Taking The Train to Times Square in Vegas
June 24, 2009
This week has brought word of a couple of issues that effect my neighborhood directly.
First of all, it’s hard to believe that several months have passed without a mention of the monorail.
Las Vegas Monorail
Las Vegas Monorail
Las Vegas Monorail
View From Inside Monorail Train
Inside Monorail Train
Monorail Station
Monorail Station
Monorail Station
Why?
Because I am the most prolific Las Vegas monorail rider in the world. I am not saying this in a joking manner or using hyperbole. I honestly believe that I have ridden this particular transit system more than any other human being on planet earth. There are only about five neighborhoods in total that are even served by the Monorail, and most of the people in those neighborhoods don’t ride the rail … they drive stolen cars.
Since I have ridden this train thousands of times, and if I am not #1 – I am damn close. I’ve also tailored my residential choices over the last several years to ensure that I was never more than a 5 minute walk from a station.
While the rest of the world turns its nose up at the train, I follow its every development like Staten Islanders do the ferry. Even though there are other routes, the boat is an indispensable lifeline to the action.
The monorail is my ferry.
Word has come this week that the esteemed Monorail Company simply cannot pay its bills, and will be seeking Federal bailout money. The company states that the system currently supports itself, and the revenue from farebox is enough to cover the day-to-day operating expenses of the rail … but fares do not cover the loans they had to borrow in order to build the system.
What does this mean?
I’m no economist (just an amateur gynecologist), but it looks to me that if they do not get the bailout, they will have to declare bankruptcy of some form. Given the dismal prospects of massive new ridership, it will be a bankruptcy of the “someone else will own it” variety.
This could be good or bad. New owners might actually have the money to link the rail to the airport and downtown. Let’s face it, without the airport, this thing never had a chance. McCarran to MGM should have been the first section of track built.
Or, a new owner could tear it down and sell it off, or let it sit for twenty years.
I’ve been over this ad-nauseum. The fares are far too high for mass-transit (almost always exceeding cab fare for parties of two or more), and it doesn’t go to enough places. Not only does it not serve downtown, the Airport, and the Venetian and Wynn complexes … but neither will it serve City Center when it opens.
Even if they get the bailout, I think they will need to expand it in order to increase ridership. As it is, the question mark hovering above the system just got larger.
Last but not least, we might get a new casino. And by “we” I mean my neighborhood (the North Strip) and the City of Las Vegas as a whole.
Northeast Corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard
Northeast Corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard
Northeast Corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard
Northeast Corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard
Northeast Corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard
A group named Aspen Holdings is in the process of getting approval to build a “Times Square-like” casino and shopping complex on the northeast corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, directly across from the Sahara Hotel and the World’s Largest Souvenir Shop.
This is the infamous corner in which Ivana Trump’s ill-fated condo failed, and is the site of the former Holy Cow Casino.
The property will have a large, 547′ tall, wrap-around LED animated sign, and it will be a more welcoming gateway to the City of Las Vegas (which begins at Sahara Ave) than what is currently in place.
Right now, this corner is somewhat of an urban blight. The columns in front of the old Holy Cow are a frequent “restroom” for our local homeless population and the black facade is somewhat foreboding to look at.
Scheduled to open in the fall of 2010, it will be a 37,100 sf complex, with a 9,000 sf casino, a restaurant and a tavern, but there will be no hotel. The retail complex will include yet another Walgreens. Apparently tourists spend a huge amount of time in Walgreens … for reasons that I cannot explain. I will also be able to easily shop at this Walgreens.
At this time, the Planning Commission opposes the tall sign because of the “negative visual impact” on the residential communities around the area, but I personally support it.
It’s freaking Vegas, and if they want to turn Sahara/LVB into a pseudo-Times Square, let them try. When you move a rock’s throw from the Las Vegas Strip, you more or less know what you are getting into. This isn’t Kansas. I’m staring at a 700′ tall partially-finished building as it is.
Ironically, once it is built, the new Times Square property is one of the few properties in Vegas that will actually be served by the Monorail.
