An article in the Chicago Tribune is showcasing what the future of transportation could look like in areas along the Chicago River Navy Pier and other notable destinations. Yes, I’m talking about the airborne cable car – an idea that has been floated around Buffalo for at least a couple of years now. We’ve had experts research the benefits. We’ve struck up local dialogue. We’ve invited politicians to take part in the conversation… and now we will witness Chicago actually run with the ball.
I have come to the determination that Buffalo power players won’t take this type of transportation seriously because they either don’t understand it, or they feel that it’s a bit “out there” and they don’t want their names attached to it. I can imagine that the same scenario was set in NYC when The Highline was proposed. Now The Highline has become one of the city’s biggest urbanist hits of all time. I am sure that when Chicago builds its gondola system, that too will become a huge boon for the city.
We already know that the benefits of a gondola system far outweigh the costs. This sort of connectivity between the Inner and Outer Harbors is a natural. The year round functionality of this elevated cab system would accommodate countless people who would see Buffalo in a completely brand new light.
I suppose we will have to wait until numerous other cities benefit from the installation of this type of unique and practical mode of transportation before Buffalo decision makers begin to take this seriously.
Buffalo could literally design the Outer Harbor experience around the implementation of a cable car system.
To learn more about the Buffalo Cable Car initiative, click here.
Lead image: Chicago Tribune
Grassroots Buffalo proposed cable car image: Dean Evaniak