Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Clark County Commission wants further study of multiple transit proposals

The Clark County Commission put light rail back on its radar Tuesday, urging that multiple proposals to improve traffic flow near the Las Vegas Strip be more thoroughly studied.

The board, at the suggestion of Chairman Steve Sisolak, directed the creation of a three-member oversight panel to gather information and present a recommendation on developing an elevated airport expressway, which county officials proposed this year. The panel would consist of representatives from the county, Regional Transportation Commission and Nevada Resort Association.

The Commission will ask the RTC to take a similar approach — more study managed by an oversight panel — with light rail and, perhaps, monorail. Sisolak proposed adding a monorail extension to the discussion about transit-related projects in the resort corridor. The RTC already has studied light rail considerably and has recommended its development along the Strip.

The commission's request will be placed on the agenda for RTC’s July meeting.

Commissioner Larry Brown, who serves as chairman of the RTC board, described the oversight panel as a way to “take a deep breath” and answer all the necessary questions surrounding the major projects.

“We have to make the hard choices now,” he said during the commission meeting. “To make those hard choices, we need the facts — not opinions. We need to bring those facts to our citizens because they have to be a part of it.”

The conversation about elevated expressways and light rail has heated up in recent months, with much of the talk centered around cost versus innovation. It’s unclear exactly how the projects would be funded; room taxes have been floated as a possibility.

The elevated expressways, billed as a $200 million solution to ease congestion between McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Strip, would involve construction of a pair of one-way roadways without stops, running about 25 feet above existing roads. Drivers would take one of several down-ramps to access streets near the Strip.

Light rail, on the other hand, would be intended to reduce congestion on the Strip itself, and would likely cost roughly twice as much as the expressway. It could possibly be extended later to downtown Las Vegas.

Proponents of light rail argue it’s a more forward-thinking solution to congestion in the resort corridor.

Both light rail and elevated expressways appear in the RTC’s long-term transportation plan as possible means to improving mobility in the Las Vegas Valley. The RTC board adopted the Transportation Investment Business Plan in April.

Sisolak, a vocal skeptic of light rail, also proposed studying whether extending the monorail to the airport would make sense. The RTC’s transportation plan does not mention that idea, he said.

“Thank God,” Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani replied.

Sisolak said all options — elevated expressways, light rail and monorail — deserve to be evaluated because they may work well individually or together in some manner.

The idea isn’t entirely out of the blue. Curtis Myles, CEO of Las Vegas Monorail, said the company always intended to link monorail to the airport. The monorail currently runs from the MGM Grand up to SLS Vegas, and the company has plans to extend its route to Mandalay Bay, he said.

Even so, Giunchigliani strongly opposed including monorail in further airport-to-Strip transit discussions, calling it “antiquated” and “inappropriate.”

Despite commissioners’ differing views about which proposal should emerge the victor, they all agreed community input needs to remain a crucial part of the vetting process.

“Some of the decisions the community has to make now are going to impact the next 20 years of development in our community,” Brown said.

Greg Gilbert, an attorney who spoke on behalf of the RTC, said he thinks the transportation commission would be open to participating in the oversight panel.

The panel and further studies, he said, may clear up confusion about the elevated expressways and light rail.

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