Port Authority floats idea of aerial cable car
Imagine a suspended cable car floating in the air above the hill that separates the Hill District from the Strip District in Pittsburgh or above Schenley Park between Hazelwood and Oakland.
The possibility of establishing that type of system in this region is the most intriguing aspect of the 25year plan that Port Authority released Thursday. The plan, known as NEXTransit, identifies 18 potential transit projects that would cost an estimated $3 billion to $3.8 billion if they are all completed.
In the U.S., only two locations use suspended cable car systems primarily for transportation: Portland,
Ore., between a medical school and a waterfront development area, and New York City between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island. All other suspended systems in the U.S. are at ski resorts or serve as tourist attractions to provide spectacular views.
Amy Silbermann, Port Authority’s director of planning and service development, said the agency will consider using an aerial system as it studies how to provide service on a proposed new corridor that would travel from the Strip District to the Hill District, Oakland, Hazelwood, and across the Monongahela to the Overbrook/ Carrick area. Connections from
those areas to the job center in Oakland and potentially the Hazelwood Green development were cited repeatedly by people who participated in public meetings the agency held to develop NEXTransit.
“Gaps exist due to cliffs, valleys, and rivers, but the potential for physical, economic, and equitable mobility connections presents a compelling case for a dedicated transit corridor that would overcome the topographic barriers,” the 80page draft plan said. “In particular, creating additional connections through the Hill District and through Hazelwood can help to promote access to new opportunities and support disinvested communities through affordable, reliable transportation.”
The initial problem is connecting the Hill and Strip districts, which are separated by a steep hill. There is no direct ground connection for transit, and any bus trip would involve a circuitous route that probably wouldn’t be worth the time and cost.
“It is very likely we would need some kind of aerial connection,” she said.
An incline or commuter elevator also would be possibilities to meet the agency’s goal of connecting the new route with a new station on the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway that passes through the Strip, Ms. Silbermann said. The exact route and mode of transportation would be determined through a series of studies and the initial cost estimate of the route is $168 million to $218 million.
The agency also hasn’t ruled out using an aerial answer to serve the rest of the route, Ms. Silbermann said. The terrain among the sites — uphill to Oakland, downhill to Hazelwood, flat above the river and uphill again to Overbrook/ Carrick — would permit that.
“We’ve cobbled together a lot of small pieces to make a
new corridor,” Ms. Silbermann said. “It definitely is going to be bizarre. There are lots of weird corridors [throughout the route]. It’s really going to be a design challenge.”
Another factor could be the relatively lower cost for an aerial system because the authority wouldn’t have to acquire much land. Aerial rights of way and small parcels for support poles could be all that are needed.
In the end, the agency could use several systems to serve the route: an incline from the Strip, bus to Oakland and Hazelwood and light rail across the river.
In Oregon, the Portland Aerial Tram opened in 2007 to link the city’s South Waterfront district with Oregon Health & Science University, which sits on Marquam Hill. That system travels about 3,300 feet in four minutes to carry as many as 79 passengers at a time up a 500foot hill.
The system is owned by the city and operated by the university. The system is considered so stable that it is the recommended mode of transportation during severe winter weather.
The Roosevelt Island system opened in 1976 as a temporary connection until the subway reached the island, but it became entrenched when the subway didn’t
open until 1990.
The rest of the NEXTransit recommendations are similar to those released in March, except that extending the East Busway in sections from Swissvale to Braddock and eventually East Pittsburgh and McKeesport moved up from nine to six on the priority list. The agency released cost estimates for all of the projects for the first time, but Ms. Silbermann stressed the estimates are ballpark figures based on 2021 costs.
The agency’s most important need, before any substantial expansion of bus service can take place, is construction of a fifth maintenance garage because those in West Mifflin, Collier, East Liberty and Ross can’t handle more than the 720 buses it has now. No location for the garage is proposed, but it is estimated to cost $177 million to $234 million and would take several years to design and build.
The agency will hold four sessions for public comments on the plan: online from 10 to 11:30 a.m. July 21; 3 to 7 p.m. July 27 at Schenley Park; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 29 at Market Square; and online from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Aug. 10. Register for the online meetings at https//nextransit.network/events.