LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — What changes do you want to see in your community?
Hundreds of people living in the east valley answered that question in 2022 as part of the Rafael Rivera Revitalization Plan survey.
More than 350 people and 150 businesses make up the feedback that Olivia Diaz tries to address on a daily basis.
“In a way, it kind of confirms what I’ve intuitively known from growing up in this area,” Diaz said.
“It gives us the opportunity to seek solutions and hopefully rise to the occasion of bringing something different.”
Diaz has served on Las Vegas City Council since 2019, overseeing Ward 3 which encompasses the east Las Vegas area.
FOX 5 spoke with Diaz about what improvements have been instituted since the survey results were collected three years ago.
Keep in mind, when asked through the survey what’s one thing people would change about the eastside, there were 26 unique answers.
Diaz addressed several expansion projects in recent years, such as the addition of three parks to the area during her time as councilwoman.
“I‘m happy to say that in six years we added the East Las Vegas Family Park and Arroyo Vista Park as well, which is an equestrian theme park for it’s very close in proximity to horse zoned properties,” Diaz said.
“We have Freedom Park, which is one of the biggest gem parks that we have because it’s the biggest size on the east side and we’ve done many modifications upgrading the skateboard component, adding mini pitch soccer courts to them, and in the future, we’re even updating the restrooms and adding a water feature component for our kids.”
Diaz said her office is constantly trying to evolve with what the community needs.
Going forward, she wants to tackle on of the larger complaints from the survey.
Public safety.
“We’ve been talking about flock camera systems that read license plates in our park assets and different community centers so that it monitors the traffic that’s coming in and out of our parking lots,” Diaz said.
“We’ve been trying to tackle, how do we make our streets safer for our kids, who are in a certain zone and there’s multiple schools.”
Diaz also touted future funding to redevelop Stewart Avenue between 6th Street and Nellis, particularly addressing sidewalks that are not safe or ADA compliant.
Community centers also came up which FOX 5 highlighted last week addressing parents’ call for more activities for their kids.
It all comes down to communication which Diaz wants everyone to know is top of mind for her and her team.
“We just want to ensure that whether they communicate with us through our social media channels, through our e-mail, through our phone line, that they know that they’re being heard and that we’re taking note of their needs and their concerns,” Diaz said.
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