Pedestrianize Las Vegas Strip, Says Clark County Commissioner

Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom is talking to Las Vegas Strip casinos to see if they are amenable to pedestrianizing parts of the city’s famous thoroughfare at least some of the time.

Segerblom was inspired by the recent NFL Draft when officials closed access to traffic for the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard from Flamingo Road to the entrance of Paris and Bellagio. That was to cope with the expected influx of around 600,000 people for the three-day event from April 28 to 30.

But to Segerblom, it was a revelation to see people walking around, enjoying space that would normally be clogged with traffic.

one interesting aspect of the draft is the closing of the strip – i think we should consider doing this permanently, people love walking between the properties

— Tick Segerblom (@tsegerblom) April 29, 2022

Presumably, an exception would be made for Formula One cars.

Dissenting Voices

Segerblom told LVSportsBiz Monday that he received more responses to his Tweet than any he had ever sent.

And while many were positive, others were not down with it.

“How would I deliver/restock the Target on the Strip?” asked one disgruntled delivery driver. “How would I deliver to the Casino Royale? These places are ONLY assessable [sic] to delivery trucks through their driveways that are on the Strip.”

Another wondered what the sidewalk and walkovers would be for if the plan ever came to fruition. Others said Segerblom’s suggestion was typical of the way county and city officials think only of tourists, and not workers and residents.

One even suggested, without irony, that workers were being “thrown under a bus.”

But many locals were receptive to the idea.

“Been here since ’78,” said one. “The Strip should be like Fremont. Absolutely nobody uses the Strip to commute. Redo the whole deal to make it walkable & the city can rent spots to vendors in the medians.”

‘Walking is the Future’

Taking all this on board, Segerblom has modified his plans. He told LVSportsBiz that it would be interesting to experiment with the closing part of Las Vegas Boulevard to motorized vehicles on weekend mornings. He would bounce the idea off the big Strip casinos to see what they thought, he added.

Walking and walkability is kind of the future, especially for the younger kids, so I would love to [see it happen]. That’d be the goal,” he told local ABC affiliate, KTNV.

But this is not something that is likely to happen overnight, even if the casinos do get on board, he said. Officials will still have to assess what did and didn’t work with the NFL Draft before making a decision.