Post by Steven Dale
This week there’s been a slew of stories about Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Cable Propelled Transit (CPT):
- Big News: CBC News, The Vancouver Sun, Burnaby Now, CTV and Coquitlam Now all report that Vancouver area transit authority TransLink will pursue a business case study to explore an Urban Gondola connection between the Skytrain and nearby Simon Fraser University.
- Last week, the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) took another step closer to reality when the California Transportation Commission voted unanimously to provide $20 million USD in funding to the project. BART, meanwhile, reaffirmed their contract authorization to the Parsons-Flatiron team who won the bid late last year.
- The Dominion Post reports that local body candidate, Thomas Morgan is proposing a gondola system in Wellington, New Zealand. Details are scant and while located in an urban setting, the proposal is clearly geared towards the tourism sector.
- MassTransitMag reminds its readers that San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFTMA) will host its 48th annual cable car bell ringing competition on Tuesday, September 28th.
- City Council in Long Beach, California grants OK to pursue funds for an “Alternative Transportation Analysis” (including an Urban Gondola). Curbed Los Angeles uses a (ridiculous) image to express their disgust with the idea.
- A group calling themselves Hobart Cable Car starts an advocacy campaign with a nifty facebook video.
- The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is currently closed for its once-every-12-years replacement of its support cables. That schedule is being extended by an extra week to accommodate further upgrades.
- The Doppelmayr-Garaventa group of companies offers Jakarta, India a “flood-free” method of transportation.
- Last week, the state of Chihuahua in Mexico opened the world’s third largest cable car in Copper Canyon. No details on what the term “third largest” means. Also: It’s not a Cable Car. The description clearly describes an Aerial Tram. Curiously, however, it’s an Aerial Tram with an intermediary station – a very rare occurrence.
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York hosts an exhibit dedicated to new social innovations. The Caracas Metrocable is heavily featured.
- Two professional cyclists get on a gondola in Brazil after operations have ceased and accidentally get trapped there overnight. Why station attendants didn’t stop them (or why station doors were open despite the system being closed) is unclear. The pair survived the ordeal unscathed and went on to win silver medals in their competition. How long before people use this story as an example of why gondolas are unsafe is also unclear.
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Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.
