A new ordinance went into effect in January that makes it illegal to block traffic on pedestrian bridges crossing the Las Vegas Strip. Last week, the ACLU of Nevada filed legal documents saying the new order is vague and unconstitutional..
A pedestrian flow zone can result in a $1,000 fine. A handful of signs on the sidewalks above the elevators read: “Stop, stand, or do anything that causes another to stop,” a sign that the law is not only vague but also a violation of constitutional rights.Tia Smith of the Nevada ACLU said, among other things, that the ordinance does not define how long is too long to stop.
People are stopping and tying their shoes. It’s now criminal,” Smith said. “They pull over and Google on their phone and find their next target. It’s now criminal. There are just a lot of really innocent activities, things that people do on these bridges. They become criminals under this ordinance.”Smith believes the ordinance should be repealed entirely because police already have the tools to deal with crimes like assault or theft.
The Clark County Commission said. Since the ordinance was passed, police have increased by as much as 29% between 2018 and 2022, and most incidents occurred on pedestrian bridges, despite the fact that bridges make up less than 5% of the pedestrian areas of the Las Vegas Strip.If the ordinance remains in place, Smith believes it needs to be more specific, to protect people’s rights and prevent government overreach.”
It needs to be narrowly tailored,” he said. And that’s why it’s not really here. You can’t say that something that prohibits any stopping is strictly enforced.”
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is not releasing information on how many citations have been issued under the new pedestrian zone ordinance.
This story. was prepared Mountain West News Bureau in cooperation with Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico. The Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for National Broadcasting..
