WislaHD
Superstar
Don Valley gondola could lift Toronto tourism
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tra...alley-gondola-could-lift-toronto-tourism.html
That is the $20- to $25-million proposal for Toronto’s first gondola being floated by a private company called Bullwheel International Cable Car Corp.
Envisioned as a major tourist attraction, the Don Valley cable car could be up and running in three or four years, although that is an aggressive timeline, admits the company’s CEO. It would be built and operated without public money.
He calls the gondola “recreational infrastructure” similar to the Toronto Island ferries. A round-trip ride would cost about $10 on average. Tourists will pay more than locals, and there would be annual and family passes.
It would take about eight minutes to make the 1 km trip down the Don Valley. The gondola would be capable of making the trip in about half that time travelling up to five metres per second. But most of the time, it would actually travel at half speed “so people have more of a recreational experience,” said Bullwheel Cable Car Corp. CEO Steven Dale.
Brick Works, an environmental community centre, attracts up to 3,000 visitors a day on a busy weekend to its farmer’s market, skating rink, cafe and connecting ravine trails. Many of the 500,000 annual visitors come by car. There is a shuttle bus from Broadview station, a service that costs the registered charity $20,000 a month and ensures tenants, visitors and staff can connect to the TTC.
There would be about 40 fully accessible cabins, complete with bike racks. It would take only about eight minutes via gondola to make the 1 km trip down the Don Valley. A heated, fully-accessible cabin, would take off about every 15 to 30 seconds from two stations — one cantilevered at Playter Gardens near the Broadview subway station and another at the west parking lot of the Brick Works.
Bullwheel estimates about 225,000 to 515,000 people a year would ride the gondola. There could be up to 1,500 riders per day during weekend peaks.
“Except for very rare events like Taste of the Danforth, the system will always be running at under maximum capacity and that’s intentional and very common in the cable car industry,” he said.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tra...alley-gondola-could-lift-toronto-tourism.html
That is the $20- to $25-million proposal for Toronto’s first gondola being floated by a private company called Bullwheel International Cable Car Corp.
Envisioned as a major tourist attraction, the Don Valley cable car could be up and running in three or four years, although that is an aggressive timeline, admits the company’s CEO. It would be built and operated without public money.
He calls the gondola “recreational infrastructure” similar to the Toronto Island ferries. A round-trip ride would cost about $10 on average. Tourists will pay more than locals, and there would be annual and family passes.
It would take about eight minutes to make the 1 km trip down the Don Valley. The gondola would be capable of making the trip in about half that time travelling up to five metres per second. But most of the time, it would actually travel at half speed “so people have more of a recreational experience,” said Bullwheel Cable Car Corp. CEO Steven Dale.
Brick Works, an environmental community centre, attracts up to 3,000 visitors a day on a busy weekend to its farmer’s market, skating rink, cafe and connecting ravine trails. Many of the 500,000 annual visitors come by car. There is a shuttle bus from Broadview station, a service that costs the registered charity $20,000 a month and ensures tenants, visitors and staff can connect to the TTC.
There would be about 40 fully accessible cabins, complete with bike racks. It would take only about eight minutes via gondola to make the 1 km trip down the Don Valley. A heated, fully-accessible cabin, would take off about every 15 to 30 seconds from two stations — one cantilevered at Playter Gardens near the Broadview subway station and another at the west parking lot of the Brick Works.
Bullwheel estimates about 225,000 to 515,000 people a year would ride the gondola. There could be up to 1,500 riders per day during weekend peaks.
“Except for very rare events like Taste of the Danforth, the system will always be running at under maximum capacity and that’s intentional and very common in the cable car industry,” he said.
