Sunday, February 21, 2010
Future Of Las Vegas Transportation Infrastructure Must Be Focused On Rail, Air And Land
By Robert L. Candiotti
As U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell prepares to make a decision on Las Vegas Monorail's Chapter 11 debt reorganization
request, the full breadth of Southern Nevada transportation issues is occupying my mind.
It seems to me
future transportation challenges of Las Vegas need to be intelligently focused on rail, air and land connections.
If Southern Nevada has the same rail, air and land infrastructure ten years from now as it has today, Las Vegas'
connectivity positioning will be in shambles.
I have now lived in Las Vegas for almost 12 years. It's
been interesting and fun. And impressive. But now I sense the city is clearly in a mental - as well as an economic -
slump.
To me, a creative future of transportation in Las Vegas is directly related to the chances
of Southern Nevada eventually rebounding to the condition of excitement and economic excellence that I experienced here
when I first arrived in 1998.
SOUTHERN NEVADA TRANSPORTATION IS WIDE-RANGING:
Rail - Extension of the
Las Vegas Monorail to McCarran International Airport is needed for the city's image, efficiency and clean energy aspirations.
Also, the Nevada-California Maglev train should not be given up on. Federal funding passed over the NV-CA Maglev a few
weeks ago, but I still think a 300 mph train between Southern Nevada and Southern California is of utmost importance
and is still possible.
Air - The proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport (to be built 30 miles south of
Las Vegas) - to ensure exceptional air connectivity that will accommodate futuristic commercial aircraft such as the
Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 and 787 - needs to be approved and built. Robert E. Lang of Brookings Institution has
said, "Las Vegas is a world city due to its connectivity to other cities." I believe no action on Ivanpah Valley
Airport will lead to harmful fraying of Las Vegas' connectivity fabric.
Land - Construction
of a Las Vegas-Phoenix interstate highway also seems to be useful and justified. Also, the Regional Transportation
Commission of Southern Nevada needs to be visionary for enhancement of public bus possibilities in the area.
It does seem to me the RTC is working hard on this.
The broad area of transportation is an extremely important
aspect of Southern Nevada's future success, I think.
But the future of the Las Vegas Monorail is
now what is at the forefront.
In not too many days, Judge Markell should be ruling on Las Vegas Monorail's
Chapter 11 filing. Though the Monorail Company is in heavy debt, perhaps there will be a way for the approval of Chapter 11
to lead to a monorail extension a little further south to McCarran Airport.
To me, the monorail is an important
aspect of Las Vegas' interrelated systems of transportation. Yet, without a station at McCarran I do not see how Las Vegas
Monorail can ever be viable.
11:50 am pst
Saturday, February 13, 2010
If Las Vegas Monorail Gets Extended To McCarran, It Will Not Create Transportation Monopoly
By Robert L. Candiotti
If Las Vegas Monorail gets extended to McCarran International Airport, it will never have - and should not have - a monopoly
on transporting air travelers between the airport and the city.
For one thing, as I have mentioned before, catching
the Las Vegas Monorail - which presently has seven train stations along a 3.9 mile route - entails some walking.
Some people like to walk, some people do not. A significant percentage of jet visitors to Las Vegas will always prefer to
be dropped off - or picked up - by taxi right at the front door of the hotel/casino lobby.
Also, some people will
have too much luggage - or paraphernalia for a convention coming to town - to shlep major distances. For them, taxis make
sense.
And some, for one reason or another, will just want to be private, or a combination of both private and
regal, that will lead to a selection of a long black limousine.
Aside from taxis and limos, some will always be
attracted to shuttle buses which move visitors between the airport and The Strip more affordably, but less quickly.
But, for some, the monorail will be the perfect thing between the airport and The Strip. It is fast, and oh so frequent.
Plus, it is fun! And, as they glide from station to station, the views that the elevated trains provide of the groundlings
and traffic below are often interesting - and sometimes captivating.
In just a few days - reportedly February
17 - the Bankruptcy Court is supposed to rule on Las Vegas Monorail's request for Chapter 11 debt restructuring so it can
then develop plans to move forward with an extension to McCarran International Airport.
