Post by Steven Dale
A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondola Transit and Cable Propelled Transit (there’s lots of good stuff this week, so read on):

The Vancouver/Burnaby gondola, inspired by Whistler's Peak 2 Peak (above) is in danger after local residents realize it might infringe upon their privacy. Image by Clarisse Baudot via CBC.
- Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it: The CBC is reporting that residents under the proposed Vancouver / Burnaby gondola are upset to learn their homes are under the proposed Vancouver / Burnaby gondola line. For whatever reason, planners and proponents chose to ignore the most basic lesson about building urban gondolas in North America: NOMBY – Not Over My Back Yard. That the lesson comes from Portland, Oregon (a city not more than 6 hours drive away) is all the more heartbreaking. This one was so predictable, it’s amazing it took this long to come to fruition.
- The Venezuelan Embassy issues a press release stating that Caracas’ second Metrocable will be operational by September, 2012. The first phase of the line will be 4.6 km long with no intermediary stations and a second phase of the line will include 2 intermediary stations. No length is given for the second phase of the line.
- A proposed urban gondola system in Lima, Peru is put on hold until concerns about its impact on a UNESCO World Heritage site are addressed.
- The Baltiomore Sun is reporting – amongst other things – on the possibility of an Aerial Tramway in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. It’s a shame this sounds all too much like the ill-conceived and never-realized Baltimore Gondola. Again, we don’t know why, but the market for tourist-oriented gondolas in North American cities just doesn’t seem to work. Build for the locals, not the tourists.
- Residents of Valparaiso, Chile battle to save their fabled Ascensores.
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.
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.