14 September 2007, 07:46 AM
jktSave the Monorail ~ Save the World
I believe that every self-respecting fan of Ray Bradbury should pack a bag, board a plane, train or automobile and head to Las Vegas. This is to help save the only publicly funded monorail in America. As most of you know, Ray is a devotee of urban planning and his essays have effected development from Horton Plaza in San Diego to the Glendale Galleria and Century City, CA. Ray’s greatest urban planning love and belief is in the monorail. Let’s all band together to save this symbol of Ray’s vision.
You can read the article in today’s Los Angeles Times by following this link:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-monorail14sep14,1...a-headlines-business14 September 2007, 08:14 AM
Braling IIHow about the Seattle monorail?
I was living there when they built it in 1961; and, as far as I know, it's still running. It was built for the 1962 World's Fair, and I believe it paid for itself in the first year of operation.
http://www.seattlemonorail.com/14 September 2007, 11:38 AM
Doug Spauldingquote:
Originally posted by jkt:
Horton Plaza in San Diego...
It's a beautiful place:
14 September 2007, 01:28 PM
jktquote:
Originally posted by Braling II:
How about the Seattle monorail?
I was living there when they built it in 1961; and, as far as I know, it's still running. It was built for the 1962 World's Fair, and I believe it paid for itself in the first year of operation.
http://www.seattlemonorail.com/
The Seattle monorail is a
commercial enterprise while Las Vegas is
municiple.14 September 2007, 02:04 PM
Braling III think you mean
municipal, but point taken. However, from the article you posted, it would seem they've got to address some problems of efficiency, structure, and cost. I do hope things work out for the best. I myself won't be going to Vegas any time soon; I've been there once and that was enough for me.
14 September 2007, 06:48 PM
oz-crumleyThe monorail in Sydney, Australia is notoriously expensive and near-useless as a means of public transport. For tourists only.
Somehow the visions people had in the '50s and '60s of monorails being the future of urban public transport just haven't panned out. Maybe because they're cumbersome, inefficient things. Still, they do have a charm of their own (riding on one is kind of like being in a sci-fi movie from 1970).