Don Valley Gondola (Broadview Stn to Evergreen Brick Works)

[James]

Hehehe...I'm chuckling at the dinner in the gondola ad. One would have to be served their meal immediately upon entry and scarf it down quickly in order to exit in time otherwise loop around and around until the last bite.

 

[NBGtect]

That's another question(s): how would one eat dinner on the gondolas? Would they stop in mid air? Would one make several trips back and forth, until their meals are done, before exiting at one of the stations?

I can see it going really slow or actually stopping for a bit. It would be a premium experience and likely cost quite a bit; like those romantic dinners at the aquarium. But there's lots of opportunity here with quick, practical trips for workers and customers at the market, as well as being an attraction in and of itself for people who enjoy aerial experiences with nature, traffic, and city views. All in all very cool. Plus, the Mayor says he will ride it so it has to be cool.

 

[Armour]

Hehehe...I'm chuckling at the dinner in the gondola ad. One would have to be served their meal immediately upon entry and scarf it down quickly in order to exit in time otherwise loop around and around until the last bite.

Unless one can eat meals the way Brian Regan eats Fig Newtons:

 

[Armour]

I can see it going really slow or actually stopping for a bit. It would be a premium experience and likely cost quite a bit; like those romantic dinners at the aquarium. But there's lots of opportunity here with quick, practical trips for workers and customers at the market, as well as being an attraction in and of itself for people who enjoy aerial experiences with nature, traffic, and city views. All in all very cool. Plus, the Mayor says he will ride it so it has to be cool.

How would it stop, though, without impeding others that don't want to linger? Would there be multiple lines (some that stop in the air; others that continually move)? Would the height of the wires be constant? If not, some people might be at a lower altitude while eating their meals, thus their views wouldn't be as impressive as those higher up).

And for this to be cool, it would need Norm Kelly's and Drake's seal of approval. If the latter isn't name-dropped at some point in the marketing of this project, how can one justify their support of such an endeavour?

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

I think those ads are selling a vision. If the service is such a success, what is stopping them from venturing out and creating a second wire offering slower service at a premium?

 

[NBGtect]

And for this to be cool, it would need Norm Kelly's and Drake's seal of approval. If the latter isn't name-dropped at some point in the marketing of this project, how can one justify their support of such an endeavour?

#gondolasinthe6ix

Yo

 

[salsa]

I've been on a gondola in Manhattan. I was really impressed with the views.

 

[mdrejhon]

Hehehe...I'm chuckling at the dinner in the gondola ad. One would have to be served their meal immediately upon entry and scarf it down quickly in order to exit in time otherwise loop around and around until the last bite.

I interpreted as two different things:

- Catch a gondola to have dinner at the
Brick Works.

- After the gondola shuts down for the day (e.g. Closing time of 8pm Sundays), then perhaps there is a group of about 100 that gets rolled out, gondola stops for 15-20 minutes (all having intercom for safety) to allow everyone to eat with the views. You'd have to go to the bathroom first, though!

 

[MisterF]

Great stuff!

In the next 10-15 years (right now is too early), I am involved behind the scenes in a Hamilton gondola advocacy, and seeing a Don Valley gondola come to fruition sooner, will be an exciting case study in many ways -- tourism, transit, business case, public perception, etc.

For reference, the Mount Tremblant gondola cost only $7 million to build, and it is much longer at 5km. Even inflation adjusted, the price quote for the Don Valley gondola, assuming a microcapsule type, 20-25M is a realistic ballpark given the much more difficult urban/hydro topography.

I will be paying very close attention to this.

By comparison, the most expensive gondola I can think of is the Peak to Peak gondola at Whistler Blackcomb at $51 million. But it's in a whole different ballpark from what's being proposed in the Don Valley and even a typical mountain gondola. Apparently they had to bring concrete up the mountain by helicopter for the terminal buildings, which are both massive in their own right. The gondola cars are over 400 m off the ground at its highest point. So yeah, I agree that $25 million is well within what a gondola to the Brick Works would cost.

 

[Armour]

I've been on a gondola in Manhattan. I was really impressed with the views.

There's also this in New York: http://www.eastriverskyway.com/

My friend in New York also said there is a plan to to build a gondola between Long Island City, Queens and Red Hook.

 

[Duck]

At one point, I think there was a proposal in Niagara Falls to build a detachable gondola between the top of the falls, and the area down below where the Maid of the Mist docks are. If I remember correctly, it was turned down by the city, though.

I wonder who will be building it (Doppelmayr?).

 

[pman]

I'd like the people who live in the immediate vicinity of the proposed Playter Gardens terminal (I don't) to be given a vote on the proposal, since their streets look set to become EBW's free parking lot.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

This is a gondola, not a monorail.

Also, gondolas cost less than one-tenth as much as an LRT/subway/monorail, and actually move a great deal of traffic. 8 person capsules, 8 second between, 60 people per minute, 3600 people per hour. Yet, running typically on electric motors of only a few tens kilowatt, are able to break even at only a few hundred people per day. Well designed gondolas can run 95 percent empty offpeak (like offpeak buses) and still make a profit.

And will be a delightful white elephant when it fails in less then a year. You know, like the great idea of the ferry to Rochester no one wanted.

I'm dying for the public hearings for the EA on building pylons for it in the middle of the Don Valley.

 

[crs1026]

Needs to be wireless, much cheaper infrastructure available.

- Paul

 

[mdrejhon]

And will be a delightful white elephant when it fails in less then a year. You know, like the great idea of the ferry to Rochester no one wanted.
I'm dying for the public hearings for the EA on building pylons for it in the middle of the Don Valley.

Based on my research -- cable cars of this type (gondolas) are really inexpensive to operate, and when run at these slow speeds being mentioned, amortization/wear cost is pretty low, too.

We're talking about a microcapsule gondola with small stations rather than a mega aerial tram like Peak-2-Peak.