[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by BBMW

The LA Subway system is a joke from the standpoint of ridership. In a county of 10,000,000 people, it's daily ridership is around 350,000. Compare that to the NYC Subway system, which in a city of 8,500,000 has a daily ridership of 5,650.000. The LA Subway system was HUGE waste of money and effort. If the tried to do this in Vegas, it would be worse.

You can't drop a rail based transit system on top of the metropolitan area that developed around cars, and expect it to succeed.

The BART in the bay area is popular with the locals. Of course, having a car there, is a figgin nightmare. At least in inner city Oakland.

I think they could extend the existing monorail for the tourists. As far as the locals, not sure. The 215 was originally proposed as a light rail route, but was shouted down by NIMBYs.

An interesting twist on the whole thing is this. Just one little comment that a poster in the MGM parking thread made. He or she said that they are employed at the Excalibur and no longer allowed to park there during the summer on Friday or Saturday.

If parking becomes the kind of expensive, hellish mess is it in NYC or Oakland, employees and other locals are going to want public transportation. And our current bus solutions are definitely not the answer.

[Bruff]

Originally Posted by robojester

In MN ...they have a nanny state mentality and are proud that 38% of the cost is covered by fares.

Like rooftop solar, users of socialist transit are happiest when they can force someone else to pimp their ride.

[Bruff]

Originally Posted by calisoccer99

I would if it connected summerlin and henderson to the strip. When the NHL starts up I would love to park my car and not have to worry about parking fee's/ finding parking. Also when friends are in town I can ride down there and not have to worry about drinking and driving.

The thing is, there's getting to and there's getting from, what they call 'first and last mile problem'. Then there's the connection. And putting up with the armpits and the bodily fluids. Getting to a hockey game is one thing, but when you have to drag along bags or luggage, quite another.
Wouldn't you rather have a door-to-door service that was cheaper and shared with just those you wanted?

[BBMW]

The Bay Area, large chunks of which were developed before the rise of the automobile, and therefore being denser, works better for rail transit. SF with it's dense urban commercial core, makes for a good hub and spoke topology, which is where rail transit works best.

Vegas, with no real urban commercial core? Not so much.

Originally Posted by NLVgal

The BART in the bay area is popular with the locals. Of course, having a car there, is a figgin nightmare. At least in inner city Oakland.

I think they could extend the existing monorail for the tourists. As far as the locals, not sure. The 215 was originally proposed as a light rail route, but was shouted down by NIMBYs.

An interesting twist on the whole thing is this. Just one little comment that a poster in the MGM parking thread made. He or she said that they are employed at the Excalibur and no longer allowed to park there during the summer on Friday or Saturday.

If parking becomes the kind of expensive, hellish mess is it in NYC or Oakland, employees and other locals are going to want public transportation. And our current bus solutions are definitely not the answer.

[calisoccer99]

Originally Posted by Bruff

The thing is, there's getting to and there's getting from, what they call 'first and last mile problem'. Then there's the connection. And putting up with the armpits and the bodily fluids. Getting to a hockey game is one thing, but when you have to drag along bags or luggage, quite another.
Wouldn't you rather have a door-to-door service that was cheaper and shared with just those you wanted?

The only place ive been thats had armpits and bodily fluids issues was in London during rush hour. Every where else was a breeze and much better than having to worry about parking and what not.

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by BBMW

The Bay Area, large chunks of which were developed before the rise of the automobile, and therefore being denser, works better for rail transit. SF with it's dense urban commercial core, makes for a good hub and spoke topology, which is where rail transit works best.

Vegas, with no real urban commercial core? Not so much.

But what to do about parking for the thousands that work on the strip if this thing the Excalibur worker mentioned continues?

[tijlover]

One my trip to L.A. last week, riding the rails as much as I could, the plan is working very well: building housing at the rail stops, hopefully creating little villages or more. Yes, I stopped in Compton and there's now a huge housing development walking distance to the train station. Also housing construction underway at the Moravia stop out near Asuza, 2 massive housing projects at the Pasadena rail stop, and at the Chinatown rail station, the new Blossom Plaza apartment building was just completed.

Downtown L.A. is undergoing a massive urban renaissance, new high rise and mid-rise housing, renovation of the warehouse buildings in the Garment District, and I don't know why it took so long for downtown L.A. to take off like a rocket in construction, but it's only a matter of time, Downtown L.A. will be the place to be, the In Place to live, and look for increasing density, and higher ridership on their subway/light rail lines.

Put a rail line from the Airport to Fremont, and watch the real estate values to escalate around the rail stops, and invariably, construction!

Why wait for the density to come first, build the rail lines, and let the density follow!

[BBMW]

If the casinos need more parking for their employees, they can build more garages for them. That would be vastly more efficient than building a rail network that will also need parking facilities to be built at the stations. And also, this way the right entity (the casinos) will pay for it, not the NV taxpayers.

Originally Posted by NLVgal

But what to do about parking for the thousands that work on the strip if this thing the Excalibur worker mentioned continues?

[Jukesgrrl]

I lived in Washington, DC, many decades ago when the subway was being built. Many residents disparaged the idea. The neighborhood of Georgetown dropped out completely. Don't want it, don't need it, residents said. They certainly lived to regret that decision. Now no one can imagine no having the subway, which now connects to park-and-rides far out into the suburbs. Some of the lines extend beyond the beltway.

When I lived in DC, Ballston, VA, far past Fairfax, barely existed. Now it's a popular place for commuters to live in apartment complexes that look like new versions of the ones that populate Arlington. The Ballston subway stop is the hub of the community. It's an easy enough trip to the city center that the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Nature Conservancy have all built headquarters in Ballston. The place is booming.

Reliable public transit makes all sorts of growth possible.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

So why don't you ride the bus?

I have, but it takes too long with all of the stops. the rail would be much more comfortable. Just like we ride the current rail, and it forces us to walk inside the casinos. We love seeing what's been updated, etc.