If everything goes well, by the end of next year, you may very well be able to hop the Monorail to a brand new drug store. It will only cost you $9 round trip. ($18 if you want to bring your significant other)
Considering that quick and easy access to Walgreens is why everyone comes to Vegas … this is an absolute bargain.
This may be exactly what the Monorail needs to increase ridership and save itself from the brink of financial insolvency.
Don’t laugh, anything is possible.
Written by FoolsGold on June 25, 2009 at 7:48 am
Nine dollar fare? Does that keep the winos, weirdos and whackos off the monorail? Or do the muggers just consider the nine dollars to be a cost of doing business?
I doubt The Venetian wants customers that would even think of riding the monorail so why should they pay for a monorail or tolerate a stop near there? Ever see how far from its door The Venetian forces the airport shuttle bus to stop and discharge its fleas?
Written by Rex on June 25, 2009 at 8:04 am
“Ever see how far from its door The Venetian forces the airport shuttle bus to stop and discharge its fleas?”
Yes, and look how well it’s worked out for them.
A mere 93% drop in two years.
Take that, fleas!!!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=LVS
Written by Huddler on June 25, 2009 at 10:23 am
I am not a fan of public transportation and I live in an area of the country where only very poor people would consider taking it. But I like the Vegas monorail and try to ride it at least once every trip out there. But it should extend from the airport to the strip to downtown. This abbreviated version of it just cant be successful long term. It will fail without offering airport, strip properties, and downtown access, imo, whether the feds bail them out or not.
Written by Roy on June 26, 2009 at 12:34 am
Hi from the UK
I and my ole Lady have been coming to Vegas for over 10 years now; in fact we will be staying at the Imperial Palace in November. I know your opinion of the Hotel but we love it because it’s cheap, smack in the middle of the strip right next to an open air live music bar that we frequent and there’s usually no kids and it only takes 2mins to get from our room to the monorail and five minutes to the front door. We just love the monorail; we’ll miss Quarks Bar at the Hilton, we’ve drunk many a Borg Queen cocktail there. But we will still be getting off at the Sarah’s to walk across to the Stratosphere’s buffet which we still reckon is the best, it ticks all the boxes for us and we’ve tried them all including Sam’s Town. Any way keep up the good work on what I reckon to be one the best sites on the Net….Regards Roy (A Limey)
Written by VegasSam on June 26, 2009 at 10:30 am
Politics invades everything. The monorail does not go where we want it to go becasue of the strong Taxi Mafia. Just like in Miami….the thing takes you everywhere you don’t want to go. The only really accessible hotels are the Hilton and Imperial Place…the rest …it is kind of a pain in the ass.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on June 27, 2009 at 6:08 am
When the Las Vegas monorail was first created, it was originally intended (and they wanted it) to run down the middle of the Strip. But, there was a problem. And that problem was that the monorail could only be built in cooperation with casinos that approve and own up to hosting stations on their property. And they determined what space would be freed up to accomodate monorail stations. ALL of them allowed property BEHIND their casinos for stations (especially Sahara, Harrah’s/Imperial Palace and Flamingo Stations, which would hook up with the Bally’s/Paris and MGM Grand stations line which were already behind their casinos). This was done because of two things: (1) To hook up with the already existing line between Bally’s/Paris and MGM Grand (which was operated by MGM and free for tourist use at the time) and (more important) (2) They want people to walk through their casino to get to the Strip, to get their patronage due to proximity. In other words, it was a business decision.
And it was a sound decision at the time. The Sahara Station, when the monorail first started, reported increased business at Sahara Casino stepped up over 60 percent. They discovered more people per hour coming in there. And it was directly attributable to the monorail stopping there.
But tourists don’t like it. They have to walk farther to get to the stations and vice versa…getting from the station and walking through meandering casinos to get to the Strip.
Another fallacy is that the Venetian and Wynn Casinos were not allowed or skipped in having monorail stations. Not true.
The Venetian was offered the opportunity to have a monorail station. They rejected it. So, the monorail went around them.
