Gondola scheme gets buy-in from transit panel

Backing means concept moves to urban planning committee

Gondolas across the Americas and Europe are actually turning a profit and should be considered an option for crossing the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton’s panel of transit riders decided Monday.

“It actually is a valid mass transit option,” said Vlad Slavov, member of the Edmonton Transit System Advisory Board and chairman of a subcommittee formed to study the gondola idea.

The subcommittee arrived at the idea independently of a pair of Edmonton residents who won the Edmonton Project with a gondola pitch in March.

It presented its findings to the full board Monday.

The board accepted the subcommittee’s research, which means the idea goes to city council’s urban planning committee sometime this spring.

Gondolas can move up to 6,000 passengers an hour, roughly equal to the Metro LRT Line or 100 buses, and could go from downtown to Old Strathcona in seven minutes, said Slavov.

That’s less than the time it takes to drive, he said. Plus, even lines like London’s Emirates Air Line, which has less than anticipated ridership, are still turning a profit.

That’s incredible because most mass transit is deeply subsidized. Ticket revenue that covers only 40 per cent of the cost is normal, said Izak Roux, outgoing chairman of the advisory board.

Once a gondola is built, it has low energy use and fixed staffing requirements. Staffing needs are unaffected by any decision to increase the frequency of cars on the line, said Slavov. The cars can come off the line for loading, which means they slow right down or stop to allow people using wheelchairs or pushing strollers to board.

Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson, founder of the Edmonton Project, also made a presentation to the advisory board on the Edmonton Project’s work Monday.

Since the gondola idea was picked in March, his team has been reviewing urban gondolas in similar-sized cities around the world. They now have 20 case studies.

“The most surprising thing to me is 75 per cent of the systems out there are private and they’re profitable,” said Hansen-Carlson.

They’re now investigating procurement and operating models, he said. The river crossing route is expected to cost $100 million, including three stations, cars and the line, which is less expensive than a single-vehicle bridge or train bridge across the river. The team is looking at both private and public options for building the line.

The two groups arrived at the same route separately, although the advisory board’s official recommendation is simply to investigate the technology. They believe a gondola could work for both the river crossing and for running along Whyte Avenue.

The Edmonton Project is recommending a route with stations at the Shaw Conference Centre, Rossdale and near the Old Strathcona farmers’ market. It would primarily serve commuters between two high-density residential neighbourhoods, supporting redevelopment in Rossdale.

“Tourists, that’s the gravy on the top,” said Gary Poliquin, who pitched the idea with his wife, Amber Poliquin.

Slavov said his team was struck by the low cost compared to LRT.

Gondolas ranged from $10 million to $100 million per kilometre, depending on station design. Most projects cost less than $20 million per kilometre. Downtown to Old Strathcona is 3.2 kilometres. Bonnie Doon mall to the University of Alberta is roughly four kilometres.