This belongs in r/fuckyouinparticular also.

Lol it’s not too interesting. I just don’t like how Presby was angling to put a “luxury hotel” in the alpine zone and then (since that was poorly received) pivoted to proposing sleeper cars in an area they are calling Lizzie’s Station. I believe out of 18 cars 9 will hold up to 70 overnight guests, with fiber optic, bathrooms (yay more alpine sewage), and concession.

A little tea gets spilled here and here.

Currently there are 3-4 trains that go directly to the summit to unload (on the hour, I think) adding to the congestion (thousands of visitors) at the summit . The new plan says that only one car will go back and forth to unload at the summit, the rest will disembark at Lizzie’s Station (with passengers having the option to walk up to the summit or ride). The claim is that this development is a good thing, and will help with congestion.

I’m wondering how many back & forths the one car will do every hour (I assume the same amount as now, but who knows). I like how the chaos is currently solely contained to two ugly parking lots, a viewing deck, and the buildings/sign area. Walk past all that, hop over the tracks, and it’s fairly peaceful. The heavier flow of traffic is always going to Lake of the Clouds because it’s the closest real destination that someone hopping off a train or shuttle can reasonably “hike” to. With this there will be way more of a stream of people on the other side as well.

I’m pro-observatory and I’m all for encouraging people who wouldn’t normally engage with the outdoors to foster a connection to nature. That being said, I know how people use the summit and can predict what this expansion will do… I don’t think encouraging sprawl is beneficial. The dude can park cars at the bottom/create a hotel there… he just knows that’s not as glamorous/profitable.