For the upcoming 2 year anniversary of The Gondola Project, we’d like to dedicate a week purely to conceptual gondola plans created by Gondola Project readers. Concept plans such as those created for Pittsburgh, Seattle or Toronto invariably spur some of the most interesting discussions on the site and generate a lot of local interest....
Perhaps the oddest argument against Urban Gondolas is the boarding and alighting process. Oftentimes, people complain that passengers will be unable to board and alight these systems given the unique process involved: Generally speaking, urban gondolas move through stations at what is known as “crawl” or “creep” speed. While crawl speed can vary by system,...
Various media sources have been reporting that Makkah, Saudi Arabia has plans for 12 Urban Gondola systems throughout the city (here, here and here, for example). While that’s certainly exciting news, it’s not exactly true. The study that led to these reports explored only three routes with multiple technology and route configurations. The number of...
ANY CHARACTER HERE One thing I love about cable is the questions and discussions it creates. Generally speaking, people are curious creatures and when confronted with the strange, bizarre and not-so-everyday, they want to know more. They ask questions, ponder and – for better or for worse – they come to their own conclusions. Those...
Dear Toronto: You might have heard today on CBC’s Metro Morning an interview with myself, Steven Dale, the Founder of The Gondola Project and Founding Principal at Creative Urban Projects. Typically, such press causes The Gondola Project to experience a rather large surge in traffic from whatever given geographic region is discussing the idea. As such: Welcome...
(Voluntary Disclosure: This past summer I was retained by Translink – at their behest – to meet with stakeholders in Vancouver associated with the Burnaby Mountain Gondola proposal; tour the proposed route of the gondola; and give a presentation to select staff of Translink and CH2M Hill on best practices in Cable Propelled Transit systems....
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. And while – like many families – I celebrated the occasion yesterday, I just wanted to take a few minutes and reflect upon what is perhaps my favourite holiday of them all. The beauty of Thanksgiving is this: No gifts, no fuss, no worship. Just a big meal with friends and...
A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit: Jarrett Walker of Human Transit indulges in a little bit of “technology fetishism” by profiling the Wellington Cable Car. Provincial Member of Parliament Kennedy Stewart indicates that he will launch his own public consultation process in regards to the...
As of this week, The Gondola Project will discontinue posting on Saturdays and Sundays. Recent developments and a large surge in readership have caused us to rethink our strategy and focus on high-quality posts during the prime readership days of Monday through Friday. We’re hoping this will result in a shift from quantity to quality...
Having just recently witnessed the Pilatus Bahn, I’d have to say the question is no longer “are gondolas compatible with urban residential uses.” Maybe instead the question should be phrased as “how are gondolas compatible with urban residential uses?” And I’d be willing to go out on a limb here and say it’s just a...