U of M gondola no pie-in-the-sky plan
Study says cable-car to St. Vital much cheaper than a new bridge
Mon Jan 7 2008
By Bartley Kives | Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Transit studied four possible cable-car routes between 1.5 kilometres and 2.25 kilometres in length.
A cable-car feasibility study by Winnipeg Transit has found St. Norbert Coun. Justin Swandel does not have his head in the clouds.
Since May, Swandel has been promoting the possibility of connecting St. Vital and the University of Manitoba with an aerial tramway to reduce traffic on Bishop Grandin Boulevard.
Some fellow councillors scoffed, but a study released Friday suggests an aerial link could be built for as little as $3 million, which would be a fraction of the cost of erecting a new pedestrian footbridge over the Red River.
"I thought it would actually come in a lot higher. I think it's a pretty attractive number for getting across the river, when you consider it would cost at least $15 million to build a pedestrian-bicycle bridge," Swandel said.
Inspired by a Portland, Oregon gondola system that connects a hospital to a busy public transit node, Swandel originally proposed an aerial tramway to alleviate cross-river congestion caused by traffic bound for both the University of Manitoba and St. Vital Centre.
As a result, Winnipeg Transit studied four possible cable-car routes: Two short north-south connections between the university's main campus and the nearest opposite riverbanks; a 1.5-kilometre east-west connection between the university's Fletcher-Argue Building and St. Mary's Road; and a more ambitious, 2.25-kilometre link between the U of M's Robson Hall and the southwest corner of St. Vital Centre's parking lot.
According to the study, the short links could be built for as little as $3 million, while the east-west route would cost $4 million. Building a link all the way to St. Vital Centre would cost $8.2 million, but would likely face opposition from St. Vital homeowners.
"The main advantage of this (latter) alignment is that St. Vital Centre is an established major transit node, which would greatly increase the potential number of users of this service," Winnipeg Transit notes in its report.
"However, the alignment would pass directly over residential neighbourhoods, which may lead to concerns from area residents regarding privacy and noise."
The other three proposed routes do not cross over residential homes.
Winnipeg Transit estimated the demand for the cable crossing would be in the area of 500 return trips per day, based on the number of U of M students who live in St. Vital.
Swandel believes the demand would be even higher, thanks to Fort Garry residents seeking easy access to St. Vital Centre. "I think that's what's missing from this report," he said.
The cable-car report will be presented to city council's public works committee on Tuesday. After that, Swandel must sell the plan to skeptical fellow councillors and then begin the long process of trying to add the gondola system to a list of future capital projects.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca