'Hurry up and do something' – Branson seeks traffic answers

That’s why, for more than a year, the city has been working with a consultant on a transit study to determine its best improvement options. The search has narrowed the options to adding a shuttle system along back roads near the strip, or building an elevated sky train – such as a monorail – along 76.

In 2004, the city used a $450,000 federal grant to hire St. Louis-based Jacobs Civil Inc. to lead the study. Since then, public meetings, most recently on March 9, have served as the gathering ground for residents’ concerns and ideas.

“The main comment we got the most was, ‘Hurry up and do something,’” said Branson City Engineer David Miller. “It’s been an issue for decades.”

Three-lane Highway 76 remains the city’s major travel artery and cannot be widened because businesses and utility poles are too close to the road, Miller said. The strip’s pedestrian-unfriendly environment makes sidewalks unfavorable.

While Miller said some businesses along Highway 76 appreciate having the added exposure from cars at standstills in front of their stores, some say the exposure does not make up for lost customers.

“Whenever the traffic backs up, everything dies,” said Dianne Delsanto, manager of Dickens Gift Shoppe on the strip. “They get to sit and read my sign, but they don’t want to come in because they don’t want to lose their place.”

John McCarthy, Jacobs Civil project manager for the study, said businesses often lose revenue when traffic dictates where customers eat and shop.

“The real problem for the visitors is that they tend to be forced to choose one of the theaters or restaurants closest to where they’re staying, as opposed to having the flexibility of choosing from a whole lot of places,” he said. “They don’t know how long it’s going to take them to get from where they’re staying, and they want to be on time.”

The city’s high-traffic reputation also may discourage some travelers from visiting, Miller said.

Public transit

There currently is no public transit system in Branson. Miller said a bus route could be designed along the Branson strip, but study results show most travelers would not ride buses, and buses can get stuck in traffic as easily as cars.

McCarthy’s project team has suggested adding shuttle routes along back roads, with stations near Highway 76 and popular retail and residential areas. Two proposed routes would run in loops covering the north and south halves of the entertainment district and intersect in the middle so passengers can reach destinations on either end.

The shuttles would be smaller and lower to the ground than buses, McCarthy said, which would give passengers a better riding experience.

A third transit route is proposed along the Highway 76 corridor for what the study’s team has termed a “sky train,” which could include any vehicle on an elevated fixed guideway, such as a monorail, a hanging tram, a rubber-wheeled vehicle or a steel-railed train.

McCarthy said the sky train option has been most popular with residents and tourists because of its guaranteed schedule.

“You would have reliable service and you would know how many minutes it would take you to the (station where) you were proposing to get off,” he said.

The sky train could become a piece of entertainment itself, McCarthy said, as some visitors will be attracted to its novelty and consider it “part of the experience.” The rail and its structural columns would be lit and aesthetically pleasing as well, he said.

The rail also could provide mounting capabilities for electrical lines and streetlights, providing a less cluttered look along the strip.

“You could clean up those utility lines and poles that are out there, and it would just be the signs that would stand out for the businesses along the way,” he said.

Though costs for a sky train are still being researched, Miller said there are plans to seek federal funding, and he said some private donors already have offered to help pay for it.

In Las Vegas, Nev., where an entertainment district is situated on a single strip similar to Branson’s, bumper-to-bumper traffic was always an issue – until a monorail was constructed in early 2005.

Ingrid Reisman, vice president of corporate communications at Las Vegas Monorail Co., said the electric monorail system took $650 million and three years to build. The effect on visitor satisfaction has been astounding, she said.

“We’re above traffic; we’re not stuck in traffic. It doesn’t matter if there’s gridlock on the strip,” she said. “We’re really reducing the amount of congestion on our streets, and carbon monoxide and other emissions in our air.”

Reisman said other opportunities have risen from the monorail. Entertainment attractions at its stations, such as a General Motors test track where visitors can drive Hummers and Tahoes on off-road tracks, have emerged.

The elevated view of the monorail is part of its appeal, making it one of the top tourist destinations in Las Vegas, she said.

“To some people, it’s a way to get from one end of the strip to the other in 15 minutes,” she said. “For other people, it’s part of the experience. They can see another side of Las Vegas.”

The Branson transit study team is researching financing options and preparing an environmental impact study of each proposed route. Another public meeting will be held in July, and Miller said he expects the final report to be released at the end of the year.