Inside the Urban Gondola Explosion: 8 Cities Taking Transit Sky High
By James Bartolacci, Architizer, 2 April 2014.
By James Bartolacci, Architizer, 2 April 2014.
The city of Seattle has been making strides toward expanding its public transit options for residents over the last decade. While the automobile remains the most popular form of getting around the city, the opening of two light rail lines in 2003 and 2009 has helped decrease traffic on the streets and connect more residents to the city's resources and amenities. And now, the Emerald City hopes to provide another alternative mode of transportation with the development of an urban cable car system.
Proposed by Kyle Griffith, the owner and developer of the Seattle Great Wheel, the new gondola system will travel along Union street from the Convention Centre to the waterfront, offering commuters a new, aerial view of the seaside city. Following the success of new urban cable car systems in Medellín, Colombia, and Singapore, Seattle's system will have the capacity to transport 1,800 people per hour - the equivalent of 50 Metro bus trips. While urban gondolas first came to prominence through the 20th century, many were closed due to the rise in car use and metro systems. However, with new technology and designs that enable higher capacities and speeds, cable cars are seeing a resurgence in popularity due to their ability to provide access to hilly, difficult-to-navigate terrains. As of now, Seattle's system is currently awaiting permits and environmental reviews. Until then, check out the world's best urban gondola systems, from New York to Rio de Janeiro.
1. Portland Aerial Tram - Portland, Oregon, USA
In 2006, the city of Portland, Oregon, opened an aerial tramline to give commuters a new transit option between the South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University campus. In just three minutes, the cable car traverses 3,300 feet over a 500-foot incline, affording views of downtown Portland and supplementing the city's MAX light rail system.
2. Tbilisi Aerial Lift - Tbilisi, Georgia
The city of Tbilisi opened its first modern, high-capacity cable car that makes it much easier for residents to reach parts of Old Tbilisi, where the Medieval fortress of Narikala is located. The cable car's unique glass floors provide exciting views of the town and traffic below.
3. Teleférico do Complexo do Alemão - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Completed in 2011 in anticipation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro's brand new cable car system offers a high-capacity transit option running through one of the city's favelas, the Complexo do Alemão. The six-station system connects residents of the hillside favelas to a nearby commuter rail station, transforming the typically hour-and-a-half journey into a mere 16 minutes. According to Jorge Mario Jáuregui, the system's architect, the 2.1-mile route is a significant step towards providing access for all of the city's residents, telling Wired that it "makes the informal city part of the formal city." Still, concerns have been raised as to whether the sky ride over the favelas will transform the neighbourhood into a sort of amusement park for tourists.
4. Metrocable - Medellín, Colombia
Perhaps one of the most progressive forms of urban transit recently constructed, Metrocable was built specifically to service one of Medellín's least developed barrios, which previously lacked a connection to the rest of the city's transportation systems. Unlike private gondola systems in cities like Caracas, Metrocable is the world's first system dedicated specifically to public transit, with regular schedules carrying over 30,000 people a day to the city's metro system.
5. Caracas Aerial Tramway - Caracas, Venezuela
Originally opened in 1952, Caracas' urban skytram experienced low ridership until it eventually closed in the 1970s. After a series of attempts to reopen the line through the 1980s, the Venezuelan government provided funding to reconstruct the line in 2000 to coincide with the opening of the luxury Hotel Humboldt and Parque Ávila Mágica, servicing mostly the city's tourist and leisure economy.
6. Ankara Cable Car - Ankara, Turkey
Set to open this year, the Turkish capital of Ankara will soon be home to a 2 mile cable car system with 106 cabins, connecting the Şentepe neighbourhood to the nearby Yenimahalle metro station. According to reports, the new public transit system will reduce commuting times by 30 minutes, while the glass and steel stations showcase a series of eye-catching undulating lines.
7. Singapore Cable Car - Singapore
When Singapore's cable car line opened in 1974, it was the world's first system to span a harbour, providing a link between Mount Faber on the main island to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. In the late 1970s, the show Hawaii-Five-O was filmed on the system, becoming a site for mass weddings. While most commutes are taken underground on the widely used MRT lines, the Singapore gondolas offer the chance to view the city skyline while gliding smoothly above a body of water.
8. Roosevelt Island Tramway - New York City, USA
While New York City's famous subway remains the city's most widely used form of public transit, a lesser known aerial skyway provides a key connection for residents living on the svelte Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. From its opening in 1976 until the Mississippi Aerial River Transit cable line opened in 1984, the Roosevelt Island Tramway was North America's only commuter aerial tram, providing around 115 trips per day and providing some of the most spectacular views of both Manhattan and the outer boroughs.
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