Recently I had the genuine privilege of chairing the Edmonton Transit System Advisory Board’s committee on urban gondolas. Our mandate was to explore the viability of gondolas as public transit and provide input to City Council. As various local media organizations began reporting on this idea, I began to observe some common misconceptions held by both journalists and the general public alike. My intent with this article is to deflate some of these myths and highlight some of the main reasons why ETSAB recommended this idea be studied in more detail.

I will admit I was skeptical at first. Like most others I had serious doubts about the feasibility. The committee sought to answer several key questions. Are gondolas suitable for mass transit in North America? Is there an actual transportation problem in Edmonton it is uniquely capable of solving? What are the advantages of gondolas over alternatives like bus or LRT? How would the City and everyday citizens benefit from this?

In a nutshell we found urban gondolas are highly versatile mass transit solutions that can provide fast, reliable, safe, fully accessible and cost-effective transportation over the most geographically challenging areas - such as Edmonton's River Valley. The route we ultimately landed on would connect central Downtown (Central Station area) with Whyte Ave and Gateway Boulevard, including an interim station in Rossdale. For a small fraction of the cost of constructing new LRT, it could serve a comparable ridership in a similar travel time while also preserving the beauty and nature of the River Valley. No, I'm not suggesting it is a panacea to all our transportation woes; nor do I think they would work everywhere transit is needed. Simply said a gondola would be uniquely capable of connecting these two communities and finally enabling fast and efficient travel between them.

I encourage everyone interested to peruse the full approved report here. The presentation and supporting materials are accessible via Council's Urban Planning Committee public meeting records.

Myth 1: This is a gimmicky tourist attraction! This isn't real transit!

As it turns out gondola technology has come a long way from the basic ski lifts you initially imagine. Newer systems have the capacity to transport up to 4,000 – 6,000 people per hour per direction (pphpd). That is roughly twice the capacity of the Metro Line LRT to NAIT, which has a max capacity of 2,400 pphpd between Churchill and Kingsway/Royal Alex Station.

This infographic from the vendor Doppelmayr suggests a gondola could transport the equivalent ridership of 100 city buses or more than 2,000 cars each hour. That's a lot of Ubers! That type of capacity is most certainly excessive for Edmonton's needs today, however the design is scalable since cabins can be added as ridership grows.

Medellin, Colombia is an interesting case study as the city is currently building their 6th urban gondola line. One of these systems (Line K) efficiently transports over 40,000 people daily, and cost only $26 million USD to construct.

Myth 2: It will be painfully slow! This isn’t for commuters!

The average speed traveled via urban gondola would be competitive if not faster than most alternatives. Although top speed cannot rival that of LRT or buses, what we should really consider in doing a comparison is the average speed throughout the journey. With gondolas the average speed remains constant, regardless of traffic volume/congestion, construction impacts or road conditions. As the diagram below shows (source: Cable Car Confidential), buses are at the mercy of all these variables and must make frequent stops, thus greatly reducing average speed.

It is also worth noting that Edmonton’s new urban low floor LRT design means future LRT will travel at slower speeds, stop more often and not benefit from priority signals at intersections as is the case with our existing high-floor LRT system.

Contrary to what I (and many others) initially thought, the entire line does not need to stop to allow people to board and disembark. Detachable grip technology allows cabins to slow to a crawl at each station without impacting the overall speed of the system.

Another advantage in terms of trip time is the minimal wait time between each cabin. It is a continuously moving system and passengers can always see the next cabin coming. This means not having to wait an extra 15-20 mins as is the case when you just miss a bus or nighttime/weekend LRT. The other benefit is that there are no complex schedules or timetables to coordinate when integrating with other ETS transit services.

Myth 3: Not an accessible transportation option!

Urban gondolas feature level platform access and allow for seamless boarding to accommodate any mobility needs. This means baby strollers, bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids can roll inside without any ramps, lifts or special equipment. This is as accessible as public transit can get!

Myth 4: Too expensive! Don't waste taxpayer money on this!

Costs vary significantly depending on the system length, number of stations and other factors. Many systems we examined cost between $15-60 million to build, with roughly a handful exceeding that range. To contrast it costs Edmonton approximately $138 million per kilometer to build LRT tracks. If Edmonton were to build a new bridge traversing the river valley, as is proposed with the Centre LRT study, it could easily cost upwards of one billion dollars.

A significant advantage from a financial perspective is that building a gondola system will not require a large and costly garage to service the additional buses or light rail vehicles. Refurbishing Westwood Transit Garage will cost $186 million and the Centennial garage by Windermere cost $99 million to build.

From an operational perspective, system capacity can be increased without a significant increase in operating costs. Unlike increasing bus or LRT frequency the number of staff needed remain relatively fixed. (Source: Steer Davies Gleave) The systems are also very energy efficient (~0.1 kWh per passenger per KM).

