Red Rock bikers may get new route
Federal program to fund planned path inspired by River Mountains trail
Outdoor enthusiasts who want a safer outdoor option to travel to and from Red Rock Canyon could have a path to do just that.
A $14.7 million, 5.5-mile trail from Sky Vista Drive in Summerlin to the visitor center at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is planned, pending approval Tuesday by the Clark County Commission.
Funding would derive mainly from an $11.7 million federal lands access program grant awarded to Save Red Rock, $2.93 million from the state Department of Transportation and $605,000 from
Parkway and Flamingo Road — concerning when Metro police recently reported that 36 students have been hit by cars while traveling to and from school in 2019-20 alone.
For parents who work during drop-off or pick-up times, have young children at home or are physically disabled, hungry or otherwise unable to take their children to school have no choice but sending elementary-aged students to make the trek alone. Or, perhaps not sending them at all — the three elementary schools around the Cambridge Community Center report chronic absenteeism rates of eight to 15 points higher than the average for CCSD schools.
Farkas doesn’t expect the district to come up with help for these
students, but would like to see a community-based solution in the form of volunteers — possibly from Americorps — who can form what’s known as a “walking bus” to get kids safely to school. Similar programs were started at three other CCSD elementary schools last year through a partnership between UNLV, the city of Las Vegas’ Reinvent Schools program and the Clark County School District’s Safe Routes to School.
The idea is a lot like the Family to Family program itself. Once state-funded, its money ran dry in Recession-era cuts. But by drawing on donors and volunteers, the center has been able to press on as a multifunctional space that serves at times as a birthday party room for kids experiencing housing insecurity, a play area for babies and toddlers and a classroom space for all ages, including adults, teaching topics such as parenting, good nutrition
and life skills.
It’s like an auxiliary support system for students, with the kind of boots-on-the-ground perspective that should be invaluable for anyone looking to explore the root causes of inequity, which are more vast and complex than any one report or school district could address. But if Family to Family is any indication, CCSD doesn’t have to go it alone.
“In order to make meaningful improvements in educational success, the day-to-day issues that families encounter need to be understood,” Farkas wrote in a letter to me. “It takes more than a backpack and a new pair of shoes to be ready for school.”
Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.