Specifically, I'm proposing a small-cabin basic cable car route between Fairview Station and the RoW Airport with an intermediate stop at Chicopee Ski Hill, in the parking lot.
Please note that RoW transit plans include nothing for Breslau or the airport before 2041 right now, so if this were built, it wouldn't be replacing anything planned. Gondolas take about a year to build, mostly off-site, so you can judge how long this would take from the first exploratory study based on that timescale.
Why GRT should do this:
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the Waterloo airport is far from the city centre with no accessibility outside a car - this would allow people to leave their cars at home when they fly from the airport and just take transit, and allow people arriving to not immediately need a vehicle
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this provides a transit connection for Breslau residents, making any future on-demand transit plans actually viable as public transit within the GRT system
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improved access to public transit for people living near Chicopee
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Fly into Chicopee by Gondola - you can't beat that
Why this can't be a different public transit option:
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airlines are looking for actual infrastructure investment in the airport, not just a bus route. Obviously any public transit is better than no public transit, but a Gondola signals permanent investment in making the airport work without spending oodles of money
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Gondolas move 2000-5000 people per direction per hour, way more than buses, which is good because traffic will be pulsed with arrivals/departures and a Gondola system could handle that
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Gondolas can easily traverse any terrain, making them a good cheap option for crossing the river and the highway (and the escarpment)
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The local tourism alone would make it worth it - beautiful soaring views of the river valley, accessible right from Fairview Station
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Pretty darn cheap - this 5km project would probably cost $20M-40M, a fraction of any other mass transit and downright affordable given spending plans for the Waterloo Airport ($200M+ over the next 30 years).
FAQs:
"Why isn't the planned Breslau GO station enough?" Because it's 4km from the airport (barely shorter than the Gondola itself) and would require Kitchener residents to take GO for trips within the region, including GO pricing. That's an unreasonable requirement. The GO stop has value in providing easy access for Guelph/Brampton residents and connection to Pearson, not in providing a route for tri city residents.
"Are you serio
... keep reading on reddit ➡
https://www.londonreconnections.com/2021/a-measure-of-urban-connection-cable-cars-part-2/
Came across this on youtube, pretty neat.
This isn't your quaint little Nordic ski tour
Seems like they've been pretty effective at opening up and connecting the poorer neighbourhoods built high up along the mountainsides.
Apparently they're quite popular and many people take them to work everyday as regularly as they'd ride a bus.
Just a cool little idea, probably not workable in CS though!