I have clearly defined
myself as a proponent of Las Vegas Monorail. I think an extension south to McCarran Airport and, eventually, north to
Downtown Las Vegas, will revitalize and modernize Las Vegas' system of public transportation options.
And, with
those route additions, I do think Las Vegas Monorail can be profitable.
It should be noted that a major creditor
of Las Vegas Monorail is arguing the corporation does not qualify for Chapter 11 debt reorganization. Bond insurer Ambac Assurance
Corp. of Wisconsin is saying Las Vegas Monorail is a state-controlled "municipality" that is not eligible for Chapter
11.
Ambac contends that a Chapter 9 bankruptcy would be more appropriate in this case.
I will be
interested in U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell's decision.
5:17 pm pst
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Riding Las Vegas Monorail Is An Elevated Experience - McCarran Arrivals Would Enjoy It
By Robert L. Candiotti
I live in Las Vegas, and I am a regular Las Vegas Monorail rider.
Several days each week I get on the train at
Convention Center station to head toward work.
The train pulls out of the station, and I often feel like I
am on a magic carpet gliding above the city.
They say the monorail is elevated 30 feet above the ground, but
it sure seems higher than that to me.
Leaving Convention Center station, heading south, you look down on the Wynn
Las Vegas Hotel golf course. It is an interesting perspective. Wynn's golf course is the height of exclusivity.
Then, you're flying like Superman through the corridor behind Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Bally's, Paris
Las Vegas.
The monorail passes by a few expansive hotel swimming pools. A regular rider like me scans over the
pools through all the four seasons.
In the summer you see each chaise lounge taken and turned every
which way by 9 in the morning. White towels are everywhere.
In the middle of winter, though, as
the monorail passes by 30 feet over the pools, the lounges are in perfect formation, untouched and unoccupied. The cabanas
seem so lonely. And not a towel to be seen.
In the winter, some of the pools are drained and are
being worked on for the warm weather just a few weeks away.
In January, the outdoor bars around
the pools - always so packed and popular in the desert's sweltering July - seem as cold as frigid wind from
Alaska.
As a regular rider, I see all this from the monorail window.
For me, the Las Vegas Monorail
is always an opportunity to clear my head before I pull into the MGM station and take the escalator down to human
level to actually begin my day.
The future of Las Vegas Monorail will probably be decided on February 17 when Bankruptcy
Court rules on the company's Chapter 11 debt reorganization request to enable development of plans for a route extension to
McCarran Airport.
I believe Las Vegas Monorail is still a diamond in the rough. If it can be extended to McCarran,
I think it will have a positive transformation of ridership and popularity.
An elevated train from the airport
into Las Vegas seems attractive to me. People will land in Las Vegas at McCarran International Airport, and some
will decide to ride the train. On an elevated track in a broadly-windowed monorail car, they will glide parallel along
Las Vegas Strip as they view below the vibrant activity of the city.
I do think that this elevated introduction
to Las Vegas would be a very exciting and heavily used arrival into the city. Yet, the taxis will never disappear, and they
should not. Some people will always prefer the taxis and the shuttle buses.
Obviously, I am a fan of the monorail.
I hope for Las Vegas Monorail's eventual extension beyond MGM Grand to McCarran International Airport.
8:49 pm pst
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Las Vegas Monorail Is Driven By A One Foot Long Antenna
By Robert L. Candiotti
Riders can get quite close to the Las Vegas Monorail track while waiting next to the sliding glass doors for the arrival
of the next train.
Here it comes.
The approaching monorail quietly - and with hardly any vibration
as it approaches - glides into the elevated station. It passes by so close. The rider looks into the monorail's
large glass window in the front of the leading car.
It is natural to wonder who is driving the Las Vegas Monorail.
The rider peers into the big windshield. "Who is driving this train?"
Eyes are focused. And inside,
clear as can be, is an antenna just right inside the windshield!
The Las Vegas Monorail is driven by
a one foot long antenna. It uses a "driverless" system.
Las Vegas Monorail trains use a technologically
advanced automatic train control (ATC) system. It operates automatically with no human engineer on board.
By now,
I have probably ridden the Las Vegas Monorail hundreds of times, and I am still fascinated and amused by the one foot long
antenna that can be seen just inside each locomotive's windshield.
3:40 am pst
