Multiple Aerial Trams Proposed in Clearwater, Florida

The city of Clearwater added another aerial tram project to its list of planning proposals. It's the second aerial tram proposal to move forward in the city this year.

November 17, 2020, 7am PST | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

A tram system like the famous Metrocable system in Medellín could find a home in Clearwater, Florida.

Jess Kraft

Shutterstock

Clearwater, Florida is considering two separate aerial tram projects in the city, according to an article by Jason Plautz.

Earlier in November, "the Clearwater City Council gave its go-ahead for the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) and metropolitan planning organization Forward Pinellas to study a gondola system in the city," according to Plautz.

The project, backed by St. Petersburg developer Darryl Leclair, "would use a two-mile cable car line to connect downtown Clearwater to the beach, with the potential to expand across the Tampa Bay region into cities including St. Petersburg," reports Plautz.

Add it to the list of proposed tram-to-Beach projects in the city, with the potential to expand throughout the city: In February, the Clearwater City Council approved a resolution that would explore an aerial tram proposed by BeachTran Cleawater LLC to move people to and from the beach in the city.

According to the more recent article, BeachTran Clearwater Founder Tom Nocera is selling the idea of aerial trams as the "most sanitary mode of public transit."

Plautz also notes that aerial tram projects are in consideration in multiple cities around the country, including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Park City.

Full Story:

Tampa Bay weighs competing aerial transit projects

Published on Thursday, November 12, 2020 in Smart Cities Dive