Rumored for about a week (first in CityLife by KLAS Channel 8 investigative reporter George Knapp), former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury is expected to be announced this afternoon as a member of the Las Vegas Monorail’s board of directors. With this appointment, approved today by Gov. Jim Gibbons, what the Monorail lacks in reach it is gaining in credibility. We will keep you posted on this once the train pulls into station, as it were.
During a phone interview today, Woodbury said his charge is, “to set policy and conduct oversight of staff and all the operations, to make sure it’s the best system possible.” He said he was approached just after the first of the year by members of the current Monorail board, Pat Shalmy (president of Nevada Power Company), Terry Murphy (president of Strategic Solutions) and certified public accountant Alex Hossack. Woodbury attended a board meeting as an observer “two or three weeks ago,” and afterward agreed to allow his name to be considered for the open board position.
Woodbury says the first priority for the board is to generate enough funding to expand the Monorail to McCarran International Airport, which would lead to a huge boost in passengers. “It has always been part of the plan to extend it to beyond the first phase. Getting it to the airport is an important step, and that’s still part of the plan, and so is extending it to other Strip hotels rather than downtown, which would happen much later in the game.”
Woodbury hasn’t stepped on the Monorail himself since shortly after it began taking passengers in 2004, but his transportation credentials are indisputable. A former member of the Regional Transportation Commission, he is a sub-consultant for Nevada Department of Transportation projects, and is also a member of the nonprofit Nevada Highway Users Coalition, which supports placing a high priority on improving transportation projects. And the Bruce Woodbury Beltway, obviously, is named for him, leading him to note, “It’s pretty humbling. I just hope people sitting stuck in traffic don’t get mad at me when they see my name on the road sign.”
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