Plan for privately-funded gondola gaining support

Transportation system would run across North Saskatchewan River

A new gondola system over the North Saskatchewan River could be built entirely with private capital, possibly with 25 per cent of the shares offered to Edmonton residents, say promoters.

Since winning the industrysponsored Edmonton Project in March, the idea has attracted international attention from investors and gondola companies, said project leader Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson, also director of business development at Edmonton construction company EllisDon.

The group also has 40 letters of support promised or delivered, including from the Downtown Business Association, Old Strathcona Business Association, River Valley Alliance, French cable transport contractor LSD and local Triovest Realty Advisors, the landowner of ATB Place (including the former Telus Plaza).

“(Triovest’s) was a very succinct letter. It said we want this project and we want the station here in our plaza,” said Hansen-Carlson while sharing the letter and explaining the plan on Postmedia’s interview show Edmonton Talk Back Wednesday. “That’s fantastic.”

A French project went ahead after using community-owned shares to cover some of the capital, he said. Those shares would be equal to any bought by large institutions.

The gondola idea is heading to council’s urban planning committee next Tuesday.

Separate from the Edmonton Project, the city councilappointed Edmonton Transit System Advisory Board has been studying the idea of an urban gondola. The board endorsed the concept late April, which means its recommendation to investigate

it now goes to committee for debate.

It will be council’s first chance to hear details and decide how much the city wants to get involved, whether that is owning the project or simply supporting a private initiative.

As originally pitched by Edmonton residents Gary and Amber Poliquin, the gondola would run between three stops — by the Old Strathcona Farmers Market, in Rossdale and downtown. It would serve commuters, have 40 cars, each with an eight-person capacity, which would disconnect and come to a stop at each station to make loading easy for wheelchair users, cyclists and people pushing strollers.

Hansen-Carlson said the proposed system could serve roughly

2,000 passengers per hour. It would cost between $60 million and $100 million, depending on the type of stations.

The service would run year round, and would be engineered to withstand the maximum wind loads historically experienced in the river valley.

The initial economic feasibility study would cost $75,000 to $100,000 to get to a “go, no-go” decision, he estimated. That would take two months.

The full design and public consultation could take one year.

The team is looking at a ticket price roughly equivalent to the cost of a transit ticket and is hoping to integrate with Edmonton’s system of buses and trains.

“What we stumbled on here with this gondola idea is a gem,” he said. “That’s why I’m so engaged in selling this. This is something special.”