You got it right in your comment. The Banff gondola is owned and operated by Pursuit, an American company. The same company owns the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, where they charge ~$100 to walk on a bridge. They don't charge these fees because that's what it costs to make them viable; they charge that to make money hand over fist.
Yes I do ski to answer your question. Have skied at most of the major resorts in western Canada and western States. Started on rope tows. Before the gondola at Sunshine was there and the ski out was the road up there. And I've been on the Sunshine gondola on a windy day when it quit for 20 minutes too. If you've skied very often, then at one time or another you should have seen maintenance personal on a pole doing maintenance to prevent an accident. Last winter there was a high profile incident at Winter Park and incidents of gondola cabins falling after detaching from the cable have been reported elsewhere. So if some of you want to own the narrative that nothing has ever happened and that safety protocols are nonsense, then that's just wrong.It's a national park, they can charge whatever they want for the tourists to use the Banff Gondola. The money earned helps run the park and tourists will pay a lot of money to experience it. The gondola itself doesn't cost that much to operate.
Out of Towner, have you ever gone skiing or been on a gondola yourself? You are litteraly coming up with excuses, just for the sake of coming up with excuses. I have ridden the gondola used in Chongqing, China in 2005, it was built in 1987 it was completely safe and the cost was reasonable enough for locals to use daily.
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There is no public record of a major accident with the Chongqing Yangtze River Cableway since it opened in 1987. However, like any public transport system, it has had incidents, such as temporary closures for maintenance or technical issues, but these have not resulted in fatalities or severe injuries.
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- Official records show no major accidents: While there are no reports of catastrophic accidents, such as crashes or major failures, it's important to note that temporary closures can happen for various reasons, including safety checks and technical issues.
- Safety record: Urban gondolas and cableways are generally considered very safe modes of public transport, with accident rates significantly lower than road vehicles and rail transport, according to the International Organization for Transportation by Rope (OITAF) and the Leitner Group.
The gondola proposed for Edmonton would be tiny in comparison.
I don't recall paying anywhere near that much, but I then I last went years ago. Also the Skywalk is newer infrastructure, which is not cheap or easy to develop in a national park. The gondola's have been around for a long time, so while there is maintenance and upgrades, the infrastructure was developed when it was much cheaper and easier to do so.
The North Saskatchewan River is designated as a Canadian Heritage River which presumably makes, as you suggest, development more daunting but the designation doesn't preclude development. The CHRS web site states this as two of its principles. "Rivers in the system are designated and managed to meet guidelines set out by the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board. The Canadian Heritage Rivers System values a diversity of knowledge systems." "The Canadian Heritage Rivers System celebrates select rivers as Canadian Heritage Rivers. Designation has no legislative authority; jurisdictions and land owners retain their management authority and responsibilities."
All you guys must have a lot of time on your hands to argue over a project that is dead in the water. Chill out
