Las Vegas Pedestrian Bridges

The Las Vegas pedestrian bridges are to Las Vegas what the subways are to New York City and the freeways to Los Angeles. The Las Vegas pedestrian bridges are utilitarian spaces along the Strip that provide transportation and local flavor along Las Vegas Boulevard. It is hard to believe that it has been a year-​and-​a-​half that I intended to write this review. I guess I was too busy reviewing restaurants and attractions that the pedestrian bridges led me to.
Along the four miles of the Las Vegas Strip there are 4 sets of bridges that cross over the road. They are at Tropicana Avenue, Harmon Road/​City Center, Flamingo Road, and Spring Mountain Road /​Venetian –Treasure Island. The Tropicana Avenue bridges that serve the MGM Grand, New York — New York, The Excalibur, and The Tropicana are the oldest. I remember my first impressions of Las Vegas back in 1996, were standing on the MGM Grand — New York –New York pedestrian bridge. As I write this, the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard at Tropicana Avenue is one of the most photographed intersections in the world. The MGM-​Tropicana bridge is a popular photo spot to photograph the Strip. In more recent times, just up the Strip, Clark County built pedestrian bridges to cross over Harmon Road and connect Planet Hollywood with City Center. These are the most modern pedestrian bridges featuring glass walls instead of wire. This is the only pedestrian bridge where people walk through a mall to return to the Strip. Further north are the Strip at Flamingo Road bridges that date back to the late 90s. The second most modern pedestrian bridges are a spaced apart set connecting Treasure Island, The Venetian complex, and Fashion Show. These are the second most modern that date back to the early 2000s when they built the Wynn.
Writing a review on pedestrian bridges seems pedestrian. However, these are the public landmarks of the Las Vegas Strip. This is where some of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas initiates. The party atmosphere of the clubs and bars overflows onto the pedestrian bridges. This is a public walkway where you can drink an adult beverage and cross paths with a costumed Darth Vadar and Micky Mouse.
Clark County builds and manages the pedestrian bridges. With the increase in traffic and new resorts, the County has built the bridges to eliminate the pedestrian and automobile conflict. As I write this, the County is planning to refurbish the bridges around Tropicana Avenue at the same time there is demand for a pedestrian bridge connecting The Bellagio walkway to Planet Hollywood. Unfortunately the County does a better job building the pedestrian bridges instead of managing them. It is poor management, that mandates a star decrease. The poor management can be blamed on a poor police presence. The media makes us so aware of the eye in the sky over the casinos. However, there is a need for security on the pedestrian bridges. On really bad days, the pedestrian bridges remind me of a what Times Square used to be like before Mayor Giuliani cleaned it up. I don’t mind the homeless, the costumed street performers, or even unlisenced merchants selling water, sunglasses, and even beer. It is the aggressive people that shatter the experience of the Las Vegas pedestrian bridges. What comes into mind are the people blocking traffic to hound you to buy their CDs. Nearly as bad are the people conning innocent people with card game scams. The worst stories I hear on the news. It is creepy when some of the bridges are dark. For whatever reason, streetlights illuminate over a suburban bike trail yet are nonexistent over a pedestrian connection between the MGM Grand and New York — New York. With the insufficient security presence comes vandalism. Graffiti carved into plate glass walls have marred the Strip at Flamingo pedestrian bridges. Now the County wants to spend tax dollars on putting up plate glass windows at the Strip at Tropicana bridges. The enclosed elevators are an atrosity. The inside of the elevators are so covered with graffiti and vandalism that it feels like you are in a restroom. It seems that certain Clark County politicians enjoy being in the limelight at a press conference when ground is broken on a pedestrian bridge but seem indifferent to maintainance and addressing security concerns.
The Las Vegas pedestrian bridges are a necessity to eliminate the pedestrian and motor vehicle conflict. Minus the pedestrian bridges, people would be putting their lives in their hands crossing these major intersections. However, people may be putting their lives in their hands crossing these bridges. Security is a necessity to eliminate the pedestrian criminal and pedestrian con artist conflict. As a consequence of poor management leading to insufficient security and criminal activity including graffiti and conning people, I rate the Las Vegas pedestrian bridges three stars.

Its a bridge and it prevents you from getting run over when you are drunk.
It gets a thumbs up from me.