September, 2010

30
Sep

2010

The Copper Canyon Tram

Mexico's Copper Canyon Tram. Image via the LA Times.

Yesterday, the LA Times reported on the world’s newest aerial tram, Mexico’s Copper Canyon Tram. According to the article, when at their highest, cabins are 1475 feet (450 meters) above the ground – 50 meters shy of being half a kilometer off the earth!

If those figures turn out to be true (and I see no reason why they wouldn’t be), this would therefore be the highest aerial ropeway system in the world, eclipsing the previous record of 436 meters held by Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak.

Built for just $29.4 million USD, this 2.73 km long system has a per kilometer cost of just $10.75 million USD and demonstrates just how quickly cable is changing. After all, the Peak 2 Peak held its height record for less than 2 years.

The last ten years have shown how quickly cable systems can innovate, advance and push the envelope. It will be exciting to see what changes the industry has in store for us in the next ten years.

(Update: Please see comments below, as it appears the Copper Canyon Tram reaches an above-ground height of only 200m, not the 450 as reported by the LA Times.)

Copper Canyon Tram
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29
Sep

2010

Canadian Prosciutto

If I told you that the best prosciutto you’ll ever try comes from a small producer two hours south of Toronto, what would you say?

You’d probably ask where Toronto, Italy is. But after I corrected you by saying Toronto, Canada, what would your reaction be?

There’s no such thing as Canadian prosciutto! is a likely response. Problem is, it’s a wrong response.

The producer in question ages his prosciutto in a limestone cave in the Niagara region, Canada’s foremost wine-producing region (yes, there’s such a thing as Canadian wine, too). The temperature and moisture in the man’s cave is such that it perfectly mimics the conditions made popular in the more famous Italian variety.

The meat is subtle, lean and beautiful. No preservatives, not too salty. It’s the best prosciutto you’ll ever have. And it’s bargain-priced compared to the imported varieties.

Having read this, some people will maintain that there is no such thing as Canadian prosciutto. Others will accept the idea that such a thing exists but will insist it can’t be superior to Italian brands – despite never having tried the Canadian variety.

A third group will seek it out. They’ll want to know more about it, where to buy it and whether the 12 month old proscitto is really that much better than the 6 month old (it is). They might even say to themselves Canadian bacon’s pretty good, so maybe Canadian prosciutto is, too.

In other words: They won’t let their cynicism and preconceived ideas get in their way of experiencing something wonderful, unfamiliar and possibly better than what they’re used to. They might be skeptical, but they won’t dismiss the idea out of hand.

You can believe that such things as Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit don’t exist. Or you can argue that – though it may, indeed, exist – it can’t possibly compete with standard and familiar forms of transit. But to do so is no different than denying the existence of Canadian prosciutto.

Which is a shame because Canadian prosciutto is awesome.


Just For Fun / Thoughts
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28
Sep

2010

Caracas Metrocable Documentary Video

An interesting short film about the San Augustin Metrocable line in Caracas, Venezuela:

The Metro Cable of San Agustin from Urban Think Tank on Vimeo.

Caracas Metrocable
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27
Sep

2010

Magic Highway USA

Watch the following excerpt from this 1958 episode of Disneyland TV and contemplate it for a few minutes:

Now ask yourself: How many of these inventions and innovations did the narrator virtually guarantee we’d see in our lifetimes?

And how many of them – more than a half a century later – have been realized?

I’ll admit to being drawn to conceptual future travel technologies like any transit geek (the Chinese Tunnel Bus™ for example), but I try to couch those curiosities with a thick dose of reality and practicality.

People might accuse me of being a gadgetbahn aficionado, but I think my interest in Cable Propelled Transit and Urban Gondolas is based on empirical skepticism not fantastical ideology.

It’s that practicality and skepticism – I think – that draws people to cable and gondolas. Not only are they cost-effective and robust, there exists enough examples of the technology to make a compelling argument.

Just For Fun / Oddities
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26
Sep

2010

Sunday Morning Statshot

A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATISTICS THAT MAKE YOUR CITIES WORK (OR NOT):

Swinging bus stop: London

A/C bus stop: Dubai

Hammock bus stop: Vancouver

Number of traffic jams on Beijing’s Friday Night: 140

You cannot get a snake to swallow an elephant: Chinese Traffic Metaphor

Coolest bike lanes: Portland, OR

Illegal bicycle parking in Copenhagen: Free oil chain and tire inflation

Number of illegally parked bicycles per day in April: 150

Illegal bicycle parking today: 30-50

% of creative class living within 500m of a subway which ride a subway: 45

% of service class living within 500m of a subway which ride a subway: 31

Reading your kindle while driving a bus: bad Idea

Cost to build Springfield’s monorail: $3 million

Cost to build Pinellas County’s theoretical monorail: $1.6 billion

Length: 30 miles

Cost per mile: $53 million

Seattle’s Central Link LRT: $2.4 billion

Length: 15.6 mile

Cost per mile: 154 million

Dubai’s debt: $26 billion

Solution to frequent stopping: Amoeba train

% market share of hybrid vehicles worldwide: 1

Most common place to find America’s “Largest Things”: Roadside

World’s biggest catsup bottle: Collinsville, IL

How to foster transit behaviour in your child: Public Transportation Lego

How to never miss your train in Switzerland: Swisstrains.Ch

Reasons for not taking transit in LA: A lot

How to ensure your child never takes transit: 80′s pictures of New York’s subway

How to make your child hate rap and urban planning at the very same time: Tuomas Toivonen, Urbanist Rapper

3D Modelling + Transit = Win

Sunday Statshot
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25
Sep

2010

Weekly Roundup

This week there’s been a slew of stories about Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Cable Propelled Transit (CPT):

Weekly Roundup
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24
Sep

2010

Urban Gondolas Are Flexible (And That Might Be A Problem)

As I’ve argued in the past, Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) are not niche technologies.

Sure, cable can be used in niche settings, but the sheer variety of settings and environments cable can be adapted to prevents it from being a niche technology.

A technology that can adapt to dozens of niche settings is not a niche technology, it’s a flexible technology. And while on the surface that appears to be a quality, it might just works against the technology.

Something that is flexible, after all, is often also confusing. And confusion gets in the way of sales.

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Thoughts
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