Veterans Parkway now 35 mph at night to reduce horse-related crashes

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - The City of Reno has lowered the speed of Veterans Parkway between Geiger Grade and South Meadows to 35 miles an hour at night.

They hope to prevent horse-related car accidents.

“Most of the horse hits are at night when the horses are dark,” said Reno City Councilmember Naomi Duerr.

“People are driving faster than they can see the horses.”

Since 2019, there were 33 car accidents involving horses in southeast Reno and 14 of them were on Veterans Parkway.

In 2022, there were 8 horse-related crashes and they all happened at night.

“Typically, every car is totaled. People are shaken up, sometimes even have PTSD,” said Duerr.

Duerr says these signs will be in place for the next year to see if accidents with wild horses decrease.

“This is really a trial to see if a lowered speed at night will really have an impact,” she said.

The Reno Police Department says they will be focused on warning drivers are the change. But that doesn’t mean you won’t get a speeding ticket.

“We might be educating people who are going 45,” said Lt. Michael Browett of the Reno Police Department.

“If you are coming through here at 50, 60 well at any time that’s too fast.”

As the snow melts, horses will come out of the foothills looking for food and water. Duerr says this will be a great test to see if the 27 new signs work.

“We’re going to see if there’s any impact at all and we’re going to see how our residents respond to it,” Duerr said.

Copyright 2023 KOLO. All rights reserved.