Mound House vehicle crashes, solutions to be addressed at community meeting Tuesday
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Mon, 03/04/2024 - 4:10pm
Event Date:
March 5, 2024 - 7:00pm UPDATE: Following the Jan. 23 tragic accident on Highway 50 in Mound House where a 10-year-old girl died, Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey counties invited representatives from multiple sectors to discuss traffic and pedestrian safety in the small Lyon County community.
The initial meeting in Mound House was to review traffic safety concerns and to discuss possibilities for improvements. Attendees noted that Mound House is divided by Highway 50.
Currently there are no stoplights, crosswalks or pedestrian footbridges, overpasses in the community which experiences significant commuter traffic from surrounding towns.
Another meeting, this one of the Mound House Advisory Board, is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m. at the Mound House Community Center at 56 Red Rock Road.
The meeting was prompted to address the pattern of traffic crash related issues. Most recently, on Jan. 23, 2024, Ella Márquez Conchas, 10, died in a pedestrian accident on US-50 in Mound House.
Data collected shows the fatal crash rate along the one-mile stretch of US-50 through Mound House, documented during "Crash Data Years January 2018 to January 23, 2024," exceeds the statewide average.
Data obtained from the Nevada Department of Transportation underscores that the section of US-50 East from the Lyon County border to Kit Kat Drive in Lyon County exhibits a heightened fatality crash rate compared to the statewide averages for an Urban Principal Arterial roadway.
From January 2018 to January 23, 2024, three fatal crashes occurred in this specific segment of Highway 50. However, in the other categories such as Injury Crashes (14), Total Crashes (42), and Property Damage Only crashes (25), this stretch of roadway demonstrates a crash rate lower than the statewide average.
The Jan. 29, 2024 meeting in Mound House regarding traffic safety included representatives from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson City Public Works Transportation Division, and Nevada Highway Patrol.
Also attending were HCC director Wendy Madson and several staff members from HCC, Lyon County Commissioners Wes Henderson and Tammy Hendrix, business owner Bill Miles, and Mound House Advisory Board member Melinda Cash, who has lived in the community for more than 30 years.
In immediate steps, HCC gathered a list of Mound House business owners to approach about safety messaging that could be placed on their property through signage or banners. Safe business access has clear benefits for employees, customers and business owners in Mound House.
When contacted, business manager Suzette Cole responded right away by adding messaging to the large electronic billboard on Highway 50 in Mound House. Among the messages: “Drive safe. Slow down. We work and live here.”
The group also discussed opportunities for expanding driver and pedestrian safety education in the area’s schools and communities through existing safety programs.
Also listed as a short term goal, reaching out to groups and locals to share a unified message about traffic safety through social media, flyers, and meetings.
Longer term interventions that might be considered include lighting, signage, medians, striping, etc. The Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) recently conducted a survey to better understand the transportation needs of users on Highway 50 from Carson City to Mound House.
Recommendations for “safety and operational improvements” may result from that study. In a news release, the city of Carson explained that CAMPO recently conducted “a corridor study along U.S. 50 between the I-580 interchange in Carson City and Highlands Drive in Mound House. The purpose of this study is to better understand transportation needs and concerns along this corridor related to safety, traffic congestion, business access and pedestrian and bicycle accommodation.”
Melinda Cash, Chair of the Mound House Advisory Board, noted that Kelly Norman, Senior Transportation Planner with the Public Works Department of Carson City, has been invited to speak at the Tuesday, March 5 public meeting of the Mound House Advisory Board.
Norman will describe preliminary findings from a recent tour of parts of Highway 50 in Mound House. She’ll also explain regional road safety plans and possible engineering and programmatic solutions to improve road safety. The board meets at 7 p.m. at the Mound House Community Center at 56 Red Rock Road.
Those who work and live in Mound House and those who commute through Mound House are invited to join the new traffic safety coalition in amplifying unified messaging. HCC Executive Director Wendy Madson said “we look forward to the forward movement this group and others will bring for the safety of our families and communities.”
For more information or to participate in sharing messages to improve traffic and pedestrian safety in Mound House, contact Healthy Communities’ Director Wendy Madson at wendy@hcclsc.org.
