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Ped/Bike/Transit Bridge or Tunnel to Toronto Island?

Here's my take:
  1. Presto should be the default option for public transportation payment - bikes, buses, boats. It's not great but we're stuck with it. (By default I mean a minimum of two gates per entrance in addition to any other options)
  2. Ferries should go back to TTC.
  3. Does anyone use TTC's mobile day pass thing? https://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Fare_information/TTC_connect/index.jsp
(As an aside, Ritual is just one thing that Blackberry 10 users are seemingly shut out of. But apparently John Tory has gone from a Q10 to a Priv recently so it's not like he will be bothered by that)
 
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Thinking that the ped/bike/transit bridge might have to be a toll bridge. The same price or fare as the ferries. Similar to the Confederation Bridge between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, but at a cheaper toll for cyclists.

Confederation-Bridge-Corporate-Logo.gif

See link.
 
I don't see a vehicle bridge, even with significant/war-on-car-level tolls getting political support. A streetcar/pedestrian/cycling only bridge or tunnel which is available to fire/EMS, at best. The islanders would go nuts and while I would not normally give a damn, it would make a significant difference to the ambience of the island to have private vehicles tooling around there.
 
A cable car would be a great option that's cheaper than a tunnel. Mont Tremblant got theirs for only $7 million years ago. I'd guesstimate closer to $20M today, based on the Don Valley Gondola proposal.

Main dealkiller is danger to airplanes. The question is -- can the cable line be high enough to clear the tallest boats -- but low enough to be not a hazard to airplanes? It admittedly seems a bit dodgy, unless the cable line comes via the Port Island route (hey -- a waterfront cable line, perhaps with some interim stations in the middle of the line -- like Ports Lands by 2025)
 
I don't see why an Eastern Gap cable car would impact flight routes - there are no active runway approaches from that direction. I would be more concerned that it would work reliably in the massive temperature range in Toronto over the course of a year. I wouldn't support building the cable car all the way up Cherry - keep it simple and short. But it would still not be my preference. A tunnel, like the way the city piggybacked the airport one, can facilitate additional utilities and if sufficiently ventilated can allow people reach the island under their own power. (This could also change the narrative that the city has to provide a free ferry trip off the island to those who arrive by other means such as water taxi in case they lose their wallet or something)
 
I'm not sure that I really see the point of a gondola over the Eastern Gap. It seems like a lot of trouble when a simple bridge would be a lot more effective. A gondola from the central waterfront over the harbour would make more sense, assuming it doesn't interfere with flights.

dowlingm said:
I would be more concerned that it would work reliably in the massive temperature range in Toronto over the course of a year.
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No offence, but it always amazes me how Canadians find a way to doubt the feasibility of just about anything because of the weather. Cable cars and gondolas are primarily used to access mountains and ski resorts year round. Massive temperature swings are what they're designed for. Lake Louise for example has seen everything from 34 degrees to -53. It has a gondola to near the summit.
 
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Any sort of crossing may have problems. From earlier this summer:

2 injured after cable snaps on Burlington Lift Bridge
One worker has life-threatening injuries: Halton EMS

See link.

Two workers have been taken to hospital — one with life-threatening injuries — after a cable snapped on the Burlington Lift Bridge.

Halton Police said the incident happened at 1:30 p.m. at Beach Boulevard and Eastport Drive.

Police spokesman Barry Malciw said three contractors were near the top of the bridge on scaffolding, installing an electrical wire. Malciw said it wasn't clear whether the wire snapped and struck them or whether they fell as a result of the wire snapping.

One of the workers sustained no injuries, one had minor injuries and the third was knocked unconscious.

The two injured were both transported to hospital -- the one with minor injuries to Burlington's Joseph Brant, and the other to Hamilton General.

Halton Police constable Vince Mulholland was a first responder when the incident occurred. He described the scene as an "industrial accident."

The Ministry of Labour has been called to investigate.

The bridge is operated by Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Eastport Drive was closed in both directions for a few hours but has now been reopened.

The Burlington Lift Bridge, built in the 1960s, sits at the Lake Ontario entrance to Hamilton Harbour and lifts to allow both Great Lakes freighters and pleasure craft passage in and out of the harbour. The bridge lifts vertically up to 33 metres.
Click to expand...
 
dowlingm said:
@MisterF cable cars aren't infallible either http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tran...ondons-new-cable-car-breaks-down-7976314.html

(Also an Eastern Gap bridge would likely have to be openable, which adds to initial and ongoing costs)
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Of course, and to add to W.K. Lis's post above, every type of technology has breakdowns. Nothing is 100% infallible. But still, gondolas are designed to handle some of the most extreme weather around. They're built to access rugged, often high alpine terrain with winds and temperature swings well beyond what we get in Toronto. Gondola breakdowns make the news because they're so rare.
 
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