This piece was first published on The Gondola Project in 2010 but it is still highly relevant and useful. It’s about keeping your head low to the ground being unobtrusive; useful advice from a Canadian.
There’s a story about Cable Propelled Transit, Aerial Ropeways and Urban Gondolas that only hurts the technology’s future. Unfortunately, the industry does little to stop the spread of this story.
The story is simple: If you build an urban gondola, you’ll have vehicles flying over tall buildings, hundreds of feet in the air!
This story is bad for cable. Here’s why:
- The higher in the air your system is, the higher your insurance is likely to be.
- The higher in the air your system is, the more complex your rescue operations will be.
- Flying over top of a building will drag out your approvals process unless those who own the building just happen to be your friends.
- The higher in the air your system is, the more expensive it will be.
- The higher in the air your system is, the more disconnected it is from the urban fabric. Towers will be large and imposing.
So here’s how to re-shape the story: Build your system tall enough so that all traffic can pass under it safely, but no taller. Wherever possible, keep the route within public rights of way like parks, boulevards, highway medians and natural features. Go Low Profile.
The Telluride Gondola is an excellent example of how “low profile” gondolas improve cable transit. Image by Chazz Layne.
Here’s how going Low Profile changes the story:
- Urban Gondolas can avoid all street level traffic because they operate in the air.
- Low Profile Urban Gondolas can be effectively woven into the urban fabric due to the small size of the towers.
- Low Profile Urban Gondolas are extremely cost-effective due to simple engineering.
- Low Profile Urban Gondolas can be evacuated using standard fire rescue equipment because they are no more than 2-4 stories off the ground.
- Because they’re located within public rights of way such as highways, parks and boulevards, Urban Gondolas do not cause privacy concerns among citizens.
- Low Profile Urban Gondolas do not provoke fear in the rider, because they are no more than 2-4 stories off the ground.
- Low Profile Urban Gondolas broadcast their speed and efficiency to pedestrians, drivers and cyclists. They provide a constant, visual cue.
Check out our new Low Profile Gondolas link in the Image Gallery!
9 Comments
This is a prime example of what CPT must do to be successful in an urban environment. Safety and insurance rates are important factors and the urban design scheme of the system must reflect those ideals. In the end a CPT system requires an understanding of what its surroundings are and how they can effectively be woven into the system to make it safer which should lead to lower insurance rates.
High profile cable can cross shipping routes, unaccessible terrain, has very long spans and can move in an other directions than the existing right of ways. As the existing rigth of ways have most likely some form of transit CPT has to take the niche of the difficult routes. Basically the only alternative to cable would be a deep bore tunnel which also can move freely from existing buildings and terrain. Only CPT has a lower price tag.
True. So let’s say this: High Profile for difficult topography; Low Profile for urban settings.
i’m not quite sure if you can get high enough nobody would bother. setting up a cable car for a city with high density wouldn’t allow you to work with low profile aerial pathways. so the only chance is to use a higher path and besides this you will need much less pillars … which is a good thing since space and installation is rare in lots of cities.
so, the other factor: we have cars and buses going in front of our houses, we have planes and helicopters flying over… is a silent cable car that much of a deal? yes, i believe about 5 metre above my roof that would ennoy me too, but a little higher… no prob i think.
LX,
Personally I feel that anywhere from street level up to four stories would work. Understanding, of course, that the line’s height will likely fluctuate along its length, stations, etc. The major concerns around height are: Ensuring people feel safe; no complex rescue operations (due to height); lower insurance costs; lower engineering costs.
Yes, the lower to the ground you go, the more towers you require, but that’s fairly relative. Medellin’s system works well being around 2-4 stories off the ground and towers are not placed very frequently.
What is the height limit between “low” and “high profiles”? You’re talking about 4 stories (which is approx. 15 meters, right), that would be the limit? (I do understand there’s no point in giving an exact value, because “low” and “high” are subjective concepts)
And, how low can a gondola line actually be? I’m working on a project for my engineering school, and my CPT line will cross several electric lines. So I need to know if I could go under them, which I think would be the best solution, by far. But is it only possible?
Hi Victor,
There’s no way to say definitively one way or another. System height is largely determined by architectural, policy and tower span considerations.
In short, however, you can go over or under electrical towers, no problem. It’s been done dozens of times before in a variety of ways.