The Portland Aerial Tram connects a big hilltop hospital with the South Waterfront development and the famous Portland Streetcar.  These photos are from Friday Feb 27, 2009.

 

From wiki:

 

The Portland Aerial Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon carrying commuters between the city's South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. It is the second commuter aerial tramway in the United States (after New York City's Roosevelt Island Tramway).[3] The tram travels a horizontal distance of 3,300 feet (5/8 mi, 1 km) and a vertical distance of 500 feet (150 m) in a ride that lasts three minutes.[4]

 

The tram was jointly funded by OHSU, the City of Portland, and by South Waterfront property owners, with the bulk of the funding coming from OHSU. It is owned by the city and operated by OHSU. While the majority of passengers are affiliated with OHSU, it is open to the public and operated as part of Portland's public transportation network that includes the Portland Streetcar, MAX Light Rail, and Tri-Met buses. After opening in December 2006, the tram carried its one millionth passenger on October 17, 2007.[1]

 

The tram cost $57 million to build—a nearly fourfold increase over initial cost estimates, which was one of several sources of controversy concerning the project.[5] A round-trip tram ticket costs $4; the tram is free for OHSU employees, patients, students, and visitors.[6]

 

Aerial Tram lower station:

 

View of adjacent streetcar line:

 

View of streetcar line & lower station:

 

 

The tram's single tower, viewed from the end of the streetcar line:

 

Panoramic view from the hospital:

 

View of the South Waterfront development from the upper station:

 

People waiting at the hospital for the tram:

 

Doctor riding the aerial tram:

 

View of hospital complex from the tram:

 

 

Lower station:

 

Someone taking their bike on the tram:

 

Same girl riding away from lower station:

 

The spectacular South Waterfront development, viewed from the tram.  A streetcar is visible at far right, and the end of the streetcar line is a few blocks to the right of this image:

 

Looking down at the single-track section of the Portland Streetcar, which is also built to ordinary freight rail specs:

 

Approaching the base station, notice the streetcar tracks at right:

 

Hospital workers waiting for the tram:

 

 

 

Awesome pics.  I love seeing US cities that understand the wonders of public transit.

Great pics Jake.

 

I don't see a single mugger or rapist on board, though. Isn't that what the detractors of Cincinnati's proposed network said would essentially board it?

^I am in no way supporting those upsurd comments that have been made about criminals boarding the Cincinnati Streetcar, but I must say that Portland and Cincinnati are completely different cities.  The city is not nearly as diverse, and does not face many of the same problems that we face in the Queen City.  That is why I am somewhat cautious to use Portland as a great example for what will happen here.

This would be a really cool idea for connecting Mt. Adams with Downtown and Over-the-Rhine.  The base station could be in Broadway Commons somewhere with the hilltop station somewhere near Rookwood Pottery.

^

 

Top of Elm Street to UC's West Campus.

Portland looks like a modern day version of the world's fair. Their public transit system is just great...if only we could actually get moving on some stuff in Cincinnati. How great would it be to have an aerial tram going up and down Mt. Adams!?

 

 

 

I don't see a single mugger or rapist on board, though.

 

I can move out there and change that if you'd like Sherman.

I have to say, as far as bang for the buck, $57 million for construction costs, and a $4 round-trip fare, for a ride that covers 5/8 mile in 3 minutes? Wow, somebody at OHSU apparently had cash to burn (or didn't, and burned it anyway)... All of a sudden, $200 million for Cleveland's BRT line looks cheap.

 

In defense of Cincinnati's system, I've used the #20 Winton - Tri-County on a couple of occasions to get downtown from my girlfriend's house (I actually live and work in Cleveland, for those unfamiliar with me), and found it to be a very pleasant, if seemingly somewhat lightly used, ride.

I haven't looked into why costs got so out of control with this project.  I read something about how the upper anchorage had to be redesigned and was very difficult to build because it's perched on a precipitous slope.  I don't know how that could possibly causes costs to balloon from $15 million to $57 million, unless they knew it was going to cost a lot more than $15 to begin with but just threw that number out there to get initial backing. 

neat-o. riding that is definately on my list to do sometime. not to mention all the waterfront development is just amazing. thanks for showing us this.

I don't know how that could possibly cause costs to balloon from $15 million to $57 million, unless they knew it was going to cost a lot more than $15 to begin with but just threw that number out there to get initial backing.

 

Bingo! 

 

It was the classic "curb appeal" sales job.  Get people to fall in love with it, then slowly hit them with the real costs once they're already committed.  It's shenanigans like this that give the anti-spending folks ammunition to defeat the truly deserving projects.

I have to say, as far as bang for the buck, $57 million for construction costs, and a $4 round-trip fare, for a ride that covers 5/8 mile in 3 minutes? Wow, somebody at OHSU apparently had cash to burn (or didn't, and burned it anyway)

 

Yeah, there's something fishy going on with how much they spent. Aerial Trams are some of the cheapest per mile possible forms of transit (they're just not used more because of low volumes and slow speeds). It's absurd that they managed to spend $57 million. Plenty of Ski resorts have longer trams, and they did NOT cost $57 million!!

 

I also agree that a Mt Adams Tram in Cincinnati would be fantastic. It's basically the perfect setting for a Tram. A popular hilltop location with a huge parking crunch.

... I don't see a single mugger or rapist on board, though. Isn't that what the detractors of Cincinnati's proposed network said would essentially board it?

 

You can't always tell by looking. Sometimes the most ordinary-appearing people are the most dangerous freaks, and you're trapped with them in a confined space. :-o

Those people seem a little too happy.  They need foreclosures to ruin their lives!!!