RTC board receptive to transit plan that includes light rail

By J.D. Morris

Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 | 2:08 p.m.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani had three words today for anyone who still wants to debate about whether the Strip should have light rail: “Get over it.”

Giunchigliani was reacting to an ambitious plan that could bring a host of major changes to the valley’s transportation infrastructure, including a light rail system that would connect the Strip, downtown Las Vegas and McCarran International Airport. The plan was presented at today’s meeting of the Regional Transportation Commission board, of which Giunchigliani is a member.

Known formally as the Transportation Investment Business Plan, the initiative could cost as much as $12 billion to carry out a broad range of improvements that would significantly change the way people move around the valley’s commercial core.

Recommendations from the plan include seven new pedestrian bridges on the Strip, wider sidewalks there, a variety of road improvements, high-capacity transit on Maryland Parkway, a possible “circulator trolley” downtown, expansion of the monorail to Mandalay Bay and a new stop at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, among other suggestions.

But the most attention-grabbing proposal is the light rail system, which could cost anywhere from $2.1 billion to $12.5 billion. The actual construction and operation costs were not factored into the price tag for the overall transit initiative, because planners think light rail could receive a substantial amount of federal funds and participation from the private sector. Cost also varies widely depending on whether it is built at above or below street level.

While those and many other details of the overall plan still need to be fleshed out over time, the commission board today seemed generally enthused about moving forward. Vice Chairman Debra March, a Henderson City Council member, indicated that the valley needed to make big transportation changes in order to remain competitive with other communities. And Chairman Larry Brown, a Clark County commissioner, said the time was ripe for Southern Nevada to define its transportation future.

“This is a call to action,” he said.

The plan was presented today by Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis and David Knowles of ch2m, who gave a virtually identical look at the details on Monday. A draft of the recommendations was released in May. According to this week’s presentations, the plan— excluding light rail construction and operation – would be 78-percent locally financed. Those funds would come from farebox revenue, sales tax from the transportation commission and airport revenue, as well as possible debt financing or pay-as-you-go methods.

The federal government would contribute 16 percent of the budget, while the state would kick in 2 percent and other sources such as private sector investments would contribute 4 percent.

The plan is expected to be presented to the board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as well as the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee next month.