“If there were a museum of stupid ideas, the Albany gondola  would deserve its own wing.â€
That’s what a friend of mine had to say about  the proposal to build an aerial tram to carry people from the Rensselaer train station to downtown Albany.
He’s clearly being short-sighted, for who hasn’t craved a better way to get across the river from the train station? Driving is so — old-fashioned, and most people would rather swim across the Hudson than get into one of the filthy cabs that prey on arriving Amtrak passengers.
The gondola would have stations at the new convention center and the Empire State Plaza, but what if that’s not your destination? Well, people going to other places, like the Albany Hilton, could just walk over from the gondola and drag their suitcase behind them — or get a cab when they get off the gondola, of course.
What about some other transportation options?
- Rickshaws could work. Naturally, you would need all-weather rickshaws for the winter, but rickshaws are inherently fun and eco-friendly.
- We might bring back the Aqua Duck boats. Imagine how thrilling it would to leave the train station and then plunge into the river — or drive across the river in the winter, if the river ever freezes again.
- Or perhaps a moving walkway in a climate controlled tube? A tubeway, if you will. This would be like a giant Habitrail that would stretch up from Rensselaer and arc across the river.
At any rate, I would suggest that they add additional downtown stops into the plan to make the gondola more convenient. They might even have a stop at the museum of stupid ideas.
I see some possible “issues” here…
state workers could park in the train station lot and gondo to work?
Or busy NYC people would train up to Albany, do “business” with the capitol folks and return to NYC? will the cars hold the larger suitcases of $$ needed for this?
could be used as homeless housing, a new type of mobile home indeed!!
How long before it would need ” construction repairs ” like 787?
would the windows open? that might be useful for suicides and duck hunting.
Bathrooms? gender neutral or would you pick the right color car for the potty type you are eligible for?
Let’s not forget the huge economic boost we’ll get from gondola tourism. This will become a major stop for those on their way from the Roosevelt Island Tramway to ride the Montreal Aerial Gondola. Oh, wait — the Montreal project was scrapped. Nevermind…
we could place bets on how long it would take for the gondolas to be covered in gang graffiti and the aroma of urine, like the walkway from the Plaza to the Times Useless Center.
Charging for each ride should keep out the riff raff. And everyone else.
I was going to get into the math of this thing, but wanted to keep the post short. Vic Christopher summed it all up in a single tweet: