Monday, October 23, 2006

I Want My Monorail!


Today Las Vegas Monorail launched their "Ambassador Program." Nearly 20 showgirl ambassadors were paraded before the media in classic outfits "reminiscent of old-time Vegas cocktail hostesses." They will be working around Vegas to answer questions regarding the monorail and other aspects of "Sin City."

In 2004, seven stations opened on the 4-mile long route. According to the press release, the system includes nine Disney-style trains with four cars each on a single rail line traveling up to 50 mph. The system can handle 3,200 people per hour. Since the monorail is electric, experts believe it has "reduced traffic by more than four million automobile trips and improved air quality by reducing carbon monoxide output by up to 135 tons each year."

MVB has advocated making the BayLink between Miami and Miami Beach a Bombardier/Disney-style monorail for a host of reasons which can be read here by clicking the web page on the right. Dade County probably would have had a rubber tired monorail today if it hadn't been for the fact that its consultant, Kaiser engineers, pushed steel rail in 1974. We think all of us are in agreement that MetroRail is an ugly, noisy, monstrosity compared to the sleek, futuristic Disney monorails. With MetroRail extensions planned west and north, we would hope that someone with a little vision might want to take another look at the 30+ years proven solution in Orlando-- if not for the whole building program, at least for the BayLink extension.

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