In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

“For all of their usefulness at Mammoth, Vail, Jackson Hole, and Disney World, gondolas have, with scant exceptions, played no role in urban transport in the United States. But, backers in at least a half-dozen cities are touting the reliability, sustainability, and, yes, fun of gondolas and similar modes of aerial mass transit.”

According to an article by Josh Stephens in InTransition Magazine, “Gondolas have taken hold in Latin America, where systems in Medellin, Colombia; Mexico City; and La Paz, Bolivia, have revolutionized mobility in mountainous, but densely populated, neighborhoods. They’ve also made transit safer, literally taking commuters off the streets, where pedestrians are vulnerable to vehicular violence and crime.”

Although a handful of U.S. cities have considered gondolas — “Proposals have included: spanning the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Rosslyn, Virginia; Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, Fla.; the San Diego waterfront; and Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco” — none of these systems have begun development. For now, “Each exists only in planning documents — or simply in backers’ imaginations.”