The reason why the Wynn Casino was not offered a monorail station was because they were not there at the time, nor was it even in the planning at that time. So a monorail station wasn’t offered because there was no one to offer it to. In all fairness to the Wynn, they did operate a bus service (during monorail operational hours) that connected the Convention Center with the Wynn. Not sure if that is there anymore though.
You mentioned before about the nub sticking out at Sahara, which was intended to be added on to in order to go downtown, Rex. From what I understand, original plans intended for it to go downtown, cutting over from the corner of Sahara and Paradise over to Las Vegas Boulevard heading north with four stations (Stratosphere, Charleston, Main and Fremont). This was the very first planned phase for extension of the monorail. Over a period of time, that fell apart. Because mainly there were major plans for restructuring and revamping downtown. So, plans were made incorporating a monorail station for Fremont Street, but then nothing was decided, and if things were decided, they changed the plans. All that time was wasted. In other words, it was useless to build towards downtown when no one knew where the monorail station for Fremont Street was going to end up at. And too much time was going by. So, it was abandoned.
Then, they looked the other way. Towards the airport. Plans were made, including (from what I understand) a station at the Thomas and Mack and Hard Rock Cafe, along with plans incorporated for a new terminal at the airport that would include a monorail station. The problem there was simple: Money for construction costs. Probably along with the “Taxi Mafia” doing their best to throw monkey wrenches in the gears any which way they could. I still get the strong impression they consider the airport THEIR territory and they don’t want another alternative of public transportation to touch it. There is no mistake about it: The taxi people HATE the monorail. They believe it will kill their business. And they are probably right.
As far as riff raff on the monorail, that’s really not the case. The monorail has their own armed security (tazers) complete with bomb sniffing dogs. And it is as safe as any public transportation possibly can be with their presence around. The criminal element has not taken it over at all. As a matter of fact, I go one step further and say that even the pillars supporting the monorail haven’t been “tagged” very much at all by graffiti artists. Because they know security is around pretty much 24 hours a day.
One thing I have noticed is that tourists seem to like it. Most locals (except the ones that use it…like Rex here) don’t. And locals have the mistaken belief that it was created with public money, when it wasn’t. But now, it looks like that will change. And I really don’t think people will be excited or agree about using Federal bailout money to keep it going. And I suspect the Federal bailout money will be used to construct the monorail addition that will extend from the south end of it (MGM Grand Station….with the nub sticking out and ending at the corner of Koval and Tropicana) over to the Thomas and Mack and eventually the airport. I believe the plans called for it to go north on Koval, then down Harmon (with a station possibly at Hard Rock), over to Thomas and Mack, then into a newly constructed terminal number 3 at the airport. If it gets approved.
One thing for sure, the monorail seems to have everyone else having an input on their fate, while they don’t have very much say in the matter at all. And the fact that, as it exists now, it appears to be doomed as a viable alternative with RTC. Not unless they get it extended either to the airport or downtown in order to get more business.
Written by FoolsGold on June 28, 2009 at 6:06 am
>>Ever see how far from its door The Venetian forces the airport shuttle to stop and discharge its fleas?
>Yes, and look how well it’s worked out for them.
>A mere 93% drop in two years. Take that, fleas!!!
I always liked the comment made by Cornell Woolrich in his ongoing feud with Ernest Hemmingway: America sells far more salted peanuts than it does caviar!
The problem with most transit systems is that its always a long walk to get to a station and then another long walk once you are at the station. If you have a monorail you need those European style vertical conveyor belts for quick access between embarkation level and ground level, not wimpy escalators or umpteen-zillion stairs.
Written by The Vegas Tourist on September 5, 2009 at 12:21 pm
The leg downtown was halted by the Stratosphere. They could not get the approval to build a giant gorilla ride on the side of thw otwer, so they withdrew their support of the rail extension.
And they wonder why we want the mob back?? Smarter boys they were. “No gorilla, no choo choo stop” and they lost a ton of new business that could have been theirs.
The extension to the Airport is already approved. they now need to do environmental impact (how much noise will this add to the neighborhood??) and get the money. The county, the state and the feds are working on the agreement as we speak.
So if Obummer and buddies coughs up the ok, its a go. Too bad we don’t have a powerful senator from Nevada, who could move it all along…