Gondola will provide welcoming lift for cities

The Times Union Editorial Board seems allergic to innovation.

It is enchanted with converting an interstate exit ramp into a pedestrian Skyway Park. Albany already abounds with greenspace (unlike Manhattan). So why expend millions to mimic Mother Nature on a slab of concrete, creating a park to be used by the few? Riverfront access is an easy walk via the Maiden Lane Bridge to Jennings Landing and Corning Park. Driving to any Capital Region riverfront is no struggle, either. So why imitate Manhattan’s High Line park?

The Editorial Board is critical of a gondola across the Hudson River. However, a panoramic view from a gondola, offering spectacular sculptural views of the Empire State Plaza, with spectacular riverside perspectives, plus two historic downtowns, would be a delight for new eyes. A gondola would offer a powerful welcome to Albany from a developing Rensselaer.

Visitors from Manhattan, and the rest of the world via Amtrak, would see the unique vibe that can represent our Capital Region, starting with downtown Albany. Mundane shuttles or mediocre taxis certainly offer connections to downtown — but a gondola is so very cool.

Collaboration among cities, capitalist investors, taxpayers, counties and the state is obviously a logistically difficult task. Consider a gondola as emblematic of future-orientation and cooperation: the Hudson River Gondola represents an investment that offers both visceral satisfactions and entrepreneurial excitement. thomas Lahut, Dhsc, PA-C Schodack