Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Why Not A Newsstand At Las Vegas Monorail's Convention Center Station?
By Robert L. Candiotti
Las Vegas Convention Center station is the heart of Las Vegas Monorail.
Without an extension yet to McCarran
International Airport, and still not going to Downtown, Las Vegas Monorail's stop at the Convention Center is currently Las
Vegas Monorail's bread and butter.
As a frequent monorail rider who boards at the Convention Center, I know
that when big conventions are going on, the Las Vegas Convention Center can be a mob scene. Hundreds, and sometimes thousands,
of people are coming and going.
So, why is there no newsstand/sundry store at that particular monorail station?
It is easy to see, conventioneers are people on the run. But, when getting off and catching trains, and passing right
by a sundry store at the turnstiles, they could conveniently buy items they want and need - newspapers, batteries,
shaving cream, combs, aspirin, candy, etc.
It is obvious, right now some good, vacant space for the newsstand
exists. A newsstand would add pizazz to the station, it would probably do pretty well, and it would bring in revenue
for the Las Vegas Monorail Company.
So why not?
A newsstand at Las Vegas Monorail Convention Center
station makes sense to me.
7:02 am pdt
Friday, March 19, 2010
Las Vegas Monorail Is Totally Electric And Causes Zero Emissions
By Robert L. Candiotti
As the wait continues for the ruling from U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Las Vegas Monorail's Chapter 11 request, it crosses my
mind that there is one important aspect of the monorail that has not been getting the attention it deserves:
Las Vegas Monorail is totally electric and causes zero emissions.
On the company's
website - lvmonorail.com - it is stated that Las Vegas Monorail "aided in the annual removal of an estimated 2.7 million
vehicle miles from Southern Nevada's major roadways in 2009, reducing emissions by more than 48 tons of carbon monoxide (CO),
volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) over the course of the year."
Who could argue that
Las Vegas Monorail is a Green Machine?
Clearly, the "green" trend is not a fad. Over time, transportation
options that operate without petroleum-based fuel will become increasingly attractive and acquired.
No doubt, a totally
non-polluting Las Vegas Monorail route that becomes operational all the way from McCarran International Airport to Downtown
Las Vegas will enjoy increased attention and acceptance among both both tourists and Las Vegas residents.
With
extended tracks to the south and north - at the parallel time as non-petroleum transportation receives expanded attention
and accolades - an elevated train in Las Vegas that produces no emissions will fit with impressive transportation options
of the future.
Yet, will Las Vegas Monorail survive long enough for these two things to happen concurrently? The
monorail needs to be granted some time.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court's decision on the company's Chapter 11 filing
should happen before the end of this month.
4:26 pm pdt
Monday, March 15, 2010
Dismantling The Monorail Would Be Tantamount To Dismantling The Future Of Las Vegas
By Robert L. Candiotti
I have seen that when there are articles in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun about
the possible evolution of the Las Vegas Monorail, there are usually several comments by readers who say the monorail
should be "dismantled."
Essentially, I feel these comments are mostly by people who are incapable of
having a fresh vision for a Las Vegas that can transcend its current condition of stagnation.
These harsh opinions
are by people who most likely are addicted to viewing the world solely through their car windshields - with all the windows
always rolled up.
They most likely will not admit it, but they are probably also intimidated by independent-minded
passengers on the monorails who are steadily, silently and swiftly passing them by - way above their heads.
"Tear
it down, scrap it, and move on" states one commenter in the Sun on March 11, 2010, after the end of the "RTC
to Las Vegas Monorail: You're on your own" story by Kyle Hansen.
What the advocates of monorail
dismantling are actually saying, I think, is tear it down, scrap it, and move backward.
To me, as
I say repeatedly, rather than being dismantled, the Las Vegas Monorail needs to be extended south to McCarran International
Airport and north to Downtown. This will complete the Las Vegas Monorail system for it to become
a fast, fun and future-enhancing elevated rail form of transportation.
Right now, I see Las Vegas vacillating between
an enervating attachment to the past and a vibrant willingness to become imaginative with a somewhat transformed city of expanded
and expedient connectivity.
