Light rail system crucial for visitors as well as residents of Las Vegas

Friday, April 16, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Two years ago, Las Vegas suffered a deep disappointment when the Regional Transportation Commission board went against public opinion and voted down a proposed light rail system along Maryland Parkway.

Now, though, the private sector has stepped in where local leadership let down the community.

This week brought the encouraging news that Axios Nevada LLC is working with the city of Las Vegas on a light rail system along a vast stretch of Charleston Boulevard.

In an exclusive negotiation agreement with the city to examine the feasibility of the project, the company envisions building a $2 billion to $3 billion mass-transit system that spans nearly the entire length of Charleston, stretching 19 miles from near Hollywood Boulevard on the city’s eastern edge to nearly all the way to Town Center Drive in Summerlin, where Charleston turns into Blue Diamond Road.

The route would provide convenient transportation through downtown Las Vegas and the medical district as well as Las Vegas Ballpark, the home of the Las Vegas Aviators minor-league baseball team, and the Downtown Summerlin mall.

However, that’s just a conceptual, starting-point idea at the beginning stage of the two-year agreement. Light rail is the leading mode identified in the agreement, but officials say other alternatives could very well be discussed, including a version of the Boring Co. tunnel at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

So there’s a great deal yet to be determined about how the project might pan out, but it’s good that talks are in motion.

Las Vegas desperately needs an expansion of its public transportation system — preferably light rail — to maintain our growth and vitality in coming decades. And while improving transit on Charleston would be an important step, community leaders also should continue to discuss how to build light rail between McCarran International Airport to the Strip and beyond to the north.

That need took on more urgency with the unveiling of President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which makes prompt and progressive thinking by the RTC and county officials essential. That way, we can be at the front of the line for projects, because we’ll be ready when an infrastructure plan arrives and is funded.

These improvements are key to our city’s growth and vitality in coming decades.

For too long, we’ve relied on a transportation system designed for a time when Las Vegas had a five- or six-figure population, rotary-dial phones had yet to give way to cellular service, and 8-track players were high-tech.

Our system is at capacity. Although roadways were uncommonly clear over the past year due to the pandemic, they’re quickly getting congested again amid the recovery and will be swarming soon, assuming that the state remains on trajectory to return to 100% capacity in June.

We need to improve our public transportation system for a variety of reasons. Making it easier for vacationers and conventiongoers to get around the Strip enhances and protects the visitor experience that is at the heart of our tourist economy. It also would improve quality of life by providing the Strip workforce and other Southern Nevadans with a convenient and inexpensive way to get to and from work and other locations.

Opponents of light rail and other public transportation improvements contend they’re too expensive and that the pandemic will greatly reduce the need for them by leaving many people working from home permanently, but they’re wrong on both counts.

Regarding the expense, city after city has proven that light rail systems are a fantastic investment that generate millions of dollars in development along the routes. Think residential complexes, dining and nightlife establishments, commercial buildings, etc. People love living and working near convenient transportation, especially younger generations that have shown a heavy preference for mass transit over private vehicle ownership.

And as for the idea that the pandemic will have a lasting effect on traffic congestion, tell that to Las Vegas motorists who are already enduring clogged roads even with the state at partial capacity. Not everyone works from home, especially in a city like Las Vegas where the tourist economy requires in-person, face-to-face service. Many local businesses have brought back their employees in recent months as vaccinations got underway, and many more will follow suit in the coming weeks, assuming the state remains on track in reducing the threat of the coronavirus.

And when tourist and convention traffic come roaring back due to pent-up demand, look out. We’ll have about 780,000 people per week in a “hidden” population of tourists who we need to invest in moving about efficiently.

The agreement between Axios and the city, which also will involve conversations with the RTC since it operates significant bus service on Charleston, could be a step forward. It’s certainly focused in the right direction — toward expanding public transportation, as opposed to trying in vain to solve our transportation problems with outmoded, car-centric thinking.