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OWN VOICE. The Coast Skyway Exploration team is a group of Coastsiders who have been working for more than six months to research and gather opinions on the possibilities of an aerial wire rope gondola lift (or Aerial Gondola) over Hwy 92.
From the beginning, Peter von Bleichert’s article aspired to an Aerial Gondola that would go from Half Moon Bay to CalTrain. From there, people could get on the train and then get to the San Francisco and San Jose Airports where people could further access transit hubs as part of the Seamless Transit movement. His presentations to the City Council and the Rotary Club gathered attention.
Facts that Drive the Coast Skyway Aerial Gondola Exploration Team
- City/County Association of Governments (CCAG) has said they will build no new roads, as reported by Half Moon Bay Council member and CCAG representative, Harvey Rarback.
- SamTrams has always been challenged by a lack of east/west roads.
- Aerial Gondolas are cheaper and safer than roads (see FAQ below)
- Dopplemayr-Graventa has expressed interest in the project to Peter von Bleichert and potential help with grants and funding.
- SCJ Alliance as offered a Concept Design Study that would include station locations, towers, and tech specs, and recommended stakeholder consortium. (Peter von Bleichert)
- CalTrain wants to expand ridership.
- Young drivership is falling. In 2018, approximately 61% of 18-year-olds in the U.S. had a driver’s license, down from 80% percent in 1983. The number of 16-year-olds with licenses decreased from 46% to 25% in the same period
- The City of Half Moon Bay’s visitor serving business model makes money through the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and Sales Tax.
- Electric gondolas are GREEN. The accelerating climate change crisis makes it imperative that we shift as fast as possible from internal combustion vehicles to zero-emission mass transit alternatives. Moreover, clean infrastructure is a heavy priority for both federal and state spending.
- High-capacity gondola lines are proven, popular technology that is providing reliable, economical, zero-emission, and super-cool mass transit in countries all over the world. Why not have San Mateo County lead a wave of adopting them in the U.S.?
Moves
- Jackie Spier said “that’s an intriguing idea” and suggested Hayward Park as a good landing station, in the City of San Mateo.
- Asking City of San Mateo for a Letter of Interest (LOI)
Coast Skyway Aerial Gondola Exploration Team has included:
- Deb Harter Williams
- Tony Basso
- Peter von Bleichert
- Michelle Dragony
- Mike Ferreira (past Mayor)
- Joyce Logan
- Richard Lotti
- Ed Love
- Gopi Matel
- Matt Oja
The Team asks a lot of questions of a lot of people. Here are some people we talked with.
- Harvey Rarback (HMB City Council)
- Debbie Ruddock (HMB City Council)
- Maziar Bozorginia (City Public Works)
Groups and Interests
We will continue work to get more Letters of Interest with interested parties.
- Medical Access: Village of the Coastside, Senior Coastsiders
- Tourism: Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, Surfers/Beachgoers to avoid traffic and parking
- Minimum Wage Workers: ALAS, Coastside Hope, Puente
- Team Traffic: Boys and the Girls Club, Cougar Boosters
Aerial Gondola FAQs
The Tampa FAQ answers a lot of the questions about aerial gondola development. It will give you an idea of scope and public outreach.
Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA), has just completed the Tampa Bay Area Pinellas Gondola Feasibility Study Final Report to include Technical Validation, Economics & Financing and Public Engagement.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.coastsidebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/aerial-gondola-study-final-report-oct-21-2022.pdf”]
More on the Coast Skyway Gondola on Coastside Buzz
So, Would You Like the City of Half Moon Bay to Explore
a Coast Skyway Aerial Gondola ~
Downtown to CalTrain Hayward Park?
>>> Questions/Comments to
Deb Harter Williams at [email protected] <<<
You can also comment to the City of Half Moon Bay City Council
Author: Coastside Buzz
Me
Why spend money to study it, when there is no place to park once you leave your car in San Mateo and arrive over here? The “last mile” issue is the deal killer. Same going the other way… is there transit at the San Mateo side?
Good news, there is no last-mile Issue. Of COURSE parking facilities and transportation connections will necessarily be built into the plan. They didn’t build the Devils Slide tunnel and then notice that there was no bridge on the other side to get to the highway; the bridge was integral to the project from the start. Every new BART station that BART constructed, of COURSE included calculations for the required parking to make that station useful. When we speak of a gondola project, all of this required infrastructure is included.
Unicorns are more likely.
Absolutely yes. Look at how many times in the last few months that Hwy. 92 has been closed or partially closed. We need an alternative.