Last year, the F1 Las Vegas race was considered a financial success for some, and a complete disaster for others. While many resorts made a bundle of cash, smaller local businesses suffered from road closures. Additionally, traffic was an absolute nightmare and casino employees were inconvenienced for months trying to navigate the maze of construction barricades. Fast forward to this year, and changes are being made.
The first significant change involves reducing road work time from nine months last year to just three months this year. This reduction is largely due to the fact that only minimal maintenance was needed instead of complete repaving. Furthermore, most of the road work for F1 Las Vegas has been carried out overnight to minimize traffic disruptions.
Additionally, F1 staff have partnered with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to launch a resort employee mobility program, essentially a park-and-ride initiative for casino workers. This helps them avoid traffic hassles and reduces the number of cars on the road, benefiting everyone.
F1 Las Vegas has also developed an interactive bilingual website to help local residents navigate roadways in the circuit area. This resource allows them to plan around construction and potential blockages, giving them a heads-up on any possible delays.
Finally, they are working to lessen the impact on local businesses by narrowing the Flamingo vehicular bridge from four lanes to two. This change aims to improve access for customers to local shops. While it remains to be seen how this will affect the bottom line for small businesses, it’s a step in the right direction.
Will these changes collectively change the F1 Las Vegas event from a nightmare to a dream? That may be too much to ask. But one year removed from the inaugural event there has at least been some progress. More importantly, it shows that the city and F1 are listening to concerns. So if this year’s event in better, perhaps that’s a victory. And if so, fine tuning these changes moving forward may eventually lead to the Las Vegas Grand Prix being a time to look forward to for locals.
