Day 6Why gondolas have a real place in public transport
What would happen if your daily trip does not mean the support of bumper to bumper, but did it rise above it?
It sounds like an illusion, but in parts of the world, cablez or gondolas, typically seen in ski stations or tourist places, they are actually used as public transport, which helps people move in their daily lives.
For example, Bogotá, Colombia, is based on the Transicable To transport people daily. In Oregon, the Portland Air Tram averages 9,000 trips every day of the week, while My telephone In La Paz, Bolivia has a capacity of up to 34,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
Like Canadian cities they fight with “brutal” congestion and irregular traffic serviceSome transport planners believe that the clocks could offer this country an affordable and efficient solution.
“It is not very expensive to operate,” Martin, an independent transport planner based in Toronto told Reece Day 6 Host Brent Bambury. “And, frankly, they are not very expensive to build.”
“You install some posts, chain a cable and then it is good to wear,” Martin said. “It is much faster to build than some of the transit projects with which we could be familiar.”
Jonathan English, transport policy consultant of the Toronto Region Board, agrees. He says that the clocks are “in theory … potentially significantly cheaper than building a high train.”
For travelers, says Martin, it means that there are no reflectors, there are no traffic jams. Simply climb, slip over the bustle and arrives calmly and without stress.
A cable car on the horizon
In Burnaby, BC, a gondola trip is about to become a reality.
Councilor Daniel Tetrault, vice president of the city’s transport committee, says the Burnaby mountain gondola It is “ready to go.”
He New aerial link It would connect a Skytrain station with the top of Burnaby Mountain, home of the main campus of Simon Fraser University and a growing community of approximately 7,000 residents. The trip would admit around 25,000 trips every day of the week.
“I am a former SFU student,” Tetrault said. “I remember that every time it is snowing or the weather is doubtful, the bus service was not reliable … [a gondola is] An important opportunity that could really connect to the university and the rest of Burnaby and the region. ”
Beyond convenience, the environmental impact is huge, says Tetrault. According to TranslinkThe Vancouver Metro Public Transport Authority and a project defender, a gondola works with electricity and a single trip would issue only five grams of carbon dioxide per passenger, a strong contrast with the approximately 400 grams produced by a diesel bus.
Environmental evaluations, community consultations, infrastructure design and route selection are complete, but Tetrault says the project is currently at an end point, waiting for funds from provincial and federal governments. To advance, he adds, it must be recognized as a priority and included in an investment plan approved by the Translink Board and the Council of Mayors on Regional Transportation.
Translink confirmed in a statement to the CBC that Burnaby Mountain Gondola is part of its Ten -year access for all But it remains without financing.
“The next step for the project is to complete the business case and acquire funds through a future update of the investment plan,” said the statement.
Can you help with congestion?
While gondolas are ideal for steep land as Burnaby Mountain, English says they could also “potentially” help unravel congestion in the busy centers of the cities.
Part 2 of the series of three parts of CBC Toronto, GridLocked: The Way Out, explains why the congestion is so bad in Toronto and how experts say that implementing a combination of several solutions in Tandem could improve things.
He sees gondolas as a potential solution in Toronto parts that have rapid residential growth but access to “slow, full of people or unreliable” traffic.
“When people move to their condominium and there is a very limited transit, they will buy that parking space and then they will buy that car,” said English. “That will contribute to stagnation in the [downtown] center.”
He points to Humber Bay Shores, a high density toronto neighborhood with heavy traffic and limited traffic options: “A long and slow tram and a pair of bus.” English says that areas like this could benefit from gondolas as food lines, which helps cyclists reach important traffic options such as underground and GO transit more easily.
Just east of Toronto, in Oshawa, Ontario, a proposed Cable car transit Line would run along Simcoe Street. After a review, the regional staff recommended the cable car on traditional buses, citing advantages as a higher speed and reliability.
In addition, the narrow road of Simcoe Street and densely full buildings make traditional expanding bus service challenging. Adding a new bus route could mean reducing parking spaces, eliminating traffic lanes and expropriating private property.
Challenging perceptions
English is realistic, saying that there is no “silver bullet” to fix the congestion. He says that gondolas work well in some situations, but not everywhere. Even so, he calls them “a tool in the toolbox” and says that having more options is always better.
Martin believes that the biggest barrier to adopt gondolas as public transport is the perception of their people.
“It’s really a problem of building one,” Martin said. “To have an example to point out and say: ‘Hey, they did it there and it is very successful and it was a good investment.'”
“I think that will make it much easier to build them throughout the country where they make sense.”
