September '07 Las Vegas Government—Las Vegas Planning & Development Column

Twenty-Mile Trail Being Developed For City Residents

THE NEVADA DIVISION of State Lands has awarded $2.15 million in grant funds to the city of Las Vegas for the acquisition of a 4.61 acre neighborhood park site and trail head. This grant is for a parcel near the northeast corner of Lamb Boulevard and Washington Avenue, along the 20-mile Las Vegas Wash Trail Corridor. The city will be applying for Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act funding for design and construction.

"The city continues its commitment to add parks, trails and open space for its residents, and I'm pleased to see the Las Vegas Wash Trail Corridor continues to be developed in Ward 3," Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese said. "To date, over 13 acres have been acquired along the Las Vegas Wash Trail Corridor in neighborhoods of the eastern part of city."

The park and trail head will provide needed recreation amenities for the densely populated surrounding neighborhood that currently has very little public park access. It is another significant part of the larger vision of a recreation corridor and neighborhood park system along the Las Vegas Wash. Both are goals expressed in the city's Las Vegas 2020 Master Plan.

Features such as paved walkways, play and picnic areas, landscaping and restrooms are planned for this park and trailhead. It will connect to other neighborhood parks via the Las Vegas Wash Trail that will ultimately extend from Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The city of Las Vegas worked with the Trust for Public Land to acquire the site. The trust is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands and other natural places.

"This is the third acquisition in an ongoing effort to create new parks where people live in Las Vegas," said Reed Holderman, western regional director of the Trust for Public Land. "The result will be a series of neighborhood parks connected by a regional trail along the wash. The combined total of 13 acres is equivalent in size to six baseball diamonds."

The Las Vegas Wash is also an important ecological resource for southern Nevada. The trail's developed and maintained pathways will enhance and protect the condition of the wash's ecosystem while providing a recreational experience for trail users.