Raise the Hammer

As transit initiatives in various areas change over time, one minor modification is that I think there should be a Gage bus route, especially if both Gage GO (infll GO station; city already owns land now) and Gage-Mountain Park Gondola gets built.

For example, the potential Gage GO Train Station was mentioned on Page 19 of a Metrolinx document of 50 potential infill stations in the GO RER initatives. Although electrification will not yet reach Hamilton in this initial phase of GO electrification (see my GO articles), the station land for the station is now already owned by City of Hamilton so it is protected land for a future Gage GO station. It could be considered in due time (2030s?) given West Harbour and Gage is further apart than Union-Exhibition GO, anyway.

In addition, City of Hamilton is actively surveying the public about Gondolas, finding enthusaic support (50% liked it). See Gondolas are a popular idea among Hamilton transportation options.

One of the many possible gondolas that are being brainstormed by different Hamilton gondola groups is a GagePark-MountainPark gondola. It would not interfere with any planned LRT route initatives, as it's far away from A-Line, and would simply provide another escarpment.

Some complain about the laughingstock or distraction aspect of gondolas, but Hamilton is laughing a lot less about gondolas today than 7 years ago. Transit? Tourist? Doesn't matter -- can be both -- and maybe privately funded -- but I know some people who now want to invest in a gonola... So there's increasing behind-the-scenes talk (Which I'm paying very close attention to).

I am currently aware Niagara Escarpment Commission is not totally resistant to gondolas, especially if the gondola wire is raised high above the trees, especially since there is no need to dynamite the escarpment (As for incline railways) and the number of poles can vary. It is not a mega-tram or skyscraper sized and the stations are rather small (1.5 stories high) for an inexpensive microcapsule (4-person) gondola. There would need to be studies, but that's part of the due process.

Obviously it's too soon to talk about gondolas, but we're talking about the future (2020s / 2030s / 2040s). Brazil now has gondolas for public transit, so it could be a useful part of the system. Even though, I suspect, GagePark-MountainPark could end up becoming privately funded once there's enough transit critical mass occuring. (It would be 1/10th of a Tremblant style system, and they only paid 7 million dollars for a 5+ kilometer wheelchair-accessible fully-enclosed microcapsule gondolas with small 1.5 storey tall stations).

That's less than 1% the cost of an LRT, well within a range of a team of investors, or even residents willing to remortgage their house and teaming up to pay for this gondola. Plus, there were huge enthusaism about gondolas in the Sherman Hub and Crown Point Hub trial balloons with more than ~75% of the comments positive/willing. Probably it will all wait until B-Line is under construction and A-Line LRT is already making its way up the escarpment.

Gage Road happens to be the north-south corridor that doesn't look viable today. But intersects into an increasing number of opportunities that could happen over the next 20 years, not just the new stadium alone, and possible future Barton re-revitalization, and north business/industrial redevelopments, etc.

You are now seeing Gage Road GO station, LRT station, and possibly also a gondola station. With so many intermodal opportunities, attractions (Tim's, Gage Park, Gondola), transit (GO, LRT, Gondola), it all presents a compelling case for Gage Road to have its own frequent bus route in due course.

Also, I am currently writing an article to RTH (~March 2016) this covers Gage Road GO Station as GO Part #3 (see my GO Part #1 and GO Part #2 articles); so consider this a sneak preview.

Comment edited by mdrejhon on 2016-01-18 16:59:50