To me, dismantling the Las Vegas Monorail would be symbolic of broadly dismantling visionary components
of Las Vegas' future.
Like eventual construction of both the Nevada to California 300-mph maglev train and
the proposed Southern Nevada Ivanpah Valley Airport, extention of the Las Vegas Monorail south to McCarran
Airport and north to Downtown will help keep Las Vegas' culture of connectivity alive and all-important.
5:17 pm pdt
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Luggage Check In At Las Vegas Monorail Stations
By Robert L. Candiotti
I readily admit this thought is initially a half-baked idea, but it seems to me the concept of hotel luggage check in at
the Las Vegas Monorail stations resonates with possibilities - if, of course, the monorail is eventually extended to
McCarran International Airport.
Flying into Las Vegas, holding hotel reservations on The Strip, passengers
could take the Las Vegas Monorail from McCarran Airport to the monorail station closest to their their hotel. Then, they could
check their luggage right there.
That way they would not have to carry or wheel their bags all the way
to the lobby (which can be a significant walk for some since the monorail runs behind most of the hotels/casinos it reaches).
The luggage would then be transported by staff to the register area at the hotel lobby, awaiting the arrival
of the customer to sign in for their room. This would enable walking to the appropriate hotel lobby to be easier and
more enjoyable. Also, with their luggage in competent hands, landed flyers could even get some food and
drink - or jump right into gaming in the casinos - before getting the key to the room.
And this leads to a separate
thought: Perhaps arriving travelers could also make direct restaurant reservations right when they get off the train
at a monorail station.
As I say, these are new ideas, but it seems to me they could be attractive features for
Las Vegas visitors, and can also add to marketing possibilities for the Las Vegas Monorail extension to McCarran International
Airport.
Like lots of people, I await the Las Vegas Monorail Chapter 11 ruling by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to
find out if a McCarran extension can actually be possible.
4:45 pm pst
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Would Libertarian Las Vegas Benefit From Chinese Investment In Monorail Infrastructure?
By Robert L. Candiotti
As I - and many others - await the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's decision on Las Vegas Monorail's Chapter 11 debt reorganization
request, I am thinking about the company's publicized possible financial backing from China.
In a February 17,
2010, Las Vegas Sun article by Steve Kanigher - "Las Vegas Monorail could seek partnership with Chinese"
- President and CEO Curtis Myles says financial partnership with China is a possibility for monorail track extension
to Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport.
This story definitely caught my attention.
Las Vegas,
as I see it, is a Libertarian city, and Nevada is a Libertarian state.
Nevada is a state that lauds the individual.
It is a state that is founded on personal liberty.
As is written at the beginning of the book Libertarianism
by David Boaz, "Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses
so long as he respects the equal rights of others."
China, though currently strong and growing in global power,
is still a Chinese Communist country. The Chinese thrive on, and do not waiver from, the concept of central authority. View
of the individual in China is entirely different from the political and social structure of individualism in Nevada.
One of the definitions of communism in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary states that communism is "a totalitarian
system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production with the professed aim
of establishing a stateless society."
In Kanigher's Sun article on February 17, as well as another
one of February 22 - "Las Vegas Monorail officials thinking beyond crushing debt" - various possibilities are mentioned
as facilitators of Las Vegas Monorail's business future.
If the Bankruptcy Court's Chapter 11 ruling allows
Las Vegas Monorail to reorganize its debt and then look forward to a McCarran Airport track extension, I would like to
think every single financial possibility is seriously considered and investigated.
To me, the least appealing
option is a financial partnership with Chinese entities.
Having the heart of Las Vegas owned by big corporations
is bad enough. Las Vegas infrastructure ownership by Chinese Communists would really be too much.
I can see it
now. Arriving air travelers board at the new monorail station at McCarran, and glide toward Las Vegas' extraordinary Strip - America's
Street of Personal Independence and Responsibility - on a train made possible by Chinese investors and government organizations.
Wouldn't this be a little too strange?
I believe now is an important time for Nevada to be
cognizant and supportive of its Libertarian foundation.
8:01 pm pst
