Gondola Stations as urban transportation option?
 

High-tech gondolas
https://www.wfaa.com/article/tech/hi...a-6e0c5f4fa3bc

A couple of people made an issue about me posting a link only and nothing else last time even though that was a lie so let's make this a great discussion and eager to hear your thoughts on this topic:
The city of Dallas wants to start using these in congested areas of the city/metro. Do you think something like this would be feasible in your city/area?

In Pittsburgh, definitely, given the major topographical/elevation challenges in the city.

For Dallas… seems like a pretty ridiculous vanity project. In cities that are primarily flat, seems kinda silly. But then again, Dallas has a fancy Calatrava bridge over what amounts to a drainage ditch and floodplain most of the time.

These make sense only when traditional solutions don't.

I agree. I also think Dallas should improve it's other modes of public transportation before adding something like high-tech gondolas.

They keep suggesting these for Cincinnati but there really isn't a single application that would be a slam dunk. The two typical gondola suggestions are one connecting the University of Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine (typically near Findlay Market) or Mt. Adams and downtown (usually touching down in front of the casino).

There have been a couple of gondola proposals in LA. One has been proposed to the Hollywood sign, but I think that's all but dead (as it should be, tbh). The other is proposed between Union Station and Dodger Stadium, and that's still an active proposal, though there's quite a bit of resistance to the idea. I hope that one gets built, as it would be a really cool way to access the stadium, and would actually be pretty useful from a transportation perspective.

There was a goofy proposal about 5 years ago or so to add a gondola run along the Chicago river.

It might've been somewhat useful to get workers/visitors from the main commuter rail stations in the west loop over to points of interest over by the mag mile/navy pier, and it certainly would've been cool to float down the river canyon in the suspended glass bubbles that were being proposed.

But the problem is that we already have a fleet of water taxis on the river that serve that very exact same route, with absolutely zero need to spend god only know how many millions to construct that new aerial gondola infrastructure.

So of course, the proposal passed quietly into the realm of unrealized dreams, where it belonged.

The ones in Disney World work but I couldn't not see that as an option for a large city. It is more of a point to point (maybe 3 or 4 points) rather than a comprehensive network. The Disney World gondola network connect a couple parks and a few hotels.

There's a gondola going to Roosevelt Island from Manhattan. It was included in my MTA pass. Kind of neat since it runs next to the Queensboro Bridge.

I could've stayed on the subway to get to Roosevelt Island if I wanted to, so the gondola felt kind of pointless, even in the public transit capitol of the United States.

The gondola was closed for a long time, but it's useful as a backup to the subway. Roosevelt Island doesn't have a bridge to Manhattan island, so if there's a subway disruption there hasn't historically been a good alternative. When it happened in the past you'd have to take a bus into Queens and get a subway line from there to Manhattan. NYC Ferry also stops at RI now, so it isn't as critical, but it's still a good redundancy.

People love these gondola ideas for some reason and i've never understood them. They feel like a tourist gimmick.

This isn't a gondola obviously but pretty awesome nontheless, the suspender railway of Wuppertal, Germany; its still there today.

• Video Link

The only cities that I know of that use cable cars/gondolas as a viable form of transportation are a few cities in South America, La Paz being the most notable.

• Video Link

This should be in the Transportation forum

The video looked silly, way too many gondolas than either pedestrians or cars below.

A good place for a gondola in Buffalo would be connecting the inner and outer harbors at Canalside, where today there is only a small summer bike/passenger ferry, otherwise its almost 4 miles point-to-pont. It was even proposed several years ago, but nothing came of it. A recent article brought it up again a couple years back.

yup — there was a proposal to do this in cleveland ten yrs ago when the idea last caught a trendy wind — i think after the portland tram opened —



CLEVELAND SKYLIFT CPT PROPOSAL LAUNCHED

12
AUG
2013


This past weekend a conceptual CPT line was proposed in Cleveland, Ohio. This concept is called the Cleveland Skylift and one of its purposes is to enhance connectivity throughout the city’s waterfront area. As it stands right now, the system is 5.25 miles (8.5 km) long with with 11 stations. Instead of merely functioning as a transit line, the CPT lines hopes to serve both a transport and entertainment role, or “transpertainment” role.


more:
https://www.gondolaproject.com/categ...eland-skylift/

https://www.gondolaproject.com/wp-co...Screenshot.png

I think for most cities it's really more of a point to point means of transit... maybe for connecting nearby touristy areas. But for a city like Pittsburgh, with a very erratic terrain and large elevation changes between nearby neighborhoods, I could see the application of a much more comprehensive network that connects major population/employment nodes.

It's very difficult (and expensive) to do efficient, connected transit in Pittsburgh at ground level or underground level because of the major changes in surface elevations in the city, the overall lack of flat land, and large rivers carving it up.

Oh for sure. The only reason I used it was for the novelty when I could've easily taken the subway. It was neat, but crowded and I got to see the Queensboro Bridge without having to drive it :haha:

With the big rivers, seems like water taxis might work in Pittsburgh. Do you guys have them?

^
No, not really. Just have "paddle" boats that haul yinzers from parking on the southside to the stadiums during sportsball games.

Here in Vancouver a long time ago we decided to build a university literally on the top of a local mountain and students and faculty have been paying the price ever since when it snows (and just generally burning oil and brake pads going up and down in cars and busses). It's now official that we're going to be building a direct gondola connection from the closest Skytrain station to the top of the mountain in what seems like the biggest no-brainer transit project in the region. The biggest hurdle we found during public consultation here were NIMBYs complaining about people looking down on them but luckily it seems like they didn't stand a chance. Other cities would probably have to tackle this issue as well. For any city where the topography demands transit at significant grades, gondolas seem like they make a lot of sense. For transit in relatively flat areas, why not just build a train or have dedicated bus lanes?

Burnaby Mountain Gondola project site.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1...1020/image.jpg

Image from: CTV News