It came as a good surprise last month when Steve Hill, head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, unexpectedly announced that the LVCVA was exploring purchasing the Las Vegas Monorail.
The LVCVA, to its credit, isn’t letting the pandemic stop it from building for Las Vegas’ future. If the monorail can be acquired at a reasonable cost, it’s a worthy investment that will help the city’s recovery.
Hill and his staff have recognized correctly that this crisis will end one of these days and congestion will return to the Strip. So it’s good to hear that the LVCVA is examining different options to optimize transportation in the tourist corridor.
The 3.9-mile monorail’s greatest value lies in providing conventiongoers with a convenient and inexpensive way to get around. That value would only grow if the route were extended south to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and if a stop were added at the Sands Convention Center, plans that had been in the works before the coronavirus outbreak.
The extension would not only link the city’s three biggest convention centers (along with the Las Vegas Convention Center), it would improve access to Allegiant Stadium, which is a walkable distance from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The monorail, which turned 25 this year, currently has seven stops and is operated by the nonprofit Las Vegas Monorail Co.
The purchase announcement drew howls from critics of the monorail, who point out that it’s underperformed on ridership and has struggled financially.
But that criticism is short-sighted. By purchasing the monorail, not only would the LVCVA maintain it as an option for conventiongoers and other visitors, but the sale would terminate a noncompete clause that gives the monorail exclusivity on the Strip.
Getting the noncompete out of the way would make it easier to pursue other opportunities, including new public transit such as a light rail system that would connect the Strip to McCarran International Airport and downtown Las Vegas.
Ultimately, light rail is exactly what Las Vegas needs. To maintain the high quality of the visitor experience that has become our city’s main attraction, it’s critical for our guests to be able to get around conveniently and at a low cost. The same goes for workers on the Strip, who could access light rail through park-and-ride options that could easily be built into a system.
Driving the Strip is easy and cheap now — though sadly for the wrong reason — as the pandemic has reduced visitorship and prompted resort companies to waive parking fees.
But the pandemic won’t last forever. And when Las Vegas comes back, so will the bumper-to-bumper traffic. There’s simply no way to add capacity for more vehicles on Las Vegas Boulevard, which is out of room for expansion. The parking fees seem likely to come back too.
So it’s in our interests to provide visitors with options, including the monorail.
Some critics say The Boring Co. system, funded by Elon Musk and currently limited to the Las Vegas Convention Center, will make the monorail obsolete, but that’s doubtful. While the underground system has plans to expand, it’s unclear to what extent that can happen due to the complexities of tunneling under developed properties.
The monorail, on the other hand, is tried and true as a people mover. It draws good ridership during high-capacity events — Vegas Golden Knights hockey games, New Year’s Eve, Independence Day, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, etc., in addition to conventions.
Beyond that, the monorail — and light rail if we were to develop it — are fundamentally egalitarian and allow all properties to derive benefits. Expanded public transit also would better serve the needs to today’s visitors, as decades of research have shown that the average tourist goes to multiple properties — 6.4 per visit. Improving the flow and simplifying it so that visitors spend less time traveling and more time enjoying the resorts benefits the entire economy.
So despite the criticism, it’s definitely a deal worth considering. And frankly, many of the critics who are reaching for the smelling salts over the idea of spending tax money during the pandemic would be screaming regardless of when it happens. For certain people, there’s no such thing as a good investment of tax dollars.
But public funding can be spent wisely and strategically, in a way that protects the community’s interests. Bravo to the LVCVA for knowing that, and for keeping its eyes open for opportunities.