Aerial gondola concept has ups and downs

Great idea, but where’s the money?

A design contest winner for a gondola that would connect Staten Island commuters to Bayonne’s 8th Street Light Rail Station has been announced by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC). Leitner-Poma, the same company that manufactured Bayonne’s wind turbine, submitted and won the contest for its gondola concept that would shuttle commuters from Elm Park over the Kill Van Kull in six minutes to catch a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail train. The project would build upon a proposed light rail system on Staten Island’s West Shore, reducing commute times for the island’s residents to 33 minutes from Staten Island to Manhattan.
“This is not your traditional transportation system,” said Steven Grillo, first vice president of SIEDC. “It has plausibility, but at this point it’s supposed to get people to think outside the box in terms of alternate modes of transportation.”
Grillo said such a project would not come to fruition for years and cost around $60 million, compared to an entire light rail system extending over the Bayonne Bridge, which would cost more than a $1 billion. “It’s really a cost-effective way of moving people,” he said.
“We’re trying to be progressive and open people’s minds to different modes of transportation,” said Alex Porto, vice president of membership and outreach for the SEIDC. “This is supposed to help give gondola transportation legitimacy.”
Other proposed routes were from Fort Wadsworth to 95th Street in Brooklyn, and St. George over New York Harbor to lower Manhattan, which would have been the longest cable gondola in the world, but also would be significantly more expensive to build than the Elm Park-Bayonne concept. “Once you try to put a gondola extension in the water, things get extremely complicated,” said Grillo. “The Bayonne route is the most feasible … and would make the most sense.”

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“I’d love to see it built and get vetted out with the agencies, and hopefully somebody can come up with the $60 million. Practically, until either the Port Authority or NJ Transit comes up with the funding, this project is not possible.” – Suzanne Mack
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Upsides and downsides

Bayonne Urban Planner Suzanne Mack’s first instincts in considering the gondola were issues of connectivity and light rail capacity. “If it has to go 151 feet above the Kill Van Kull, how does it get down to the 8th Street Station level, and how does it get through Bayonne to 8th Street?” she asked. “Right now the trains that leave the 8th Street Station don’t have enough capacity to take on the increased population.”
Mack acknowledged the demand for increased access to Manhattan for Staten Island commuters and says innovative and alternative transportation ideas deserve consideration. She said Bayonne’s economy could benefit by allowing people from Staten Island to come to Bayonne for its restaurants and culture.
The gondola plan’s merits grow stronger considering the Port Authority nixed the Hudson Bergen Light Rail extension over the Bayonne Bridge, but potential funding remains a question. “It’s a great idea, but [New Jersey] has limited money right now,” said Mack. “I’d love to see it built and get vetted out with the agencies, and hopefully somebody can come up with the $60 million. Practically, until either the Port Authority or NJ Transit comes up with the funding, this project is not possible.”
On Friday, September 30, Governor Christopher Christie released a plan to fund the depleted Transportation Trust Fund with a 23-percent-gas-tax increase, adding $32 billion over eight years.
“If meaningful discussions occur between New York and New Jersey transit agencies, I believe the project should be advanced to the Federal Transit Administration under the New Start Program,” Mack said.
Despite the barriers preventing the concept from materializing, Mack lauded progressive thinking in transportation. “If there were never any concepts, there wouldn’t be a Holland and Lincoln Tunnel, PATH system, or HBLR.”

The commuter’s take

“Anything that would help go to Manhattan to help with congestion, anything that would make things easier to commute is a good idea,” said Bayonne resident Robert Rosadowho commutes to Manhattan every day from the 8th Street Station. “Whether it’s ferries, faster rail, or a gondola, we need to get to where the jobs are. More transportation is always a good idea.”
“With that light rail proposed in Staten Island, a gondola would make a lot of sense, especially if they’re not going to put the light rail on the bridge,” said Sandra Smith, a Staten Island commuter who waits in traffic every day on 440, driving over the Bayonne Bridge to the 34th Street Station, a route taken by many Staten Island commuters. “It would save me so much time and trouble getting here. And imagine the views from that gondola. It would be nice.”

Staten Island residents can view the gondola cabin when it tours the island starting April 20 and making its final stop at the SIEDC business conference on April 27:

April 20: St. George, Thompkinsville in Stapleton from 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.
April 21: The College of Staten Island from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
April 22: East Pacific Parking Lot, Staten Island Mall from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
April 23: Father Capodanno Boardwalk from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
April 24: St. John’s University, Staten Island Campus from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Wagner College from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
April 25: SIEDC Neighborhood Development Towns – Richmond Road, Newdorp, Huguenop, Richmond Valley from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
April 27: SIEDC Business Conference, Hilton Garden Inn from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Rory Pasquariello may be reached at roryp@hudsonreporter.com.

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