Post by nickchu

• TransLink‘s 10 year plan includes the Burnaby Mountain Gondola. TransLink and the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transport have announced the first set of priorities for their Transport 2050 strategy. The plan includes doubling regional bus services, nine zero-emission buses on traffic-separated lanes, the Burnaby Mountain Gondola to Simon Fraiser University, and a rapid transit connection to the North Shore. See a related Weekly Roundup here. The parent company of the Gondola Project, SCJ Alliance, has been retained to provide gondola expertise for this project.
• Ever wonder how ropeway systems with cold weather conditions clear the ropes of rime ice, the type of ice that forms when supercooled water liquid droplets freeze onto surfaces? Here is a video of how the wheels knock off the ice when the ropes pass by. Sometimes operators must climb towers to ensure the wheels are not frozen and rotating before opening to the public. The video doesn’t specify the system, but it is believed to be the Sandia Peak Tramway in New Mexico.
• A ropeway system to the Our Lady of the Rockies monument has been discussed for years, but in recent year’s interest has grown. . Currently a tramway and pulse gondola or monocable detachable gondola (MDG) are being studied to determine which is the right fit. The MDG is the recommended alternative, but the ultimate decision has not been made. The MDG is estimated to have a capital cost of $23-$29 million plus an annual operational cost of $3-$4 million. For the tramway and pulse gondola option it is estimated to have a capital cost of $36-$45 million plus an annual operational cost of $4-$5 million. The Lady is currently only reached with a bus tour that takes two and half hours and runs from summer to early fall. The parent company of the Gondola Project, SCJ Alliance, has been retained to provide gondola expertise for this project.