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Sunday, February 21, 2016

Gondolas-not the water kind-in Pinellas County

Aerial tramways require minimal ground surface compared with other forms of transportation reducing displacement and imminent domain issues.


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin
  
There has been a lot of chatter in Pinellas County and St. Petersburg about gondolas.

Not the water kind, although the thought of Rick Kriseman paddling a bunch high-tech company executives accompanied by a group of smiling millennials through a newly constructed waterway serving only downtown is fascinating, what we are talking about is the elevated version more commonly called aerial tramways

In St. Pete, the name is Aerial Cable Propelled Transit which I would expect to move to County-wide  status as an authority dubbed the Aerial Cable Transit Authority or the ACTA probably chaired by Darden Rice.

If you need some detail, here are the links:

September 29, 2015 Michael Van Sickler Tampa Bay Times Maybe Darryl LeClair was on to something: San Diego considers gondolas

January 26, 2016 Tracey McManus Tampa Bay Times Bay Buzz Gondolas in Clearwater?

February 4, 2016 Tampa Bay Times Daniel Ruth: Gondolas, or more beach traffic jams?


February 16, 2016 Charlie Frago Tampa Bay Times Gondolas in St. Pete: Let the four winds blow

February 20, 2016 Tracey McManus Tampa Bay Times Tampa Bay weather no worry for gondolas, experts say

While this may seem like a new idea, back in the mid 90s, I was part of a very short-lived  team that put together a plan for a sky tram connecting Tyrone Mall, Cross Roads Shopping Center and the then generally undeveloped area where Best Buy and Marshals and Publix are now located. The plan with three stations would have allowed shoppers to shop all three areas without driving from place to place.

We were quietly but politely laughed off the stage. Do not bother to do a public records search you won't find anything.

You have to give the County staff and the Kriseman team some serious credit for thinking out of the box on this one.

There are significant advantages in the idea. Aerial tramways are much less disruptive to construct. They require minimal ground surface compared with other forms of transportation almost eliminating displacement and imminent domain issues.

The possibility of aerial tramway development around commercial areas in Pinellas County and providing transportation to and from the beaches is intriguing to say the least.  

All of this is part of a federal grant application, so we will have to wait and see how it goes.

For me, I like the idea.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Bob Gualtieri for Pinellas County Sheriff

1 comment:

  1. Gondolas, ferries, buses, trains - none of these transit modes make sense as long as 98% (or even 90%) of the people choose to drive personal vehicles.
    "All of this is part of a federal grant application, so we will have to wait and see how it goes."
    We do not have unlimited funds to evaluate these pipedreams and just because the federal govt is handing out our tax dollars does not make them free - taxes are our money. Even corporate taxes are our money because corporations include their expenses (taxes are an expense) in the pricing of their products. The same is true of "mobility fees" - developers simply add the fee tho the cost of the house, so it is actually another consumer tax. The federal govt operates in the red (deficit spending), so not only are taxpayers (us) responsible for the cost of boondoggles, we are also responsible for the interest accrued on the borrowed money funding the studies and building of those boondoggles.
    "The possibility of aerial tramway development around commercial areas in Pinellas County and providing transportation to and from the beaches is intriguing to say the least."
    Can you at least tell us how intriguing the possibility is? How much will it cost taxpayers to build and operate such a system? How much will riders contribute to the capital (0?) and operating costs (20%?)?
    What will be the net benefit to taxpayers? Less traffic? Less pollution? There is not an overwhelming traffic problem in St. Petersburg - one can drive through downtown at 5:00 on a weekday and find little or no congestion.
    Can you demonstrate that a gondola system anywhere in the world actually pays for itself and actually reduces congestion and/or pollution?
    Tourism commission studies show that almost all tourists arrive in Pinellas county by car - their own or a rented car. Or sometimes they arrive at the airport and local family or friends provide transportation in their car(s).
    How many tourists arrive at the beaches without a car and use the "trolley" to travel back and forth to downtown? Does the volume justify the cost of providing the capital equipment and operating costs?
    We know who pays the major portion of taxes - the top 50% of wage earners pay 97% of all income taxes and will pay proportionally more in other taxes (sales, property, gas, fees, etc.). What is the likelihood that any of those who pay 97% of the taxes will ever ride
    a bus, train, gondola or ferry in Pinellas County or St. Petersburg, even though they are paying 97% of the cost of those conveyances?
    Has anyone considered how many taxi/Uber/Lyft rides could be subsidized for low income people who truly need transportation assistance? The infrastructure (roads) is in place. 98% of the people choose to drive. It would seem that 98% of transportation investments should be to maintain our roads.
    What can we do to maximize the return on investment of our tax dollars? Build gondolas? Surely not.
    For those who abhor driving and/or cars in general, there are plenty of empty condos and apartments for sale or rent in downtown St. Petersburg. Residents can walk to work and shopping and take a taxi or Uber/Lyft service to the beaches when they need to travel outside their walking limit. Since they would not incur the cost of owning and operating a vehicle, this should be a simple economic and environmentally conscious decision.



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