I'm tired of all this 'Gondola' talk.
Yes, yes, yes.....
I understand,
they were originally laughinstock, but....
I never said gondolas would replace the A-Line LRT.
The gondola I am proposing is
nowhere near any proposed mountain LRT.
I never said it was for tourists, though it can be an element of that, it needs to survive without tourists.
This is
profitable at less than 10% capacity
This
also serves residents, not just tourists
This iis
not a gigantic white elephant model....
This is
just a simple, basic 4-person open bucket that may be privately funded.
There are
no LRTs planned in the proposed GagePark-MountainPark gondola, and would just simply provide another escarpment access.
Most people won't be transferring to transit at both ends of the gondola, but would likely at one end of the gondola (e.g. ride bus to gondola, a no-wait transfer, then a 10 minute walk to Tim Horton's Field Game to avoid need for parking -- as 1 possible of hundreds of use of gondola -- as an example)
For as little as $2-3 million (the cost of 4 buses), you can have a basic 4-person open-bucket:
Bump up the budget only slightly, and you can get more-wind-resistant enclosed gondolas with nighttime lighting, for extended operation hours. And they do run at transit fares too in some parts of the worlds (e.g. $3 league)
These can be transit prices (e.g. $3 league, $5 roundtrip)
These are wheelchair accessible
These are bike accessible (hang bike on side)
Conceptually, a small basic 4-person capsule gondola, which is a slight upgrade from a basic 4-person open bucket:
(From
TheSpec)
This is not now, but by 2025 -- This one can is profitable at
less than 10% capacity. That means only 1 capsule out of 10 needs to be filled with people, in order to break even! But in reality, it will be surgey, with peaks and valleys, including Gage Park events and Tim Horton's Field event, etc.
Due to the short distance of 500 meters, it only needs to run slowly (just double walking speed) and still have a quick 3-minute ride, and that very dramatically lowers maintenance and electricity costs as well, and some short gondola runs operate at less than 15 kilowatts of electricity. Properly designed, it breaks even with just relatively few riders at public-transit-league fares.
No dynamiting of the escarpment is needed, as with inclinators.
It goes the whole gamut -- from the revitalized Concession, to Tim Horton Field's games.
It's not tourist stuff. Some of this is stuff that may be privately fundable.
Most councillors, the mayor, BIAs, etc, have liked the gondola idea at one time or another;
One just has to read the enthusaic comments
by residents in the trial balloon in the Sherman Hub, some of who would use it daily.
Unlike a bus or LRT, gondolas have a very short waiting time, so the transfer isn't long. We're talking about very simple 4-person gondolas that cost
less than $10 million (so low, that possibly no taxpayer funds needed) on short 500 meter runs, and only need to be operated by 2 or 4 employees at extended hours. It takes almost an hour to go between two points of the escarpment,
and with the bus you often need to do a transfer anyway.
And the city is polling the population about gondolas:
Yes,
City of Hamilton is asking communities about whether they like the gondola...
And people are saying they
do like the gondola
(Source: CBC)
Again, would you be for it, if it was privately funded?
In the Sherman Hub, and other hubs, I have been throwing trial balloons,
like this one. There were only very few negative comments (less than 10%). Here are selected positive comments:
"...I think it would be amazing, both for residents and for visitors..."
"...It would take me to work everyday!..."
"...I love this idea!..."
"...I think "neat!!"..."
"...What a great way to connect the lower city with the mountain and vice versa..."
"...his has been done all around the world. Why not here. It it badly needed to take away some access traffic. It would also bring an attraction to visitors. Our city deserves this!!! So many people need help getting up and down the bus is such a waste of time for so many. Please do what you can. It will make some jobs too. I hope. I will share....."
"...The HSR is awesome but getting from the central mountain to the central part of downtown is a pain in the rear and a lot of wasted time..."
"...big like!..."
"...Brilliant! My daughter needed to get to Concession Library by bus this summer- estimated public transit time, with the construction detours, would have been 3 hours. Its a half hour walk with the stairs. This gondola would be helpful to many people, especially those unable to walk the stairs..."
