KVIG Informative

Two years into a $378 million bus rapid transit project, Maryland Parkway business owners say the construction is close to putting them under — and the notice they got wasn’t enough.

Business owners along Maryland Parkway say the Regional Transportation Commission’s bus rapid transit construction has cut deeply into revenue as work moves through the corridor near Sierra Vista Drive and Dumont Boulevard. One owner told a reporter his revenue has dropped close to 50%, citing blocked access as a primary concern.

Bryanna Cortez, a tattoo artist at King of Hearts Tattoo across from Boulevard Mall, said business has fallen roughly 20% since construction moved into the stretch near her shop, with walk-in customers increasingly avoiding the area altogether.

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One business owner said Sierra Vista Drive at Maryland Parkway was open one week and closed the next without notice. The RTC disputes that characterization, saying the corridor was canvassed in advance to collect business contact information, and that the Sierra Vista area specifically has been canvassed five separate times for different construction impacts, including a pedestrian bridge demolition and a water service interruption.

The RTC said it sends weekly project updates through email, text and social media to roughly 20,000 subscribers, and that it understands the importance of utility continuity for businesses operating along the corridor.

Construction on the 12.5-mile project began in downtown Las Vegas in August 2024, with work south of Sahara Avenue starting that October. RED LINE bus service is scheduled to begin Aug. 23, though some construction and finishing work will continue through the end of the year.

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The project is separate from other infrastructure and utility work happening simultaneously within the same corridor, which the RTC acknowledges can compound the disruption for businesses and drivers alike.

The RTC says its outreach process has been thorough. The business owners living through it say notice on paper and warning that actually lets them plan around a closed driveway are two different things — and for now, they’re the ones absorbing the gap between the two.