Neon to Nature

A Southern Nevada Regional System of Trails & Open Spaces.

Background

A Southern Nevada Open Space and Trails Summit was held in October 2007. This Summit was called by the Outside Las Vegas Foundation and co-sponsored by 18 other governmental and community organizations. At the close of the Summit, the fifteen governmental agencies signed a “letter of intent” to work collaboratively to further develop and implement a regional open space and trail system for Southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition (local agencies) and the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (federal agencies) jointly chartered a Regional Open Space and Trail Workgroup. The Workgroup meets monthly and is charged with the task of overseeing the development and implementation of the Regional System.

One of the first tasks was to brand the system. The Workgroup developed the brand “Neon to Nature” to emphasize the extraordinary opportunities for residents and visitors to experience the other side of Las Vegas – the natural non-Strip experience.


Purpose

The purpose of the "Neon to Nature" Open Space & Trails System is to improve the quality of life and community character by providing an interconnected system of trails in Southern Nevada linking residential, civic, commercial and business landscapes to park, open space and recreational facilities operated by federal, state and local governments.


Goals

The key goals of "Neon to Nature" are to:

• provide links to key public park, open space and recreational facilities
• provide connectivity between neighborhoods and across jurisdictions and key barriers such as major highways
• create a system that is readily accessible from neighborhoods, residents and places of employment
• provide attractive open space corridors with distinguishing topographic, historic, ecological or cultural features
• provide links to or interconnections with existing trails

• 760 miles of urban off-street multi-use trails. Of this total, 145 miles are presently completed and open for use and an additional 155 miles are funded and in various stages of design and construction
• 252 current miles of off-street multi-use non-motorized trails on adjacent public lands that are presently available for public use. This number will increase once on-going trail planning on the federal lands surrounding Las Vegas are completed and construction begins.
• 735 miles of on-street bike lands. Of this total, about 185 miles now available for bike use.
• 395 miles of on-street bike routes. Of this total, about 76 miles now available for bike use.

• a means to build community and sense of place
• an effective means to improve health and wellness, an avenue for meeting minimum daily exercise requirements
• social equity
• an opportunity for neighborhood and family socialization
• an alternative mode of transportation with positive air quality benefits and reduction in congestion and the carbon imprint.
• portals to nature and connection between people and their landscape
• relief and places for solace, contemplation and inspiration
• positive economic impacts