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Old 11-30-2014, 12:43 PM
 
15,759 posts, read 14,366,453 times
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Even ignoring the special interest groups who are against any kid of transit system (ie the cab companies), it seem to have very little local popular support. The light rail thing came up a while back, and got significant resistance. People in Vegas seem to like their autocentric lifestyle. Those who don't seem to either be outsiders or misplaced transplants.
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Old 11-30-2014, 12:49 PM
 
15,759 posts, read 14,366,453 times
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This could easily be done with a bus system that picks up at the airport, and makes stops at the porte cocheres of the hotels (maybe two lines, one up the east side of the strip and one up the west side.) It would have 85% of the benefit of a rail system (and more than extending the monorail, which really isn't convenient for a lot of the strip casinos) with 10% or less of the capital cost.

For all I know someone may do this already (I usually rent a car when I'm in town, so I don't know if this is available yet.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tornado Baby View Post
Finally! Common sense! Wouldn't tourists have more time and money to spend if they could just hop on a train and not have to stand in line for a cab that may or may not rip them off? Certainly the high rollers that really matter can be picked up by limo? I would rather spend in the casino than on a cab. We have a lot of family who visit and their biggest complaint about Vegas is getting in and out of the airport when it is so close to the Strip. As locals really do not matter, according so some posters, then hear what tourists are saying. Also, if there ever is a stadium downtown, where will the traffic go? It is already a snails pace without a high capacity event venue. More cabs will not fix that.
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Old 11-30-2014, 01:17 PM
 
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https://www.mccarran.com/Go/Shuttles.aspx
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Old 11-30-2014, 02:28 PM
 
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^
Okay. They need to do a better job of advertising these. As many times as I've been there, I did know they existed.
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Old 11-30-2014, 06:06 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas
775 posts, read 771,832 times
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Maybe I missed it but has anyone suggested a remedy for the extra car traffic that would be generated with a downtown stadium? How is everyone with their taxi controlled, auto centric lifestyle even going to be able to get to it? There is only so much road space and it is already clogged. All I have read is why we can't have more efficient public transport, but nothing about the consequences of not doing so. And to the poster who suggested I get a car (a very appreciated, intelligent remark, by the way), I have three. There are times when driving is not possible, advisable, or legal, such as when drinkers drive because they can't get a cab, or when someone can't drive for any reason but still need to get around. Are DUIs no longer happening in Vegas? Do sick people not need to get to the doctor? Life and lifestyles are not going to change. No lectures about being more responsible please, we all know that will never change either. The buses do exist but need to be improved.
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Old 11-30-2014, 06:14 PM
 
12,973 posts, read 15,729,762 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tornado Baby View Post
Maybe I missed it but has anyone suggested a remedy for the extra car traffic that would be generated with a downtown stadium? How is everyone with their taxi controlled, auto centric lifestyle even going to be able to get to it? There is only so much road space and it is already clogged. All I have read is why we can't have more efficient public transport, but nothing about the consequences of not doing so. And to the poster who suggested I get a car (a very appreciated, intelligent remark, by the way), I have three. There are times when driving is not possible, advisable, or legal, such as when drinkers drive because they can't get a cab, or when someone can't drive for any reason but still need to get around. Are DUIs no longer happening in Vegas? Do sick people not need to get to the doctor? Life and lifestyles are not going to change. No lectures about being more responsible please, we all know that will never change either. The buses do exist but need to be improved.
Not really much of a problem. See NASCAR at the speedway or Sunday afternoon returning to CA after a holiday weekend.

I5 and US95 both have lots of capacity so things are screwed up for a couple of hours at worst.

The downtown stadium proposed is really not that big. Lots smaller than the Speedway or the proposed UNLV stadium.
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Old 11-30-2014, 08:56 PM
 
Location: Tucson/Nogales
23,089 posts, read 28,815,826 times
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Even if we were to buck the national trend of putting in a light rail system in the LV Valley, and go with Bogota, Colombia's highly successful rapid bus system, and given how Las Vegans would scream and holler about having to give up even an inch of their roadways for bicycle paths, imagine designated rapid bus lanes on Desert Inn, Flamingo, Rainbow or Tropicana, eating up 2 lanes in each direction!! You'd hear the same screams if they were to run light rail lines down those avenues!

I have to stop myself, many times, in the realization that Las Vegas is still a very young, immature city, too anxious for instant results, and think:

It took how many years/decades, until recently, that Los Angeles finally has 120 miles of bike lanes and it only the last 10-20 years that L.A. even got going on a light rail/subway system. Chicago! That city has been around a lot longer, and just until recently, they got going on the bike lane craze, and New York City, one of the oldest cites around, finally! Bike lanes in Manhattan, thank you Mr. Bloomberg!

