[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

In the long run, does light rail alleviate traffic or contribute to more traffic?

Mostly it creates more public sector union jobs with gold-plated pensions & Cadillac health care at the expense of an alternative value-add use of the money.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by tijlover

But if you want the Feds to help finance it, what other choice is there? I've been over this before, the Feds won't help unless it serves the residents.

Repeat after me:

• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
• It is NOT the job of the Federal Government to take care of me
  

[equid0x]

Who cares what happens to the taxi companies. Antiquated ****ty service at outrageous prices with lunatic nutbag drivers. At any rate, they have a light rail in Baltimore yet they still have taxis. They have a Subway in DC yet they still have taxis.

A light rail down the Strip benefits everyone. I don't see how any one casino benefits from such an addition over another.

Who cares about federal funding? Put the main line down the Strip and get federal funding for branches put into the valley.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Given the conservative comments on this thread, I'm just go glad I finally made my escape to the most liberal pocket in the Southwest, Tucson, called the Blue Island, thanks to the University of AZ campus here.

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he will gladly repay with your money.

[Svoboda]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

No, of course not; I never said I do.

I own the copyright on the image - a screen shot of an excel spreadsheet of my own creation. Yes, the excel spreadsheet is of data from public records, but that is irrelevant to my copyright.

The C-D rules prohibit posting images where someone else owns the copyright. That is why I created a spreadsheet from data, took a screenshot, and then posted the image here.

If you find an image on the web, most likely someone else owns the copyright to that image. You can post the reference here (the URL of someone else's copyrighted image) but the C-D terms of use (terms of service?) prohibits using the image tags so someone else's image shows up embedded in your post. You can get a C-D infraction for doing so.

So, I'm just letting mods know that because I own the copyright of the image of the excel spreadsheet, it is not in violation of the C-D rules.

If there are any mods reading - did I get this right? Did I misunderstand anything? Can you clarify?


If you're referring to me, I am not a Real Estate agent.

Not a mod here, but I've owned forums for over 2 decades and you're correct. You're actually looking out for C-D when you don't really have to. I received numerous C&D letters from anything from college licensing companies to image houses like Getty requesting images be taken down or pay for licensing/get sued.

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Forget the Strip, it isn't gonna happen with 9-10,000 taxi drivers in this city, Uber, Lyft, taxi unions making campaign contributions to the Clark County Commissioners! It's a no-brainer! Run it from the Airport down the Strip to Fremont, how many taxi drivers will face losing their jobs? And it may also result in fewer DUI's, which the police aren't going to like.

You don't think RTC would love to run the line down the Strip? They'd love to! But if you want the Feds to help finance it, what other choice is there? I've been over this before, the Feds won't help unless it serves the residents. The Strip serves tourists! If it's run down the Strip we'll have to pay 100% of it, and who will most benefit from it?

If you let the voters decide, of course, they'll reject the Maryland line, as those in the West, South, East, North will say: What's in it for me? Now! If you decide to extend it to Downtown Summerlin, then you'll get the Summerlin vote. Extend it down Boulder Hwy to downtown Henderson, then you may bring in some Henderson votes. And if the Strip line is put to a vote, it would be voted down totally.

Financing from the Feds can also be dependent on our politicians in Washington, we're talking pork barrel. Under Obama, he was able to feed $20 billion to Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Given the conservative comments on this thread, I'm just go glad I finally made my escape to the most liberal pocket in the Southwest, Tucson, called the Blue Island, thanks to the University of AZ campus here. When I tell people in my community why I moved here, they're aghast when I tell them I couldn't stomach the conservatism of Las Vegas one more day. Disbelieving, I urge them to Google Most Conservative Cities in the U.S. and find out where Las Vegas on that list, and they'll know I'm not lying. And they also can't believe that Las Vegas is the last big city in the country to have an art museum. Little old Tucson here, population around 450k, and they managed to get a light rail line from the University campus to DT to Menlo Park. Underutilized, but so what! It is spurring lots of housing construction along the line! And if it needs a tax subsidy to keep it afloat, I'm more than willing to pay up, even tho' I don't use it!

Liberals are always ready to spend everyone else's money.

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Before I left Las Vegas, and a subscriber to the LV Review Journal (owned now by his son-in-law) there was opposition to the expanding the Monorail to Mandalay and opposition to the light rail line on Maryland.

Yes, along with the taxi drivers, I can see why the casino's wouldn't want a rail line on the Strip either. So, I'm sure RTC knows that as well, and before I left Las Vegas in June, I attended a light rail meeting, to discuss the Maryland route, at the Winchester Community Center. But they were confidant the line was to be operational by 2022. We shall see!

Off-topic, what's the news on the Art Museum in Symphony Park? In the last legislative session, Tick Segerblom tried to embarrass the legislature by saying Las Vegas was the last big city to have an art museum, and they voted on $10 million in seed money to get the wheels moving. Then, is there any surprises in Nevada?, Sandoval chopped $9 million off of it, leaving only $1 million.

I thought there was an art museum inside Bellagio?

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

It will become mobile air-conditioned housing for the homeless at night.

Ain't that the truth!

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

Light rail works really well in some cities, mainly those with a grid-like system and lots of businesses. I don't see it working in Las Vegas right now, maybe downtown at some point, but probably not.

Widening roads, building more roads, building freeways through cities doesn't always work, and can actually increase traffic.
https://www.citylab.com/transportati...demand/569455/

I think the best solution, ultimately, is to introduce tolls.

Montgomery County, MD after decades finally built the Inter County Connector from 95 in PG county to 270 in Montgomery County. County was worried about the same issue so made it a transponder toll road just like they have in California. Nobody uses it.

[equid0x]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

What is the statement of the problem to which light rail is the optimal answer?



It may be obvious to you, but it isn't obvious to me. Tourists like to do the strip in cars - either their own, rentals, or an Uber.



If you were to do that, you must then build massive parking garages at each stop. After all, people will need to drive to a light rail stop in order to hop on the light rail. Once they get to the stop where they are going to, they then need transportation to their ultimate destination - either a rental car or an Uber or a bus. That's just adding complexity and time.

Let's see... I can do either (a) or (b) below.

(a) drive to a light rail station, then hunt for parking, fend off beggars and homeless and tweakers as I walk to the platform, dodging used hypodermic needles and condoms and human excrement, wait maybe 15 to 20 minutes in an un-airconditioned train stop in the summertime heat, try to buy a ticket from the vending machine only to discover it is broken or it has run out of paper to print such a ticket, get on the train that is 10 minutes off schedule, get to a stop, exit, dodge human refuse, get an Uber and go to my final destination...

- or -

(b) get in my car and drive to my final destination. Or take an Uber from my point of origin to my final destination.

Clearly, light rail is a solution in search of a problem.

Tourists don't have many other options but to do the Strip in cars. Go read some reviews of the Strip and you see comment after comment about how people didn't realize the Strip was so long, that they find the maze of pedestrian crossovers confusing, don't understand or can't find or did not know about the 3 monorail systems...

The deuce bus is always full. Always.

Every public transit station has on-site parking and the potential for the same problems. In the DC area, the MTA has transit police and security that patrol stations and ride the trains. They've also been installing cameras in the cars and busses in recent years.

DC area has outdoors unconditioned stations. People still use the lines.

The point of public transportation is that it is cheaper than driving. If I worked on the Strip and had easy public transit to work, I would probably use it. Why bother fighting traffic and hunting for parking at the casino when you can sit on the train and read on Facebook or whatever.

I can't speak for what the travel time by car might be to an employee garage but in the DC area it's definitely faster to take public transit than to drive a car.