Prairie Sky Gondola | 76.2m | ?s | Prairie Sky | DIALOG

What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    59
The_Cat said:
I think the issue about ancestral burial grounds will have to be resolved.
Click to expand...
Lots of hypocrites in Rossdale too. I wonder how many dead indigenous people are buried under their backyards. Perhaps some bones were found when their foundations were being dug up. I think it's a bit naive to think the burial grounds didn't extend beyond the powerplant area. I also don't think the NIMBYs in Rossdale actually care about the burial grounds. It was a great thing to anchor their opposition to, though.
 
_urbanite said:
Lots of hypocrites in Rossdale too. I wonder how many dead indigenous people are buried under their backyards. Perhaps some bones were found when their foundations were being dug up. I think it's a bit naive to think the burial grounds didn't extend beyond the powerplant area. I also don't think the NIMBYs in Rossdale actually care about the burial grounds. It was a great thing to anchor their opposition to, though.
Click to expand...
I feel this has perhaps become a too convenient trump card argument for those who just really don't want to do anything here, maybe because it is not a priority for them. However, leaving the power plant as is, is not benefiting the community. Given we are talking mainly about redeveloping an existing building, it probably can be done in a way that does not involve too much disturbance to the grounds nearby.
 
The City's position is understandable. Anecdotally the business case for a gondola seems iffy because the target audience can't be that large and it would be competing against public transportation's fare structure for operating income. If the project wasn't profitable and went bankrupt, the City could potentially be faced with inheriting a money losing gondola or ripping down the infrastructure. The City could demand bonding from the gondola company to mitigate that risk but that added expense also makes the project less profitable.

Secondly, if the gondola is built in the proposed location it will interfere with the Walterdale Bridge's postcard appearance. Although the monetary value of the bridge's appearance is intangible it still creates a positive impression and has advertising value for the City. Doubtful that the City wants to mess with that, particularly if the gondola happened to go bankrupt and the City had to deal with a Regency like situation in the river valley. The City would face national ridicule if something like that ever happened.
 
Out of Towner said:
The City's position is understandable. Anecdotally the business case for a gondola seems iffy because the target audience can't be that large and it would be competing against public transportation's fare structure for operating income. If the project wasn't profitable and went bankrupt, the City could potentially be faced with inheriting a money losing gondola or ripping down the infrastructure. The City could demand bonding from the gondola company to mitigate that risk but that added expense also makes the project less profitable.

Secondly, if the gondola is built in the proposed location it will interfere with the Walterdale Bridge's postcard appearance. Although the monetary value of the bridge's appearance is intangible it still creates a positive impression and has advertising value for the City. Doubtful that the City wants to mess with that, particularly if the gondola happened to go bankrupt and the City had to deal with a Regency like situation in the river valley. The City would face national ridicule if something like that ever happened.
Click to expand...
If the gondola goes bust and ETS can buy for pennies on the dollar, great.
 
Out of Towner said:
The City could demand bonding from the gondola company to mitigate that risk but that added expense also makes the project less profitable.
Click to expand...
I worked on the financing side of the gondola project back in 2021-22. A bond was part of the financing guarantees offered to the city.

Also, the fares would be relatively competitive (at the time, I believe it was $5) and it would be integrated with ETS for a surcharge of $2, if memory doesn't fail me.

The two biggest revenue and trip generators would've been the redevelopment of the power plant and commercial development at the Whyte Ave end of the line. Profitability was there's although their vision was always much more akin to those legacy projects of old, when rich people felt like it was their duty to leave a legacy and give back to society. They were trying to raise most of their capital in the form of equity, not sent, originally.

Later on, they had to change approach and some of these things changed, including the fares, but ETS integration was always a part of the plan.
 
ChazYEG said:
I worked on the financing side of the gondola project back in 2021-22. A bond was part of the financing guarantees offered to the city.

Also, the fares would be relatively competitive (at the time, I believe it was $5) and it would be integrated with ETS for a surcharge of $2, if memory doesn't fail me.

The two biggest revenue and trip generators would've been the redevelopment of the power plant and commercial development at the Whyte Ave end of the line. Profitability was there's although their vision was always much more akin to those legacy projects of old, when rich people felt like it was their duty to leave a legacy and give back to society. They were trying to raise most of their capital in the form of equity, not sent, originally.

Later on, they had to change approach and some of these things changed, including the fares, but ETS integration was always a part of the plan.
Click to expand...
I'm not an opponent of public / private partnerships but I'd assume that ETS has some misgivings about the proposed project because the $2 surcharge that ETS would receive from Prairie Gondola isn't really a benefit to ETS. Prairie Gondola's proposal doesn't guarantee an increase in passengers by any meaningful number. A new route could be more convenient for some passengers but it would cannibalize passengers from ETS''s existing routes and potentially lead to a reduction of service on them. Shifting passenger volume from ETS to Prairie Gondola isn't in ETS's best interest that I can see.
 
Out of Towner said:
I'm not an opponent of public / private partnerships but I'd assume that ETS has some misgivings about the proposed project because the $2 surcharge that ETS would receive from Prairie Gondola isn't really a benefit to ETS. Prairie Gondola's proposal doesn't guarantee an increase in passengers by any meaningful number. A new route could be more convenient for some passengers but it would cannibalize passengers from ETS''s existing routes and potentially lead to a reduction of service on them. Shifting passenger volume from ETS to Prairie Gondola isn't in ETS's best interest that I can see.
Click to expand...
Don’t think it’s zero sum. Could be structured to be a net increase more than a cannibalism of the same existing user base.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top