Quote:
Originally Posted by jngreenlee
... Therefore, I propose elevated multi-track commuter rail on these corridors, and cross-town gondolas or "high speed" buses meeting up with them at 20 block intervals. No more twisty bus routes.
The system's shaped like a ladder, and everyone knows how to use it, anytime, anywhere in the metro. E/W to the rail, N/S, then E/W again.
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I love this too! Austin is a city on the edge of being truly great, and would only benefit from a transportation system that would attract the attention not just of other American cities, but of the entire world. Most of us on this forum are familiar with Medellin's gondolas and everyone knows about Seattle's monorail. Although the latter is largely a tourist attraction and doesn't do much for Seattle's overall traffic situation, it still illustrates, along with the existing gondola systems in other cities, that a city's image is enhanced by highly visible innovative urban systems.
When we think about transportation, we generally fail to consider the hedonic value (pleasure) of various modes of travel. But we spend an enormous amount of time getting from one place to another, and we do pay a great deal of attention to our enjoyment or discomfort while in transit. Advocates for expanding the use of buses as the sole means of public transportation miss the point that buses are clearly not enjoyable. Nobody is excited about getting on a bus for just about any purpose.
It goes without saying that being stuck in traffic jams is not enjoyable, although most seem to prefer it to riding on buses and I am among those people. In my car, I can listen to whatever I want and it's a lot more comfortable than sitting in a bus stuck in the same traffic.
Now, imagine commuting on a gondola or elevated train. The train could be somewhat uncomfortable when overcrowded, but at least it's moving, and the views are an added bonus when they're elevated. Unlike buses, it's a smooth ride, so this makes reading easy and it's also nice not to be jostled about.
Gondolas provide the highest level of hedonic value. I would ride around the city just for fun, on a regular basis, if that were available. I'd take visitors for rides around town on them. Tourists would want to ride them as a top attraction of visiting Austin. It could partially pay for itself just from voluntary ridership for the sheer enjoyment of it.
People worry about the visual impact of elevated transit systems, and I agree that this is a downfall. It's one of those things that we'd all have to get used to, and hopefully the uniqueness and fun side of it would make up for the negative visual effect. I know there are plenty of other problems with it, but I think it should be taken seriously enough to at least look into the costs and potential benefits before dismissing it outright as a silly and impractical option. Here's a useful website about gondolas, with basic info and updates about projects around the world:
http://gondolaproject.com/tag/urban-gondola/
*Edit --- just a half-hour of reading more about gondolas, where they're effective and where they fail at their intended purpose, has me feeling more skeptical about them as an option for Austin.