What Happened?
New York City is proposing an elevated gondola system to alleviate traffic along its waterfront. Wuppertal, Germany, is also offering an elevated monorail to increase access to the region’s parks and riverfront.
Goal
Both New York City and Wuppertal are investing in transportation infrastructure bypasses traditional roadways to carry passengers over specific spaces such as riverfronts and city parks. By building suspended transit systems, the cities are making it easier for residents to navigate key areas with limited car access, while clearing up traffic on said roads.
Brooklyn Gondola
The East River Skyway proposal calls for the construction of an urban gondola system that connects residential and commercial corridors between Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The aerial transit system would be built out through a multi-phase process along thriving riverfront property.
Inspired by the Roosevelt Island Tram, the East River Skyway will carry riders between prime destination points in a matter of minutes. By adding the aerial transit system, infrastructure will be in place to support a growing number of potential residents and residential developments along the riverfront. This dense neighborhood has cited increased access to transit options as necessity to accommodate more residents.
Furthermore, the urban gondola system:
- Creates no emissions
- 3 times safer than buses and rails
- Accommodates more than 5,000 passengers each way in an hour
To add another subway line would be significantly more expensive and time consuming than constructing the gondola system.
Wuppertal Schwebebahn
The Schwebebahn in Wuppertal, Germany, is a suspended monorail running 8.3 miles through the city that lines along the River Wupper. The line was first constructed in 1901 and carries passengers over the main city center as well as above the river connecting to both sides of the city.
Wuppertal has maintained the aerial monorail because it is designed to run above the main river without limiting access to the riverfront and adjacent green space. The monorail provides a greener alternative to building a highway or railroad over the bridge, which may obstruct access to the park land below.
Riverfront Refreshers
Just as Wuppertal has maintained its riverfront park land with a suspended monorail, other cities are rethinking transit infrastructure to make waterfront land more accessible to residents. Providence, Rhode Island, recently demolished the second widest bridge in the world to make room for Waterplace Park. The city built out the waterfront property, added a riverwalk and added plazas to attract a more diverse crowd of pedestrians, residents and visitors. Waterplace Park replaced the massive bridge with smaller pedestrian bridges and water gondolas to enable residents to navigate the area without a car.
Similarly, Seoul tore down an elevated highway that ran through its downtown district to make room for a large park project. The initiative also included:
- Widened sidewalks
- Narrower car lanes
- Converting a traffic circle into a green park
- Public bike system
- Enhanced bus lanes
- Expanded subway system access
The massive project was designed to make the city greener and more pedestrian-friendly by providing residents with alternative means of transit and more walker-specific amenities.
Rethinking Transit
Gov1 has reported on several innovative transit projects including the transformation of a flyover into a walker-friendly green space.