Kirman Avenue shutdown meet planned

A meeting at the Veteran's Hospital will be held on Sept. 17 to discuss the hospital's plan to request shutdown of Kirman Avenue.

The idea was first floated by the hospital last year. Since then, according to one resident, “Several neighbors have seen men walking the streets taking pictures of houses and monitoring traffic flow. Seems something is secretly being worked on.” The expected change would divert traffic from the already heavily trafficked Kirman into neighborhood residential streets

Kirman and Locust, which run parallel to each other one block apart, are major one-way arteries running between Plumb Lane and Second Street. Kirman runs south, Locust north. Route 13 on the municipal bus line uses both streets.

When Shoppers Square was permitted to expand across Locust a block north of Plumb in 2001, blocking that street and sharply reducing its usefulness, it generated substantial resident anger, as did a right-turn-only blockage of Locust at Mill Street.

But the Reno City Council has a history of yielding to institutions over residents in such disputes, as with use of Lander Street adjacent to Our Lady of the Snows School. The blockage of Locust Street at Casazza in May 2001 was accomplished by a unanimous vote of the city council.

The hospital's meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in conference room L1927 in a small building on the hospital's west side. No word yet on whether nearby residents plan their own meetings.