To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net
Monday, August 18, 2014
Las Vegas Finally Antes Up for a Real Public Transit Network
The city has commissioned a plan to expand mobility options on the Strip.
For all the showy excess of Las Vegas, the city's public
transportation network is strikingly understated. That's especially
true on that casino-laden part of Las Vegas Boulevard known as the
Strip. Bits and pieces of transit do exist there—double-decker buses, a
monorail connecting the SLS (formerly the Sahara) with the MGM via the
convention center, a fewtinytrams that link casino couplets—but they're no more related than roulette is to craps.
"There's no connectivity of one single system on the Strip," says Tom Skancke, head of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance and a board member
for the Nevada Department of Transportation. For all the vehicle types
on the boulevard, from taxis to limos to billboard trucks, the one thing
missing is "a transit system that provides other modes for how people
want to move," he says.
Well the city has finally anted up on a comprehensive transportation plan. The Regional Transportation Commission recently staked $2.7 million
to engage the urban planning services of Michael Gallis, who will study
the Vegas resort corridor and recommend how it can create (and pay for)
a genuine cohesive mobility network. The plan is expected within the
next year and a half.
The Strip is crammed with traffic on a daily basis. Between the visitors and the employees, the resort corridor hosts an estimated 155,000 people per square mile—a
density that approaches that of Manhattan on a business day. Yet cars
remain the overwhelming transport option for those near and far:
Passenger rail doesn't serve the city, the monorail stops short of McCarran International Airport, light rail has never materialized.
(Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada)To
Skancke—who calls himself a transit "convert"—providing more mobility
options in Las Vegas is a matter of smart business as much as smart
transport. Young professionals might prefer other major metros in the mountain and desert region that have reduced car dependence, such as Denver, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix. (To attract the same crowd, Zappos has planned a private ride-sharing network
for its downtown Vegas headquarters.) Globally, other resort
destinations have doubled down on rail access; Exhibit A, says Skancke,
is the MRT subway station built right on the property of the Sands Marina Bay in Singapore.
"Las Vegas as a community is behind the rest of the world as it
relates to global competitiveness and connectivity," he says. "We're the
number one tourism destination in the world, but we don't provide the
modes of transportation that will keep our community competitive going
forward."
While it's far too early to tell what recommendations the new plan will make for Vegas mobility, Gallis is known for his work with Charlotte's emerging light rail system. And during an interview with the Las Vegas Sun in May, he suggested that a rail system will be strongly considered:
When we say mass transit, there are two forms: buses and fixed
guideways, meaning rails. Bus ridership in Las Vegas is some of the
highest in the United States. The road network has grown remarkably well
and effectively. But it’s a new era. Looking at fixed guideway systems
as yet another alternative is an extremely important step for us to
take.
If rail does take center stage in
the plan, it could face an uphill battle. Past attempts to bring light
rail to the Strip have been greeted with skepticism and fought by road advocates until theyfailed. Meanwhile, plans have stalled for a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Las Angeles, as have plans to extend the monorail to the airport—despite recent increases in both ridership and farebox revenue.
On paper, at least, the Strip seems perfectly suited to a fixed
transit system in an exclusive lane: it's a straight-shot through a
high-density corridor loaded with attractions. If rail is a non-starter,
the Strip might dedicate existing boulevard lanes to a bus rapid
transit service. (May we suggest a free one paid for with on-board video
slots?) And if any place can make a strong case for transit
subsidies on the grounds of reducing drunk driving, it would have to be Vegas.
In practice, of course, there are
financial reasons the Strip's transit network has come together so
haphazardly. A mobility network that makes it easier for visitors to
jump from casino to casino runs counter to the business strategy of
keeping their wallets in one place. But Skancke believes the Strip might
be more receptive this time around because resort ownership has been
consolidated into fewer hands, and because the plan is being touted on
its business merits.
"I've become an advocate for transit because one, it works; and two, it is a must be to competitive," he says.