Following in the footsteps of cities like Portland, Telluride, and London, Round Rock is considering using gondolas for mass transit.
Growing up in Aspen, Colorado, I’ve seen Gondolas move people up mountain, over trees with little to no wait. They’re fast, efficient and environmentally friendly. Turn the ski racks into bike racks and save millions of dollars in development costs. I think its a great alternative.
Read More from this article from Community Impact: http://impactnews.com/articles/aerial-solution-to-mass-transit/
Frog Design’s renderings of what a cable car system in downtown Austin could look like by Frog Design.
The leaders of Round Rock are looking in a new direction—literally—for options in developing a mass-transit system to cope with the city’s expected continued growth.
Rather than regurgitating traditional transit options such as trains or buses, the city’s public officials are taking an active interest in a revolutionary “aerial-based mass-transit system” that would lift users from the ground in ski lift–style gondolas and drop them off at destinations throughout town.
The system is referred to as The Wire and is the brainchild of a team of planners from Frog Design, an international innovation firm with offices in 14 locations worldwide, including Austin.
Anyone who has spent time at ski resorts will likely be familiar with The Wire concept. The system has been in use in for decades at ski mountains throughout the world.
Unlike traditional ski lifts, which are essentially exposed benches attached to a moving cable, gondolas are enclosed structures with seating for an average of six to eight people. When gondolas enter a lift station, they detach from an overhead cable and slow down to a walking speed for loading and unloading of passengers. Once airborne again, gondolas travel at approximately 15 miles per hour—a speed on par with buses or urban rail when traffic and stops are factored, McDaniel said.
Also this article from the Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/gondolas-in-round-rock-city-council-members-say-th/nWPwN/
Frog Design’s renderings of what a cable car system in downtown Austin could look like by Frog Design.
Frog Design’s Austin office came up with the idea last year and has unsuccessfully sought an audience with Austin city officials. “Who wants to be the test case for some completely new technology?” Rob Spillar, Austin’s transportation director, said in December.
Michael McDaniel, a principal designer with Frog Design, thinks the answer could be Round Rock, which recently passed the 100,000 population mark, and is beginning to consider options for public transportation.
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