Here's Why Peggy Supports Complete Streets

One day while driving to shoot a video of our advocacy efforts at the most dangerous intersection in the Las Vegas Valley I saw a stranger in a mobility chair, Peggy, navigating a challenging sidewalk and something caught my eye.

That something ended up being her beautiful toddler granddaughter sitting on her footplate. We flipped a “legal” u-turn and started a conversation that led to a key video that was viewed over 3k times and still climbing. In addition, I shared this story with the Regional Transportation Commission and they are now working with us on an update to their Complete Streets policy.

Peggy has Spina bifida and talks about the sidewalks around her house and challenges. Specifically, she talks about a pole right in the middle of the sidewalk, cracks, and gaps that make her have to go into the busy road that is unsafe when she is trying to shop or go to the park with her little granddaughter. We did something about that sidewalk. We reached out to our coalition partners and the RTC of Southern Nevada, who contacted the county public works and city public works and eventually the project manager of a construction site that had torn up the once ADA compliant sidewalk. They came out and fixed the sidewalk and routed around the pole, so all users benefit. After all the construction is finished they will replace the blacktop with a permanent ADA compliant sidewalk. It is great having these mini-successes along the way and it really highlights the relationships we have formed as we drive toward complete streets and health equity in Southern Nevada.

To learn more about our efforts to ensure that streets are built to share and accessible for all, please contact [email protected] or visit our facebook group and ask to join.

**** Blog article written by Ben Schmauss, AHA Nevada Government Relations Director