What was most surprising is that many gondola systems we studied are revenue positive, with annual fare revenues exceeding operating and maintenance costs. Edmonton currently subsidizes nearly 60% of the cost of public transit. By no means am I suggesting this will be a lucrative cash cow, but evidence from around the world suggests there could a compelling business case for an urban gondola. Sound far-fetched? Actually local construction leader and founder of the Edmonton Project Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson is confident this could be financed entirely privately - with funds coming from global institutional investors and Canada's Infrastructure Bank. (More about the Edmonton Project at the bottom).

Myth 5: Unreliable and unsafe! What about winter?? Who would want to be stuck in a cabin hovering over the river!

Although the thought of being stuck dangling over the river valley makes my palms sweaty, the research suggests urban gondolas are some of the safest and most reliable modes of transportation. System reliability ranges between 99.3% and 99.9%. Portland’s Aerial Tram experienced only 17 minutes of downtime in 2017 over 560,000+ trips. During Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy, the New York Roosevelt Island Tram was able to operate longer than all other forms of transit and was the first to resume operation.

And yes, we all know how cold it gets in Edmonton. Urban gondolas are very resilient to extreme weather given they are predominantly used to transport people in high altitude mountain ranges. In fact, cabins can be equipped with both heating and air conditioning! How’s that for Winter City ready?

Statistically speaking, they are among the safest transportation options. Backup motors and cabin recovery technology ensures cabins can safely be returned to stations without requiring on-line evacuations. There are also no high-voltage power lines since drive power is provided centrally. In Switzerland (highest use of cable propelled transit per capita), cable car riders are 3 times less likely to be injured than in a tram, bus or train, and 50 times less likely to be injured than in a car.

Myth 6: Who would possibly ride this thing? Why don’t we just run more buses?

Congestion along the bridges connecting Downtown and Old Strathcona can be problematic during peak travel hours. ETS estimates there are 6,355 weekday bus passengers that cross one of these four bridges (High Level, Walterdale/105 Street bridge, and the two Low Level bridges). This is in addition to the estimated 136,000 cars that travel across these bridges every day. Although a travel demand study would need to be undertaken, the fact that the City invested months of time, resources and money to study a Centre LRT circulator route suggests there is a need and desire to improve public transit between these nodes.

In my opinion the shortcoming with the proposed Centre LRT route is that it largely duplicates the existing Capital Line to the University before connecting to the Valley Line along Whyte Ave. The recommended route involves building a brand-new bridge for LRT directly adjacent and parallel to where the Capita Line LRT already runs. When one considers how much money could be saved building a gondola versus a new bridge and LRT, the City could do a lot to improve transit service along Whyte Ave with the difference.

As an added benefit this project would offer incredible tourism potential. Edmonton had 3.3 million overnight visitors in 2016 and even saw a 7% increase in international visitors. Think of all the visitors to Rogers Place, Shaw Conference Centre and overnight business travelers staying downtown that could now easily visit Old Strathcona, one of Edmonton’s premier shopping, dining and nightlife destinations.

Myth 7: The City of Edmonton will mess this up! It will never work here!

I get it – confidence has eroded and we’re all a little jaded with the City’s track record with major capital construction projects. The Metro Line LRT was scheduled to begin operation in early 2014 and the City is still struggling to fix the signalling issues with no clear end in sight. The Walterdale bridge replacement ran 2 years over schedule and the list goes on…

What would be different with a gondola?

Most parts and components are prefabricated and would simply be assembled on-site. Construction on most gondola systems is typically completed in under 12 months. Rather than having to acquire and develop an entire corridor of land, a tower with the footprint of a parked car is needed every so often. This is the least invasive way to provide mass transit across the River Valley and will minimize development and construction impact to neighbouring residents and businesses.



The Edmonton Project and what’s happening next...

On June 5th ETSAB presented to the Urban Planning Committee of Council, which passed a motion for City administration to report back on the cost of a feasibility study, including an "analysis of the catalytic value of a gondola on future redevelopment of Rossdale and the River Crossing Project." Sure, it's a baby step but a rather decisive one given that most Councillors were strongly opposed at the onset.

At the same time our committee was busy learning about gondolas, Amber and Gary Poliquin of ‘Big E Tours’ won the Edmonton Project design competition with their idea for…you guessed it…an urban gondola between Whyte Ave and Downtown. Given that both ideas were born completely independently of each other, it is further evidence that great minds do think alike! The gondola across the ravine is no longer just a dream in the eyes of two Edmonton visionaries and proud tour operators; Amber and Gary are now working with the founders of the Edmonton Project to bring this idea to life. Stay tuned!

Certainly there are many other misconceptions that prevent people from taking this idea seriously. Thanks to an iconic Simpsons episode dating back to 1993, urban gondola proposals are often likened to that crazy monorail thing…

But since you took the time to read this article you are now in a position to make an educated argument otherwise!

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments! Do you see this working in Edmonton? Why or why not?