asked on the figures she had provided showed, four were nonresident and 20 were resident. He asked how many of those were hit by local residents? Ms. Schultz replied that she can collect that information and provide it for the committee. A lot of injury accidents are happening on the strip. Senator O'Donnell said he thinks the committee is asking where the cause and effect is; where do we want to put some money? Senator Porter asked how Nevada rates in the national average? Ms. Schultz replied pedestrian fatalities seem to be much higher in Nevada. Nationally pedestrians are about 8 percent of the typical highway traffic fatalities. In the State of Nevada they are about 13 percent, and in Clark County they are about 20 percent of all fatalities. Nevada is among the top 10 percent in the nation. Captain Carl Fruge', Traffic Division, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (METRO), testified METRO does not include the resort corridor. That is the responsibility of the Nevada Highway Patrol Division (NHP). He said pedestrian deaths have been the leading cause of traffic accident fatalities since 1993. He said education is an important part of the solution. The fault does not fall with just adults. The task is more complex with the adults, but children are a larger cause. He said people want to cross the street where it is convenient for them. Senator O'Donnell asked about the program called TARGET? Captain Fruge' replied most of the laws that control pedestrians definitely favor the 3,000 pound vehicle that is coming at the person. The laws tell the pedestrian that he must yield to traffic unless he is in a crosswalk. He stated that information on this issue had been faxed to the committee members (Exhibit J). Senator Jacobsen asked, "As an investigating officer, do you make the determination at the scene, at the time, as to where the fault lies?" Captain Fruge' replied that they try to. Some accidents require more follow-up investigation to make that determination. If there are witnesses available it is easily determined. Senator Jacobsen asked if there is a need for more advertising or is the need in redesign? Captain Fruge' stated right now there is no advertising. The funding is the key to solving this problem. Senator Jacobsen asked if anything is being done on a national level? Ms. Schultz replied the issue of pedestrian safety involves the young and the old, with recognition of the oncoming traffic. Don Jonker, Director of Safety, MGM Grand, testified there is a tunnel being built from the parking garage to the MGM facility and they built a monorail, which they hope will be the mode of travel for the future in Las Vegas. Traffic safety should come from a citizens' advisory group being formed by all the different agencies involved, to make the educational program exciting. Senator Jacobsen asked if the strip having outside exhibitions results in people being more concerned with what they want to see rather than being concerned with where they are? Mr. Jonker said that has a lot to do with it, but people come to Las Vegas to have fun and do not think about the surrounding traffic. Senator Washington adjourned the meeting at 3:31 p.m. Senator Washington asked that a fax from Nick and Cecile Rizzo be included in the minutes for this day (Exhibit K) regarding the Deena Rizzo Bill. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Diane C. Rea, Committee Secretary APPROVED BY: Senator William R. O'Donnell, Chairman DATE: Senate Committee on Transportation May 18, 1995 Page