This is my concept for an air gondola to Mt. Adams. 

 

These terminal locations provide central locations in both downtown and Mt. Adams that are easily accessible to pedestrians.  This is especially important on the steep hillsides of Mt. Adams.  The line between them wouldn't have to travel over any buildings (save the KZF Design Building located next to the downtown terminal.)  The terminals themselves may have to be three or four stories tall so the gondola cars could clear obstacles. 

 

This gondola line could accomplish several things:

 

• It would bring Mt. Adams out of isolation from the rest of downtown- an isolation that may have once been beneficial to Mt. Adams when downtown and OTR were in decline, but as downtown and OTR continue their renaissance, is sure to hurt Mt. Adams businesses. 

 

• The gondola line could work in conjunction with the streetcar and Redbike to expand car free commuting options for residents. (as well as all other types of trips)

 

• The gondola line could form the centerpiece of a "Bucktown" neighborhood (the historic name for the area) of condo towers in the empty lots on the eastern edge of downtown.

 

• Finally, this would be an exclamation mark for the city's tourism industry as the views would be unmatched for hundreds of miles.  It would put a day in Mt Adams, Eden Park and the Art Museum on the "must do" list in any Cincinnati tourism guidebook and in walkable reach of downtown's hotels. 

 

I love this idea!  Who would fund it?  Who is the company doing the ferris wheel in NoKY?

It would have to be named the "Wiremobile"

 

Would there be any incentive to dropping it closer to the casino/OTR rather than 7th Street?

Yes, Wiremobile or death

I saw this proposed maybe 20 years ago. Great idea, hope it happens.

For comparison sake:

 

Portland Aerial Tram- 500 feet rise, 3300 foot run

Cincinnati Proposed- 213 feet rise, 2956 foot run

I love this idea!  Who would fund it?  Who is the company doing the ferris wheel in NoKY?

 

Good question. I think it may be hard to justify the cost of this as transit alone, considering our great need to improve our basic bus system. So maybe a partnership with some kind of company would be a good move as you suggested. This would certainly be more unique and useful than a giant Ferris wheel.

 

It would have to be named the "Wiremobile"

 

Would there be any incentive to dropping it closer to the casino/OTR rather than 7th Street?

 

Pros would be the line would be shorter (less expensive) and maybe the casino would help pay for it.

 

Cons would be it would be further away from the heart of downtown (both hotels and employers), less expansive view (wouldn't see river) and it may not be perceived as family friendly if tied to the casino. Also the jail would be way too prominent in the view & cut the terminal off from downtown a little & limit development possibilities.

As a resident of Mt. Adams, I am all in favor of this idea! For being so close to downtown and OTR, Mt. Adams feels really cut off from the rest of the core.  I think you're correct that this was beneficial to the neighborhood when downtown and OTR were liabilities, but now that they are popular with residents and visitors, the lack of connection to Mt. Adams has been really detrimental to the business district.  Part of Mt. Adams' charm is that is functions as an 'urban island', surrounded by Eden Park to the north and the sharp hillsides in all other directions.  I do think it's important for the identity of Mt. Adams to keep the self contained, village vibe, but if there is a way to do this while simultaneously providing increased exposure and access to and from the basin, then I am all for it.

 

  I was toying with the idea of a new street bridge instead - maybe extending 7th Street over the highway to Monastery Street.

I like the uniqueness over more auto infrastructure which would probably be more expensive anyway.  Would Cedar Fair entertain a standalone showpiece like this?

Boondoggle!

I think that is a really cool idea and a great graphic put together.

 

I would worry though that it wouldn't get enough ridership, since Mt. Adams doesn't have many commercial jobs for commuters, no school, etc.  It would probabably get peak ridership in the mornings and afternoons from workers going to downtown and back.

 

I think why it is successful in Portland, it connects to Portland State University.

When I went on John Schneider's trip to Portland last fall, I heard some interesting stats about their aerial tram. When they built their tram, they expected it to be used mostly by students/faculty/staff commuting to campus, and expected the majority of the revenue to come from such trips. But now, they get so many tourists using the tram (especially on weekends), that tourists alone could pay for the tram's operating costs. So in theory they could let anyone with a student ID ride for free and they'd still make enough from tourists to keep it profitable.

I've got a VHS tape of the original idea from 20-25 years ago. I will have to get it digitized and uploaded!

 

  I was toying with the idea of a new street bridge instead - maybe extending 7th Street over the highway to Monastery Street.

 

<b>NO MORE CARS</b>

When I went on John Schneider's trip to Portland last fall, I heard some interesting stats about their aerial tram. When they built their tram, they expected it to be used mostly by students/faculty/staff commuting to campus, and expected the majority of the revenue to come from such trips. But now, they get so many tourists using the tram (especially on weekends), that tourists alone could pay for the tram's operating costs. So in theory they could let anyone with a student ID ride for free and they'd still make enough from tourists to keep it profitable.

 

If Cincy is going to go this route, this is how it should be sold.  Mt Adams is a natural tourist destination but its isolated from the rest of downtown - this would allow tourists and commuters a quick and easy way to get up to the top of Mt Adams and patronize business up there as well as uniting the core neighborhoods of the city closer together.

I'd be way more inclined to visit place in Mt. Adams more often if I could take something like this up there. Walking is nice sometimes, but if the weather is at all bad, it's late at night, you're dressed up, it's hot, etc. that walk isn't really something desirable. An aerial tram would be a great asset to have.

The proposed gondola would follow this tree line into downtown. Taken from the Ida St. Bridge

 

 

Close up

 

 

OTR

 

 

Cincy-henge

 

 

Maybe this concept seriously "gets off the ground" someone could take a drone-video of the guideway path to drum up support.  (with the proper permits & permissions of course.)

 

Actually after walking around Mt. Adams I think the terminal would be better suited in a lot near the Ida St. Bridge than where I had it in the first diagram.  It'd be just slightly less central to the Mt. Adams business district on St. Gregory St., but would have more treetop clearance almost immediately due to the steep drop-off, and also where I had it before might not have cleared the Ida St. Bridge itself.  This line would travel over the Hixon building slightly. 

 

Mt. Adams actually is a pretty popular destination for people visiting Cincinnati.  I think the Ida Street location would be better, because it would leave visitors with an easy and straightforward path to both the Mt. Adams business district, and the Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, and Eden Park.  It would also present visitors and gondola riders with a fantastic and memorable view from the top, in a way that the other drop off location you proposed would not. 

The main thing that comes up in my mind how much will this cost, and how will the city pay for it?

 

Cool idea though, but I don't see this happening for at least another 15-20 years. I would be think Phase 2 and future phases of the street car will be higher priority before this is even considered for a minute.

I'd be way more <b>inclined</b> to visit place in Mt. Adams more often if I could take something like this up there. Walking is nice sometimes, but if the weather is at all bad, it's late at night, you're dressed up, it's hot, etc. that walk isn't really something desirable. An aerial tram would be a great asset to have.

 

I see what you did there...

This is a great proposal, Bill.  My only comment on the original proposal was the Ida St Bridge and you took care of that one.  I absolutely think these are the best possible nodes for an aerial lift in Cincinnati and I think it would be a huge boon for Mt Adams.  The biggest issues to overcome are NIMBYisn on Ida St, fighting for the parking lots, and figuring out who would pay for it.