Want to soar above downtown Long Beach? That dream may soon become a reality, if the city decides to move forward on a proposal to build an aerial tramway connecting its downtown to the waterfront.

Although the topic has long been discussed among local business leaders, it’s been a while since the City Council has considered the idea. That will change at the council’s Tuesday, March 12, meeting, where Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce put an item on the agenda asking the city to move ahead in drafting a feasibility study for the proposal.

“This is an exciting time for both our downtown and waterfront areas,” Pearce said in a statement about the item. “A gondola system may be a great addition to the downtown area, so we owe it to ourselves to explore the feasibility of such a project, and to do it with all of our stakeholders is the best way forward. I am excited about what lies ahead.”

Clay Sandidge, president of Muni-Fed Energy, Inc., has become the project’s lead spokesman. He said in a phone interview on Wednesday that he’s been discussing the potential project with multiple people in both the city’s business and government sectors, and the idea has been well-received so far.

Sandidge said he would expect the study, if approved, to look into things like ridership, environmental impacts, pricing and potential locations. He also said the project would likely start off with four stops, and he confirmed that four locations that have been previously discussed are still under consideration:

the half-mile span between the Queen Mary and Hotel Maya;

the Aquarium;

the Visitors Bureau;

the Metro station at Pine Avenue and First Street.

“I think the primary focus would be taking it from the Queensway Bay, over the water to the Aquarium,” Sandidge said, with stops continuing from there.

In terms of the timeline, Sandidge said he would hope the feasibility study could be completed in 90 to 120 days, and that construction could begin in the next two or two and a half years.

That timing would square with Mayor Robert Garcia’s own plans to revitalize the waterfront in the next few years. Garcia has made no secret of his intentions to invest heavily there in the hopes of making the area more attractive to tourists ahead of the 2028 L.A. Olympics, in which Long Beach will play a substantial role.

“Without a shadow of a doubt, it could be completed by 2028,” Sandidge said of the proposal. “It could be a very instrumental component of the 2028 Olympics — first and foremost, as a transportation system, a people-mover system, and secondarily, it’s an absolute tourist attraction. Many of the local shops and retail outlets could derive tremendous benefit from it.”

But in order for all of that to happen, the City Council must approve taking the first step next week. The issue will be heard during the council’s Tuesday, March 12 meeting at 5 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.