APTA-2048
Senior Member
I was gonna say… this looks very unserious lol
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Niagara River Line (Automated Electric Tram)
- Thread starter SaugeenJunction
- Start date
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
Looks like it runs on a track like the YYZ people mover (LINK Train). So it is essentially a people mover with pods?
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
innsertnamehere
Superstar
so no connection to GO. Hopefully they plan to be able to do so eventually.
Interestingly that map shows the location of the Observation Wheel as well, generally where the Skylon Tower is.
Interestingly that map shows the location of the Observation Wheel as well, generally where the Skylon Tower is.
lenaitch
Senior Member
So 'belt driven' with the pods linked? With unequal stops spacings, some pods would stop at random interim locations. Not bad if it has a view at that spot. It doesn't sound like it would a good thing for meeting a loaded GO train with one pod at a time.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
What they could have done with 3.8 km
duffo
Active Member
Given that this would miss all of the new attractions outlined in the Destination Niagara initiative, not sure if this actually makes any sense. Hopefully they can connect to GO in a future extension.
My worry is that the one-way loop operation after Casino-Surge Station does not lend itself well to use as a transit line at all.
Fritter
Active Member
What was Pyramid Place, just behind the Skylon Tower was demolished and is currently just a parking lot, as well there is lots of parking lot surrounding the Skylon Tower. This wheel could be constructed in this general area.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Does this mean Dougie gets his ferris wheel after all?
I can foresee Doug passing legislation to allow the province to take over downtown Niagara Falls, or at least take control away from the Niagara Parks Commission ('I thought they were a school board').
Northern Light
Superstar
I was pretty close, I didn't account for it being a one-way loop, though this doesn't go quite as far west as I thought.
I'm not enthusiastic for this at all.
I don't see it adding value, how many ways can you look at the Falls? So this just slashes business for the Skylon Tower, that's fine, but its not a big net new trip generator.
I don't think a Big Ferris wheel will achieve much either, nor another casino.
To me, the biggest trip generator for the Falls is unquestionably, in one way or another, a better transit connection from the current VIA/GO station, connecting people more easily to Clifton Hill, and maybe on to Fallsview.
Alternatively achieve the same by a net new or relocated GO Station.
After that, its Transportation again, its hourly GO service or thereabouts, maybe bi-hourly on weekdays, hourly on weekends from Toronto.
Those 2 moves alone could pull a 25% increase in tourism to the region. (particularly with an infill station in wine country.
*****
After that, the best options include augmenting the Bruce Trail (taking it off road wherever possible), connecting it to transit, wherever feasible, adding quality trail heads periodically (seating, canopies, route maps), and then anchoring it with a significantly enlarged Shorthills Provincial Park and add a 350 site campground. It would do gangbusters business.
A viable, well done theme park may make sense, if a private operator wants to do the heavily lifting. An amphitheater with a Lakeside view somewhere that could host TSO or Hamilton Philharmonic concerts on summer weekends would also be a good magnate.
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ns&t_railway
New Member
For context, the interurban lines of old in the region:
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McGillicuddy
New Member
Setting the map aside, the modes of transportation showing up in the concept art would be inappropriate for a GO Train connection.
Aerial trams offer slow but consistent service: you're moving 8 people every 30 seconds like clockwork. Your ideal usage case for this is a situation where there is steady demand throughout your service hours.
So a GO Train is going to pull into the station and disgorge 1000 people and then what? They all queue up and wait patiently in line in little groups of 8? Some for upwards of an hour?
And the same is true in reverse: nobody's going to want to ride this service to the GO station unless there's a train soon. At those times, demand would spike in ways that make the service unuseable. (If you're at the very furthest terminal, and you're near the front of the line, you might be able to board a gondola in time to make your train. If not, forget it.)
For that specific usage case, you actually do want buses or conventional trams, which can be scheduled around surges in demand. An aerial tram doesn't suit this purpose.
I think we have to read this as a sightseeing service which also connects a far-away parking lot to the downtown core, which amounts to a decently apt use of this kind of transportation system.
Aerial trams offer slow but consistent service: you're moving 8 people every 30 seconds like clockwork. Your ideal usage case for this is a situation where there is steady demand throughout your service hours.
So a GO Train is going to pull into the station and disgorge 1000 people and then what? They all queue up and wait patiently in line in little groups of 8? Some for upwards of an hour?
And the same is true in reverse: nobody's going to want to ride this service to the GO station unless there's a train soon. At those times, demand would spike in ways that make the service unuseable. (If you're at the very furthest terminal, and you're near the front of the line, you might be able to board a gondola in time to make your train. If not, forget it.)
For that specific usage case, you actually do want buses or conventional trams, which can be scheduled around surges in demand. An aerial tram doesn't suit this purpose.
I think we have to read this as a sightseeing service which also connects a far-away parking lot to the downtown core, which amounts to a decently apt use of this kind of transportation system.
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Sauga89
Active Member
I don't hate this. I actually think the odds of a GO train extension increase if this monorail/gondola thing gets built.
On its own, it would be hard for a GO train to serve Clifton Hill, the falls, and a re-developed Marineland simultaneously. A GO train extension likely wouldn't have frequent stops, so people would have to walk a lot. Now if you tunnel under Clifton Hill to a GO stop at the Fallsview, a person will be able to hop on the gondola to get to all the area destinations without walking. It essentially expands the reach of a potential GO station, and thereby improves the business case for an extension.
On its own, it would be hard for a GO train to serve Clifton Hill, the falls, and a re-developed Marineland simultaneously. A GO train extension likely wouldn't have frequent stops, so people would have to walk a lot. Now if you tunnel under Clifton Hill to a GO stop at the Fallsview, a person will be able to hop on the gondola to get to all the area destinations without walking. It essentially expands the reach of a potential GO station, and thereby improves the business case for an extension.
Dan416
Senior Member
Honestly I think this just dumb. Sorry.