When you get off of exit 7 of Interstate 215, you leave the freeway for Eastern Avenue. Near the freeway it is a major arterial with consistent shopping centers, restaurants, and businesses. All these businesses add up to traffic. The result is that life on Eastern Avenue is often not life in the fast lane but in the slow lane. When developers over built this part of Eastern Avenue, they spared a 7-acre parcel of land at the southeast corner of Eastern Avenue and Pebble Road from asphalt. It is Pebble Park.
Driving by Pebble Park often on my commute, it is hard to believe that there is a peaceful place bordering the stop and go traffic of Eastern Avenue. Yesterday, I would spend time in this place. I just left work and was sitting in that long red light where eastbound Pebble Road stopped for Eastern Avenue traffic. Sitting at the light, my eyes were looking toward a magnificent sundown over the nearby Black Mountain. One of my dearest activities is spending time in the open spaces surrounding Las Vegas. Unfortunately I can't get out there the series of days that I work. The sun coming down over Black Mountain is a connection to the open spaces that I cherish. When the long light finally changed to green, I proceeded to the first right which is Topaz Street toward the tiny parking lot.
The complaint I have about Pebble Park is that the parking lot only holds three vehicles. The majority of the parking is along Topaz Drive.
Pebble Park is rectangular shaped park between Pebble Road and the I-215 soundwall. When you walk into the park, you see a walkway toward a playground. This is a neat playground with tall flower sculpture things. The walkway crosses the Pitman Wash where it divides into an oval walkway through open space of grass bordered by Moon Nursery and Pebble Road up to Eastern Avenue. The walkway includes sufficient lighting. The few people that I saw were spending quality time with their dogs. There have been complaints over people failing to pick up after their dogs. I'll take this nuisance over graffiti. Pebble Park seems to be relatively graffiti free. When a park is graffiti free, it gives me the impression that the criminal shadow is not following me. Another thing that creates an impression that crime is not a major concern is that Moon Nursery has trees for sale alongside the oval trail. If crime is an issue, people would walk into the park to steel these nursery trees.
The highlight of the park is the uninterrupted view of Black Mountain. Although Black Mountain is a few miles distant, this view gives it the illusion that it is close by. This is a spectacular location to take in the sundown and sunrise over Black Mountain. The pictures below are Yelp postcards of the sundown and sunrise over Black Mountain seen from Pebble Park.
Pebble Park is a good Park that could be great. It's greatest challenge is connectivity. It is the westernmost point of the Pitman Wash Trail, the multiuse path that winds through Green Valley toward Cornerstone Park. Continuing onto the Pitman Wash Trail requires crossing four lanes of traffic on Pebble Road. I would like to see Pitman Wash Trail rerouted into the wash through a tunnel beneath Pebble Road that would connect to Pebble Park. Better yet, Pebble Park could be a hub connecting to Cactus Wren Park and the Beltway Bike Trail. If you drew a line directly south across Interstate 215, you would connect to the Cactus Wren Trail and perpendicular Beltway Bike Trail. The Pitman Wash tunnels under Interstate 215 could be expanded to accommodate people. This would improve the quality of life by expanding recreation opportunities and keeping bicyclists and pedestrians away from the major traffic of Eastern in the vicinity of Interstate 215.
Sometimes in life it's the little things that are a big deal. On the long days when I work, it is a little thing such as the sun coming down over a mountain that is a big thing. After hours of negatively, watching the sun come down made my day. The thing I really like about Pebble Park is that it creates the illusion that Black Mountain is close up. I think I will see another day end at Pebble Park as the sun goes down over Black Mountain. read more