July 03, 2002

Viva Las Vegas: Erica and I spent last weekend in Vegas, city of dry heat, clanging slots and bright lights. My brother Bob's wedding was the occasion; he married his girlfriend of three years, the former Dori Burns. Hearing that they were going to be married in Nevada made us a bit apprehensive, given the reputation of the state. Bob and I went to high school in Reno, and are therefore disabused of the wilder myths about the silver state, but not having ever been to a casino chapel wedding, I still didn't know what to expect. But Erica and I needn't have worried -- the chapel at Caesar's Palace is quite lovely, away from the noise of the casino floor, the justice of the peace quite polished, the ceremony very tasteful. This should have been expected, given Bob and Dori's understated natures -- no rhinestones and Elvis impersonators for them. Here is wishing the best to the new Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. MacDonald.

Vegas cabbies are very cynical about marriage. When told why we were visiting, one asked if it was a second or third marriage (first for both, thank you very much), another expressed surprise when Erica said it would last forever. So I guess the reputation of Nevada is partly true -- many unwise marriages must be started there. Or it could be that cab drivers see more of the seamy side of life.

Toy monorail: While in Las Vegas, I took time to ride their monorail for comparison to Seattle's. The ETC folks make a big thing of the Vegas monorail, touting it as an example of using a monorail for true mass transit in an American city. I have a few observations. Let's start with the plusses:


  • The guideway is indeed much less obtrusive than the current Seattle one. The columns are much slimmer, and the rail looked smaller, too. I can't say much about the column spacing.
  • The Vegas monorail was very quiet pulling in and out of the station, certainly less noisy that a Seattle city bus running its diesel engine. The noise on the monorail wasn't bad either -- my family and I were able to carry on a conversation, even my 78 year old aunt who is deaf in one ear.

The downsides:

  • The train as a whole gave the appearance of a toy. It had little compartments, each with its own door to the platform seating ten people. You had to duck your head to get in, and then had little leg room. It was comfortable for the five minute run between the current two stations, but would be too restrictive for commuter use.
  • While it was moving, the train rocked from side to side, violently enough for Erica to complain. In fact, quite a few of our party did not feel safe. Erica said it reminded her of the Disneyworld monorail, which she hated as a child, and we later found out that the train was a refurbished one bought from that park.

To be fair, the Vegas monorail now existing is only the first step in their ultimate plan. Currently only two hotels are served, Bally's and the MGM Grand. The final system will be much longer. Also, the trains will be upgraded to ones more worthy of a serious mass transit system, with proper headroom and seating, and hopefully less tendency to rock. Still, my ride made me less likely to vote for the ETC's plan in November, not more. I want to be sure that the Seattle monorail will be something I am proud to show visitors, a long-lasting, serious solution to transportation problems, not a toy approved because Seattle believes monorails are cool. This can be done, but it will take more information from the ETC board, especially adding a standard for rocking to the Operating Requirements Document.

Reaction: I spoke on Monday to one of the ETC board members about my Las Vegas concerns. He said about his own ride on the system: "it was a real eye-opener, in a bad way," and complained about the little compartments. I mentioned the rocking -- he had noticed too, but said he didn't mind it -- and let him know my family didn't like it. He expressed a generally negative opinion of Bombardier, who made the Las Vegas train.

Posted by awm at July 3, 2002 06:36 PM