And, you don't have the patience to see this city into maturity, then simply move to a more mature city!
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Old 12-01-2014, 11:18 AM
 
Location: In the Silver State of Nevada in Las Vegas NV
1,062 posts, read 1,801,730 times
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Shuttle bus is the ay to go from the airport to the strip or DT. They are a flat rate you get to see the other properties while dropping off folks so you have some idea of where you are and you get to meet some cool people doing so. Just ask any airport employee or business there where to get the shuttles.
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Old 12-01-2014, 11:37 AM
 
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Just because other places do thing doesn't make it the correct thing to do.

Take rail based public transit systems. They all lose money hand over fist. If you build one of these, you need to pencil in the fact that your not only going to likely have to float big bond issues to finance the capital costs, it's almost impossible to charge a fare that anyone will pay, and still cover the operating costs. They NYC transit system always runs huge deficits. In the old days, the city and state would fork over tax money to plug those deficits. But as their budgets have become increasingly stressed (and remember NYC is the most highly taxed municipality is the country), they have been cutting back on these subsidies significantly. So the MTA (the state agency that runs the NYC metro area transit systems), has been racking up a huge and growing debt load. At some point this is no longer going to be viable. Who knows what will happen at that point.

Of course NYC developed around it's transit system (The subway was built through farm fields in Manhattan in some places.) So at this point, it can't function without it. Las Vegas developed around it's road network. This means two things. It's topology is poorly suited for mass transit, which works best in a hub and spoke arrangement. Metro Vegas is too spread out to have people walk to train stations, so you'd end up with inefficient multiple step trips (bus to train, and maybe to another bus at the other end, then reverse to get back.) Likely someone would have to drive to the train, so the stations would have to have significant parking. If they're driving anyway, they might as well drive where they're going. Look at LA. It has the same topology issue that LV does. They built a very nice, very expensive subway system, that gets very little use (relative to the both the amount of commuting that happens in LA, and to it's capacity.)

The second issue is that Vegas's road network works very well. I've driven it enough to know how it works. I've driven it through what passes for rush hour out there, and was not horrified at the traffic. And the road system is modern and well constructed.

I don't see any benefit to Vegas metro in developing a rail based transit system that would come anywhere near justifying the initial and ongoing cost. A more modern bus based system with dedicate lanes and light preemption would be cheaper and easier. Still I don't see it being a benefit to enough of the population to make it worth gumming up the car traffic (which it likely would.)

I think Vegas should just stay the way it is. Everyone knows that having a car in Vegas is pretty much a necessity. If you can't or don't want to deal with that, either don't move to Vegas, or if you're their already move somewhere else.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tijlover View Post
Even if we were to buck the national trend of putting in a light rail system in the LV Valley, and go with Bogota, Colombia's highly successful rapid bus system, and given how Las Vegans would scream and holler about having to give up even an inch of their roadways for bicycle paths, imagine designated rapid bus lanes on Desert Inn, Flamingo, Rainbow or Tropicana, eating up 2 lanes in each direction!! You'd hear the same screams if they were to run light rail lines down those avenues!

I have to stop myself, many times, in the realization that Las Vegas is still a very young, immature city, too anxious for instant results, and think:

It took how many years/decades, until recently, that Los Angeles finally has 120 miles of bike lanes and it only the last 10-20 years that L.A. even got going on a light rail/subway system. Chicago! That city has been around a lot longer, and just until recently, they got going on the bike lane craze, and New York City, one of the oldest cites around, finally! Bike lanes in Manhattan, thank you Mr. Bloomberg!

And, you don't have the patience to see this city into maturity, then simply move to a more mature city!
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Old 12-01-2014, 09:59 PM
 
Location: Tucson/Nogales
23,089 posts, read 28,815,826 times
Reputation: 32401
Haven't you noticed? We live in a monkey-see-monkey-do world!

Given how Las Vegas loves to drag its feet, and pride itself on being the Last of the Mohicans, 30-40 years ago?: I don't care if other cities are getting freeways and beltways, we don't need them here, and we Nevadan's are militantly opposed to raising taxes for anything, and who's going to maintain them?

Today! I don't care if every city in the country is monkey-seeing-monkey-doing and putting in a light rail or street car system in their city, we'll do it if it comes to that, when tourists start boycotting our city because we don't have it here!

Uber, same-sex marriage, medical or recreational marijuana, let the rest of the country have it, we don't need it here!

One profitable light rail line, a no-brainer, would be the Fremont Street to the Airport line! Just like the Deuce, the profits from the Deuce help to subsidized the rest of the bus lines.

What's being overlooked is when the time comes you can't drive anymore. I ride the bus to work 2 nights a week, and I get to talk to some of these riders, and find out why they don't own a car, or will never own a car! The growing number of minimum wagers, owning/maintaining a car will always be foreign to their dreams! And we all know that sad day will come, we go to the DMV, and we're told: your driving days are over!

Ain't gonna happen ever, institute a transit system like they have in Central America, which I've had many opportunities to enjoy, riding in the backs of pick-ups around town, or riding their chicken buses (our old converted school buses), and? Incredibly, no public subsidies, chicken buses and pick-ups are privately owned, subsidized by the vendors who hop, on and off, selling things to the riders!

Last edited by tijlover; 12-01-2014 at 10:13 PM..
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