"...It may be a very wise investment indeed. As our boomers age, and they are, issues of municipal accessibility for mobility devices like walkers, scooters, and wheelchairs will become critical for planning city infrastructures. Not only as a tourist attraction, but as a viable solution to this upcoming change in our demographic, this unique mode of transportation may be a critical investment into the not so distant future..."
"...Totally on board! Great idea!..."
"...love. love. love this!!!!!!!!!!! how can i help get this going???..."
"...What an amazing idea smile emoticon.."
And that's not all of them...
And that's not the only place I've trial-ballooned...
I'm currently doing behind-the-scenes gondola advocacy as well; I currently have a catalogue of over 100 positive comments from local residents..
A low-fare basic gondola, possibly privately funded, makes a lot of sense for Hamilton residents, and does not require tourism to be successful.
It could go public funded, but it could easily go privately funded, given the budget leagues being spoken about, and the transit time savings (up to 30min initial wait (Sunday frequencies) + 40min (GoogleTransit) total bus ride including 1 downtown transfer) between the two parks on the conceptual Gage-Mountain route. Whether you're doing a day at the park, or attending a Tim Horton's Field event to avoid having to pay $20 to park, or don't want to go back up the stairs on a rainy day, or dreading going down the Stairs because you're too old to walk back upstairs or take long bus ride later (can now take gondola back up instead), etc. There are so many use cases and it will only expand in 10-15 years from now with the LRT passing near Gage.
Tiny stations and tiny 4-person gondola, not too different from that one at Mount Tremblant --
the whole thing was built for only $7M (several km) -- fully enclosed wind-resistant capsules. Ours would be only a 500 meter fleahop!
Sure, with a metrowide paper such as TheSpec, you get the predictable derison from outer areas such as Ancaster, Stoney Creek, South-of-RHVP, etc. This is predictable; the 'laughingstock response'.
If you attend community meetings (like I do) and find very enthusaic support just 20 minutes walking radius of the gondola stations (which encompasses a lot; including Limeridge, Juravinski, Ottawa St BIA, Concession BIA, Time Horton's Field, etc.) And with this, you can recruit potential investors, etc.
But why would distant residents be against a
privately-funded gondola? Or possibly, a low-fare gondola that has a capital cost of only a few buses yet transports far more passengers per day? With lower operating costs per passenger, even when 90% empty offpeak? Other countries have de-laughingstock-ized the gondolas, the problem here in Hamilton is lack of education about how sensible simple gondolas are. This isn't a megasize with big stations. It's just a basic gondola over a short run.
Focus on the proof of local enthusiasm (via multiple surveys, mine included). Stop reading CBC or TheSpec commentators lambasting how laughingstock a gondola is, and focus on the potential market areas, easy for families, wheelchair/bike accessible, etc. It only needs a few hundred people average per day to break even (averages out -- given the ebb-flow of peak events and low season).
Gondolas
ARE NOT LAUGHINGSTOCK STUFF if you learn about them properly.
This isn't a bigstation bigcapsule megaproject.
This is just a shoestring 4-person 500 meter run that saves 30-60 minutes of time for many residents tired of taking 1.5 hours to go between two locations between central Lower and many central near-Mountain Brow locations.
It would also be fun, wheelchair accessible, bike accessible, bike accessible, old residents accessible, and a nice scenic usually-no-wait 3 minute ride (gently operating at only twice walking speed), instead of 40-70 minute bus ordeal (including 1st bus stop wait time, not factored into Google Transit time), but simultaneously isn't always a replacment for buses, increases cross-escarpment options (including less reluctance to walk down the stairs), allows more park options for both sides of the escarpments, access to the improving Ottawa Street and improving Concession Street (and future revitalized King corridor)
People here want it!
People here like it!
Capital cost is low and possibly privately fundable.
It's a legitimate low-cost project that adds a lot of utility, especially in the post-LRT era.
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