Commentary: Disney built the monorail in a year. LAX's people mover, almost 8, hasn't left the station

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Set us as preferred In the summer of 1957, Walt Disney spotted a monorail in Europe and decided he’d like to have one of his own.Design and construction began in 1958, and the following year, Disneyland had a monorail.The LAX SkyLink people mover was approved by the L.A.

City Council in 2018 and construction began in 2019, with a targeted completion date of 2023.In the latest news of yet another delay, the hoped-for startup has been pushed into next year.Almost eight years, and the train has not left the station.It’s the little engine that can’t.The people mover that doesn’t.There’s been finger-pointing, litigation and a grand jury probe into how a $1.9-billion choo-choo has become a $3.3-billion boondoggle.Maybe they should have hired Disney.“Tell me about it,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who noted that Disney imagineer Bob Gurr, who helped design the monorail and other iconic Disneyland attractions, lives in her district.I’m waiting to hear back from Gurr, who’s in his mid-90s, to see if he’s available to work a little magic and help get the people mover moving.“I’m down with that,” Rodriguez said.

“And we get an E Ticket ride.”To fully appreciate the madness, a bit of historical context is helpful.California The delayed automated people mover at LAX, lags in street improvements and road safety initiatives are some of the challenges that mayoral incumbent Karen Bass or challenger Nithya Raman will face next year.Given the region’s legendary traffic, a well-designed transit system has always made sense in Southern California, and billions of dollars have been invested, with quite a bit to show for voter-approved sales tax increases with Measures R and M and boatloads of federal dollars.But the ride has been bumpy.In the 1990s, the Green Line, as it was then known, wa...