THE CITY OF Las Vegas Planning and Development Department recently received two APEX 2006 Awards of Excellence. The Northwest Open Space Plan won in the Government Agency Communications category and the trail marker design for the historic Pioneer Trail won in the Exhibits, Displays & Signage category. These two winning submissions were among approximately 5,000 entries in 102 categories.

Director M. Margo Wheeler, AICP of the city's Planning and Development Department, said that the city shares this recognition with Rita Schoonmaker, city graphic artist, and Courtney Mooney, a city historic preservation officer, for their outstanding content and design of the Pioneer Trail markers.

Deputy Director Tom Perrigo, AICP, who directed the Northwest Open Space Plan effort, expressed his appreciation to the professional consultant team that was commissioned to work on the plan; Greenways Incorporated, The Greenway Team, JW Zunino Associates, ETC Institute and the Trust for Public Land. The entry included the published plan document (www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/NW_Open_Space_Plan.pdf), its supporting brochure (www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/NWOpenSpaceBroch.pdf) and a project Web site that was developed during the planning process.