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...
A common question: Can gondolas be heated and/or air conditioned? It’s a logical question. As gondolas find more usage in the urban environment, heating and air conditioning is going to become more and more standard. Current urban applications haven’t required cooling and heating systems for the simple reason that most people aren’t in the vehicles...
Given last week’s dedication to the new Rheinseilbahn in Koblenz, a reader of The Gondola Project drew my attention to another Rheinseilbahn. This one, located in Cologne, Germany also crosses the Rhine River and – like the one in Koblenz – was built as a supplement to the annual BUGA horticultural fair. Unlike the Koblenz...
An engineer or planner is likely to argue about statistics and numbers. This can do that, this can’t do that. This will do that, this won’t do that. Problem is, most people aren’t engineers or planners. Most people don’t have time for numbers and statistics. And who can really blame them? We live in a...
That was the question: What happens in the event of lightning? I recently had lunch with a group of individuals that included a cable engineer and lightning was was the topic of conversation. I asked him about the issue and what solutions had been engineered to avoid service disruptions due to it. Much to everyone’s...
I was recently presented with the following argument against Urban Gondolas: “If it’s such a good idea, why aren’t there any famous urban cable cars?” Firstly, fame does not equal quality. There’s plenty of famous products, people and ideas that have been or are famous now but likely won’t see the light of day a...
Urban Gondolas provoke awe and that’s a good thing.Cities need more of that, so long as that awe isn’t at the expense of good ideas and sound planning. Back in the winter of 2008, I was working on a report about Cable Propelled Transit (CPT). I’d had the idea to take images of familiar landscapes...