Cory Doctorow posted a piece about an LA Times OpEd by the famous author on that holy grail of transit options, the monorail.
L.A.’s future is up in the air – Los Angeles Times:
If we examine the history of subways, we will find how tremendously expensive and destructive they are.
They are, first of all, meant for cold climates such as Toronto, New York, London, Paris, Moscow and Tokyo. But L.A. is a Mediterranean area; our weather is sublime, and people are accustomed to traveling in the open air and enjoying the sunshine, not in closed cars under the ground.
Subways take forever to build and, because the tunnels have to be excavated, are incredibly expensive. The cost of one subway line would build 10 monorail systems.
Along the way, subway construction destroys businesses by the scores. The history of the subway from East L.A. to the Valley is a history of ruined businesses and upended lives.
The monorail is extraordinary in that it can be built elsewhere and then carried in and installed in mid-street with little confusion and no destruction of businesses. In a matter of a few months, a line could be built from Long Beach all the way along Western Avenue to the mountains with little disturbance to citizens and no threat to local businesses.
Compared to the heavy elevateds of the past, the monorail is virtually soundless. Anyone who has ridden the Disneyland or Seattle monorails knows how quietly they move.
They also have been virtually accident-free. The history of the monorail shows few collisions or fatalities.If we constructed monorails running north and south on Vermont, Western, Crenshaw and Broadway, and similar lines running east and west on Washington, Pico, Wilshire, Santa Monica and Sunset, we would have provided a proper cross section of transportation, allowing people to move anywhere in our city at any time.
There you have it. As soon as possible, we must call in one of the world’s monorail-building companies to see what could be done so that the first ones could be in position by the end of the year to help our huddled traffic masses yearning to travel freely.
The freeway is the past, the monorail is our future, above and beyond.
Let the debate begin.
The debate is over here in Seattle. After 40 years of dithering, the monorail is dead. After repeated efforts — approved by voters at the polls — the project is dissolving.
And we’re building a light-rail — subway — system instead. It’s hard to argue with the decision, as the monorail management, as best I can tell, acted like drunken royalty with the tax proceeds, without delivering a workable project plan. The initial line was planned to run from Magnolia (later Ballard) to West Seattle. Many thought a more easterly line — from Green Lake/Greenwood to Downtown or from the University area to Downtown — would have been more useful. The light-rail system does that, as it turns out. I wonder if, had the two projects tried to link the same areas, the monorail would have made a better case for itself?
Some people have no doubt as to who is responsible.
I liked the monorail for the added dimension it added: perhaps this is some Jetson-esque dream, but I imagined monorail stations at Qwest Field or Safeco Field, high above the street, bringing people to the games without having to go back to the gates at street level. Likewise, office buildings downtown could build stations at the 5th floor, say, opening up a retail or restaurant area in addition to the ground level options.
Oh, well, back into our cars.
Now playing: Tramp The Dirt Down (Demo) by Elvis Costello from the album “Spike Bonus Disc”
