my city proposed a gondola.

>>1030152
Gondola gondola.... dragon

>>1030152

EBIN :DDD

File: 1480257345461.jpg (189KB, 780x1024px) Image search: [Google]

189KB, 780x1024px

Fugg :DD

elevated rail line conntecting from the airport to the university, then to downtown, and finally the amtrak station. using the I90 and I87 right of way for most of the distance.

gondola as in boats?

File: tmp_3037-product-gondola-111750300.jpg (122KB, 690x345px) Image search: [Google]

122KB, 690x345px

>>1030213
He meant these kinds.

File: gondola-lift-14719948.jpg (173KB, 1300x957px) Image search: [Google]

173KB, 1300x957px

I meant these kinds

Is it privately funded? If so, I'm all for it. Albany should have other priorities though...

>>1030304
it has a cool factor

>>1030304
Ebic benis car

Jesus what the hell is with all these pans to build some shitty meme transit where a subway would be best

>>1030152
>could we just install more bike lanes?
Not viably. Your city is absolutely choked with highways. A ropeway seems like a good idea, and inexpensive to boot. At least, when compared to a highway removal plan.

>>1030485
>where a subway would be best
While I won't really defend these odd transit ideas, subways are just too expensive to build in the US now so it is unlikely any city would opt for them.

Mite b cool.

Normally those ropeways are among the memeiest of transit options, as they are point to point with no easy way of intermediate stations, but in your case there seems to be nothing relevant inbetween except a river and highways.

File: clutch.jpg (30KB, 468x351px) Image search: [Google]

30KB, 468x351px

>>1030515
This. Not to mention a subway going under the river. And if your city isn't walkable anyway, there's no reason to bother with such an expensive project.

>>1030196
great thread :D

>>1030537
>>1030515
tunnel boring machine

you could connect the airport, university, downtown, and the amtrak station with a single large 10 mile tunnel with 2 tracks in it.

Gondolas are an underrated transit option. Happens like with streetcars, they're often used as a pointless meme transport like in London. But when used right
>cheap as fuck
>reasonable speed (especially if the alternative is an inconvenient roadway)
>reasonable capacity (also no waiting time means saving time over a subway or LRT)
>can manage hilly areas

I guess the main limitation is that it only makes sense for relatively short lines. However it's no problem to have intermediate stations, since these modern gondolas just detach from the cable at the intermediate station, run through at slow speed so that people can get on and off, and then re-attach to the next cable segment.

We have this one idiotic subway line here in Barcelona, line L11, that could have perfectly been a gondola. It's a "light subway" using two car trains that run every 10 minutes, the line has 5 stations which are quite close to each other, and it's all single track except for the middle station where the trains cross. This line was built because it runs through a very hilly area. A gondola would have served the same purpose, would have been infinitely cheaper (a gondola of similar length in Medellín cost 26m USD) and much more convenient.

>>1030485

Is Albany even big enough to merit a light rail let a lone a subway?

>>1030662
doubt it could merit a subway
i could see an lrt system in the future, though

>>1030664
i feel like having semi-acceptable public transport would make it much easier to live in Albany proper

File: gondola_hang.jpg (74KB, 917x1186px) Image search: [Google]

74KB, 917x1186px

Gondola is always a great idea

>>1030667
Gondola looks like a fork

>>1030648
>tunnel boring machine

Seattle here.

NOOOOoooooo!!!!!

>>1030648
Tunnel boring machines are the definition of expensive. And besides, one would have to eventually ask: is Albany worth such a daring transit project? A third tier city suffocated by interstates?

>>1030683
Albany has barely 100k inhabitants. Any kind of subway-like idea is absolute madness.

>>1030719
Precisely, which is why a gondola is a far more cost-effective venture.

>>1030683
>>1030719
>>1030721
it isn't madness if it is part of a decades long plan to grow and develop the city.

NYC area is too crowded and expensive these days. Lure away business and residents to the city. Plan it properly so the density stays high and transportation around the city is not private car dependent.

File: 1469264962151.jpg (2MB, 4000x3188px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 4000x3188px

why not elevated rail?

>>1030742
Maintenance costs

every city should have some kind of meme transport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCFXvpwkX20

File: what.jpg (18KB, 260x384px) Image search: [Google]

18KB, 260x384px

>>1030752
>police gondola

>>1030719
most of Albany is urban sprawl, population of Albany county is 300,000, and1,170,483 for the metro area

>>1030669
no

>>1030727
but wouldn't larger cable cars like those in new york work better? In term of cost per capacity and max capacity limit

>>1030727
Large parts of westchester are still empty as fugg though

>>1031202
Yeah Northern Westchester is pretty empty and we'd like it to stay that way.

Gondalas are really good in mountain terrain because they can easily and effectively cross over stretches of land where rail is impractical. In your example, shitty urnan planning takes the place of mountains. The gonda will effectively traverse over the landscape below.

Of course you also need a good amount of people to make it work. All you really need is two main locations that people want to move between. If you got that, ridership will be enough, unless some other form of transportation is already adequately meeting the logistical needs of the city. I have never been to Albany but I suspect a good bus network would be a better option. I get the idea though.. buses aren't as flashy and thus might not attract the demographic the gondala is shooting for. And that makes it seem like a build it and they will come proposition, which is almost always a bad idea.

>>1031330
its to traverse the river from the capital plaza, to the train station. seems good to me

>>1031295
Its all old people too. Fugg off gramps

A gondola (or to use a less ambiguous term, a seilbahn) is a pretty good idea in this situation. But you should compare it with monorails and other unconventional elevated rail systems to check it really is the best option for your city.

>>1032306
>elevated rail
Who use steel wheels to climb up and down.

>>1032343
Not necessarily. I did specify unconventionalmelevated rail.

>>1030485
Light rail > subway for american cities

>>1030152
It's a meme transportation option but in that case it makes a lot of sense to connect two central points with high "walking" traffic to each other and removing a large amount of unnecessary individual/public transport from the roads at a choke point (bridge)

>it's cheap to install
>low energy, maintenance and operating costs
>very high reliability in all senses
>it can be build in a few months, just two stations one with a garage and probably 2 Aerial lift pylons bam you're all set
>adjustable capacity with a peak at about 4000 people/hour
>different use gondolas you can as well add freight gondolas further reducing the load on the bridge
You can add or remove gondolas on the fly with no interruption
>pretty fast up to 7.5 meter/second (about 27KPH)
>the proposed distance is about 2km so you look at a 4.5-6 min ride to get from A to B depending on the speed.
>Visitors love this kind of stuff

What not to like?

>>1030304
Fuck bikes, cover the city in those.

http://www.translink.ca/en/Plans-and-Projects/Rapid-Transit-Projects/Burnaby-Mountain-Gondola.aspx

>>1030669

capacitor desu

>>1030727
Albany has a history of terrible decisions. Take the Capitol building complex for example. Halfway abandoned.

>>1030677
Why? It's working really well for us, Bertha aside.

>>1030485
I wish more PRT lines would be built around at least smaller cities here in the states.