Light rail in vegas
March 5th, 2010 at 4:29:47 PM
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Will Vegas see light rail ?. The short answer is no.
One could argue that as of March 28 there will be four separate mass transit systems on the strip
(1) The monorail which is only useful to get to convention center
(2) The ACE bus rapid transit to connect to car rental, 4 stops on the strip , convention center, downtown, and outlet mall
(3) The DEUCE ON THE STRIP will be a 25 minute ride from Palace Station to Mandalay Bay with stops every 1/2 mile
(4) The collection of three free trams, and moving sidewalks that connect the MGM MIRAGE properties.
Instead of light rail on the boulder strip, there will be a new Bus Rapid Transit
One could argue that as of March 28 there will be four separate mass transit systems on the strip
(1) The monorail which is only useful to get to convention center
(2) The ACE bus rapid transit to connect to car rental, 4 stops on the strip , convention center, downtown, and outlet mall
(3) The DEUCE ON THE STRIP will be a 25 minute ride from Palace Station to Mandalay Bay with stops every 1/2 mile
(4) The collection of three free trams, and moving sidewalks that connect the MGM MIRAGE properties.
Instead of light rail on the boulder strip, there will be a new Bus Rapid Transit
March 5th, 2010 at 5:06:19 PM
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Nor should Vegas see it. Vegas's bus system is good in the core but has failed to keep up with the growth in the outlying areas - a quick look at the RTC system map shows how much of the boonies is not covered by even a bus an hour. Also Vegas doesn't have the traditional office centers of other cities - the downtown is gaming oriented and Vegas is not a corporate center. In my visits, I was unable to even identify a strip of "office park hell" like Bishop Ranch in the Bay Area, Warner Center in LA, or the Rio Salado area in Tempe where a significant amount of offices are concentrated. So the grid bus system is probably the best you could do in that circumstance.
Although the existing monorail is a dud, at least it is several miles of fixed guideway transit that doesn't have to be duplicated again. The best solution would be for the RTC to take over the monorail after bankruptcy and apply for federal funds to extend it to Fremont Street and to the airport. That would be all of the fixed guideway mass transit you would need.
Although the existing monorail is a dud, at least it is several miles of fixed guideway transit that doesn't have to be duplicated again. The best solution would be for the RTC to take over the monorail after bankruptcy and apply for federal funds to extend it to Fremont Street and to the airport. That would be all of the fixed guideway mass transit you would need.
