Famed SciFi writer Ray Bradbury says L.A. needs the monorail

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...day-commentary

L.A.'s future is up in the air

By Ray Bradbury, RAY BRADBURY is the author of "The Martian
Chronicles," "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes,"
among other books.

SOMETIME IN THE next five years, traffic all across L.A. will freeze.

The freeways that were once a fast-moving way to get from one part of
the city to another will become part of a slow-moving glacier, edging
down the hills to nowhere.

In recent years we've all experienced the beginnings of this. A trip
from the Valley into Los Angeles that used to take half an hour — all
of a sudden it takes an hour or two or three. Our warning system tells
us something must be done before our freeways trap us in the outlying
districts, unable to get to our jobs.

In recent months there has been talk of yet another subway, one that
would run between downtown L.A. and Santa Monica. That would be a
disaster.

A single transit line will not answer our problems; we must lay plans
for a series of transportation systems that would allow us to move
freely, once more, within our city.

The answer to all this is the monorail. Let me explain.

More than 40 years ago, in 1963, I attended a meeting of the L.A.
County Board of Supervisors at which the Alweg Monorail company
outlined a plan to construct one or more monorails crossing L.A.
north, south, east and west. The company said that if it were allowed
to build the system, it would give the monorails to us for free —
absolutely gratis. The company would operate the system and collect
the fare revenues.

It seemed a reasonable bargain to me. But at the end of a long day of
discussion, the Board of Supervisors rejected Alweg Monorail.

I was stunned. I dimly saw, even at that time, the future of freeways,
which would, in the end, go nowhere.

At the end of the afternoon, I asked for three minutes to testify. I
took the microphone and said, "To paraphrase Winston Churchill, rarely
have so many owed so little to so few." I was conducted out of the
meeting.

In a panic at what I saw as a disaster, I offered my services to the
Alweg Monorail people for the next year.

During the following 12 months I lectured in almost every major area
of L.A., at open forums and libraries, to tell people about the
promise of the monorail. But at the end of that year nothing was done.

Forty years have passed, and more than ever we need an open discussion
of our future. 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.

Scott en Aztlán wrote:
> laura bush - HOMOCIDULAR VEHICLE > wrote:
>
>>http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...day-commentary
>>
>>L.A.'s future is up in the air
>>
>>By Ray Bradbury, RAY BRADBURY is the author of "The Martian
>>Chronicles," "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes,"
>>among other books.
>>
>>SOMETIME IN THE next five years, traffic all across L.A. will freeze.
>
> No ****?!?!?!

This song is wonderfully illustrative (WAV format):

http://www.clayloomis.com/simsg302g.wav

Later,
Chris

--
Chris Bessert

http://www.michiganhighways.org
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org
http://www.ontariohighways.org

American is so full of corruption, criminals, nothing can get done
anymore. All we can do is talk about silly bull**** fraud in the
trillions of dollars like the mission to mars, and the drug benefit
program. With our vast wealth we could build paradise, but criminals
and gangsters suck the life out of our country and will bring it to
ruin.

the good people need to fight back against evil in this country, take
back your country from Jewish mobsters and then you'll be able to build
10 thousand monorails.

American is so full of corruption, criminals, nothing can get done
anymore. All we can do is talk about silly bull**** fraud in the
trillions of dollars like the mission to mars, and the drug benefit
program. With our vast wealth we could build paradise, but criminals
and gangsters suck the life out of our country and will bring it to
ruin.

the good people need to fight back against evil in this country, take
back your country from the selfish interest groups and then you'll be
able to build 10 thousand monorails.

laura bush - VEHICULAR HOMICIDE wrote:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...day-commentary
>
> L.A.'s future is up in the air
>
> By Ray Bradbury, RAY BRADBURY is the author of "The Martian
> Chronicles," "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes,"
> among other books.
>
> SOMETIME IN THE next five years, traffic all across L.A. will freeze.
>
> The freeways that were once a fast-moving way to get from one part of
> the city to another will become part of a slow-moving glacier, edging
> down the hills to nowhere.
>

In 5 years...I doubt it, but he makes a good point.

Intuitively a monorail system would "seem" like a better choice over
subway based systems because of the immense cost of digging and ground
level systems because of right-of-way issues. So are their technical
reasons why hasn't it become more popular?

Marge: According to this book, the monorail goes over 150 miles an hour!
What if something goes wrong?
Homer: ``What if.'' What if I stepped in the shower and slipped on a bar
of soap? ... Oh, my God! I'd get killed!

JohnH wrote:
> Marge: According to this book, the monorail goes over 150 miles an hour!
> What if something goes wrong?
> Homer: ``What if.'' What if I stepped in the shower and slipped on a bar
> of soap? ... Oh, my God! I'd get killed!


That's all I think of when someone mentions a monorail!

Be The Dick wrote:
> American is so full of corruption, criminals, nothing can get done
> anymore. All we can do is talk about silly bull**** fraud in the
> trillions of dollars like the mission to mars, and the drug benefit
> program. With our vast wealth we could build paradise, but criminals
> and gangsters suck the life out of our country and will bring it to
> ruin.

Aside from your racist rant at the end of this message, the above is
the perfect reason to keep cutting taxes.

Less money for the government means more money for you.

(Be The Dick) wrote in
ups.com:

> take back your country from Jewish mobsters ...

Now, that's interesting.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

"John S." > wrote
> Intuitively a monorail system would "seem" like a better choice over
> subway based systems because of the immense cost of digging and ground
> level systems because of right-of-way issues. So are their technical
> reasons why hasn't it become more popular?

They're not that much less expensive than elevated light rail, they have
the same visual "pollution" problems, there are very few manufacturers
(essentially one-off designs and manufactures - makes for high maintenance),
you still have to move underground utilities (due to the pylon foundations),
they're more expensive at ground level (still have to have the beam rather
than a simple roadway), they're highly exposed to earthquake damage,
etc.

FloydR