LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — While Formula 1 drivers hit the track for qualifying runs on Friday evening, the average driver navigating in and around the Las Vegas during race week strip has some of them stuck in gridlock.
Several tourists and locals say many of the road closures and detours brought on by the return of Formula 1 have been tough to get around, but some who are experiencing the return of the F1 Grand Prix say while there has been some congestion, it hasn’t compared to the inaugural event last year.
“I think it’s been a little bit better this year as opposed to last year, I think the second time around they learned a little more planned a little bit better,” said Las Vegas local, Abraham Gomez.
Others say while they are fine navigating the congestion, some say they do sympathize with drivers and employees trying to navigate from point A to point B.
“It hasn’t really affected me it’s affected my business and so I am in the office and I think that is great because that is good for business, good for the city, but a lot of the drivers are getting stuck in traffic and they are driving down the strip and then the road gets closed because there is a big crane pulling something from F1, so it’s frustrating for them,” said Paul Scally.
Hearing of those frustrations, some commuters say they decided to play things safe and avoid some of the headaches brought on by impatient drivers attempting to navigate the series of road closures and detours.
“I had read online that the streets were going to close about 2 o’clock so we kind of timed it so we kind of timed it to get here around 1 o’clock as they started closing everything down and then we kind of noticed a bunch of cops starting to close everything down,” said Tourist, Emmanuel Trujillo.
While some may have avoided those traffic headaches, video captured during the evening commute near Flamingo Road just east of the Las Vegas strip shows the congestion many are calling a nightmare to navigate.
“I have a good friend of mine, just to get home she lives in Henderson. It takes about 45-50 minutes at a minimum as opposed to 30 minutes with traffic and everything. So she says that it’s a nightmare,” Gomez added.
Despite the growing congestion ahead of race day, many who’ve already navigated the traffic are offering some helpful tips for commuters.
“If you’re coming to the race, get here early. If you are just going to enjoy Vegas, get here early,” Scally said.
“Be patient number one and if you are local maybe take a look at those backstreets. I use Waze and then obviously Google Maps as well, but try to get around it, but sometimes especially here right now the next couple of days it’s just going to be busy regardless of the strip I think,” Gomez said.
To stay up to date on F1 road closures and detours people can text F1LV to 31996.
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