Comment 114780

By mdrejhon (registered) - website | Posted November 10, 2015 at 11:55:33 in reply to Comment 114777

I heard that the capital cost of a properly weather-resistant wheelchair lift for an escarpment-length stairs would cost more than a 2-person ski chairlift! Given the escarpment hostility (rain, snow, leaves gumming and rusting the lift mechanism) and the need for regular maintenance, you can't just go for a simple breakdown-prone mechanism, and the stairs will probably need to be redesigned for the lift mechanism, which could cost extra.

Also, it would probably have to be staffed for liability reasons (+$$) lest people get stranded when the lift jams mid-way (This can happen too with gondolas, but very rare with a modern gondola, especially with backup power). Also, any lift will tend to also be used by the non-disabled too, adding wear and tear. Witness able-bodied people using door-openers. At this point, you begin to reach the operating costs of a gondola for something that doesn't generate revenue.

At that point it would cost almost as much as a very basic entry-level open-air gondola, At that point, we might as well go for a basic mini-gondola that would be far easier for a wheelchair user to use.

If more capital cost is raised, we can upgrade to an 8-person miniature fully-enclosed gondola exactly like the one at Mount Tremblant. But we don't even need to go that fancy or pretentious.

We're talking of more basic utilitarian open-air gondolas one level above a chairlift.

Comment edited by mdrejhon on 2015-11-10 13:07:42

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