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Traffic, road construction, gas taxes, highway safety- these are the first topics that come to peoples’ minds when they hear the word “transportation.” But what I learned from the Assembly Transportation Committee’s (one of four on which I’ve been placed) orientation in Las Vegas on Thursday was so much more.

On our day-long tour of road projects, transit modes and agency offices, we learned about the complex mesh of city, county, state and private efforts that come together to, at the simplest, move people and goods from point A to point B, and at the more complex, keep our Nevada economy humming along into the 21st century.

From the perspective of a northern Nevadan, I’m often struck by how large a disconnect there is between the on-the-ground traffic realities of Las Vegas and our understanding of traffic problems here in the Truckee Meadows. Certainly there’s no escaping the north-south political tension that impacts our transportation needs and spending, but I believe representing the residents of district 24 requires working together with legislators (read: the vast majority of the Legislature representing Clark County) and understanding the needs of ALL areas of the state (rural, urban, north, south.)

So what does the southern Nevada transportation experience teach us about transportation in the Truckee Meadows?

1. The future is already here. Anyone who has visited Vegas in the last few years has likely sat in traffic trying to get from one side of the Strip to the other by car or cab. On a recent visit of my own, it took 45 minutes just to get from the airport to a casino property not three miles away. As we continue to grow, our own traffic problems in Reno will make, if not addressed with creativity and fortitude, the times we already wait trying to navigate the Spaghetti Bowl seem like a leisurely walk in a park.

2. Public/private partnerships are on the table. We’re already hearing a lot about the possibility of toll roads and privately-financed highways to deal with our highway construction funding challenges (according to NDOT, highway construction costs have gone up 45% in the past three years alone.) Such proposals have proven controversial in other states and will require careful scrutiny for the protection of consumers and an understanding of how such proposals impact jobs and our economy. But other public/private partnerships have already taken root on a smaller scale in southern Nevada and may have applicability elsewhere in the state. If we’re to leverage the best in innovative technology and approaches, all options need to be considered.

One example: in Las Vegas, despite its dubious youth, the monorail is fast becoming an integral part of southern Nevada’s transit system. With Las Vegas Boulevard (”The Strip”) having been at vehicle capacity for a decade, the privately-owned and operated monorail’s future connection to the airport will be one more piece of the puzzle in ensuring tourists continue to fill casinos and drive our economy.

3. Other solutions may be right in front of us. Dreaming of a light-rail future for northern Nevada is intriguing, but the cost of the infrastructure and long-term commitment required quickly bring the planners, policy makers and we the taxpayers back to reality. One highlight of our orientation was our travel on the MAX bus, a unique two-section, hybrid electrical-diesel bus that looks and operates more like a high-passenger-volume train. In other words, with capacity and highway speed, it’s essentially light rail without the infrastructure/right-of-way requirements and rigidity of routes. And to the previous point, the MAX is made possible through the RTC’s operation and maintenance agreement with a private company that also operates transit systems in Canada, Bolivia and Columbia.

Smaller scale technological and collaborative solutions also bear consideration. The F.A.S.T Center, a unique multi-agency partnership (NDOT, NHP, RTC of Southern Nevada), brings together all the components of traffic management under one roof and on one technology platform. Signal management, congestion monitoring, emergency response and other functions are combined in one facility, culminating in a nerve center that looks more suited to launching a space shuttle than making sure Joe and Josephine tourist make it to the Blue Man Group show in time. Remote video monitoring is particularly powerful as it relates to empowering commuters to check on busy sections of roadway before setting out across town. (Side note, with the start of winter just days away, you owe it to yourself to bookmark CALTRANS’ web cams before your next trip over Donner.)

Watch this brief video of the F.A.S.T. Center’s monitoring screens. Includes mention of the project and highways costs.

Are the answers to our traffic problems and long-term transportation needs easy? Absolutely not. Placed in the context of other budget considerations that will be before the next legislative session, the choices become even more difficult. As one lobbyist put it to me the other day, “Is it really that important to cut someone’s commute by five minutes when we’ve got emergency rooms beyond capacity with patients turned away by an overburdened mental health system?”

I look forward to your input and feedback as I head into the session and grapple with these issues. Stay tuned! Be sure to check out more photos from the tour.

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