[Grumpypotpie]

Originally Posted by Merry Lee Gather

Here we go. This is the animated video of the one designed for the Chicago Skyline. It's running along the river 17 stories high to the waterfront. Privately funded for 250 million. Specifically for tourism and estimated to bring in 330 million. It's bespoke design by the designer who did the London Eye.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SE_jQ0WTfk

That looks awesome

[Merrily Gather]

Originally Posted by Grumpypotpie

That looks awesome

I know right! I would go there for it, but I haven't been to Chicago yet. It's on my list of cities to see for their architecture. I love architecture and design. When I was in Washington DC I spent considerable time in the Octagon Museum. The oldest museum in the country dedicated to architecture and design. I also toured Virginia Tech for their architecture program in 2000. My University had a program but it was difficult to decide between Architecture, Interior Design or just Design. Anyways, that's another story in another life.

[Bruff]

Originally Posted by Merry Lee Gather

the only other aerial tram proposal for Las Vegas that I've come across online. It doesn't look like the gondolas and it's supposed to be high speed between LA and Las Vegas. It looks like a reverse hanging monorail.

That one is based on a German monorail called the
Wuppertal, which has been running continuously since 1901 and carries some 80,000 passengers a day.
This is called
Aerobus. Another description.

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by robojester

Why do folks seem to think electric means clean.
Most electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels.

I guess you missed the big news from yesterday:

Las Vegas now runs completely on renewable energy

Las Vegas just became the largest US city to run on 100% renewable energy - Business Insider

Three cheers for Las Vegas making the effort and let's hope the use of energy from renewable sources continues to expand. There's no reason why the American Southwest can't be the Saudi Arabia of solar power.

[robojester]

I guess you did not read closely.

" the plant's acres of solar panels will provide 100% of the city's municipal power, excluding commercial and residential buildings. "

So the GOVT may be running on solar but the city is not.

It also does not change the statistic by pointing out the exception

[BBMW]

That's only the city government's power. Most of the power is Vegas is provide by big natural gas and coal fired plants scattered around the city, or just outside. There is some solar, but it's a minor player.

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

I guess you missed the big news from yesterday:

Las Vegas now runs completely on renewable energy

Las Vegas just became the largest US city to run on 100% renewable energy - Business Insider

Three cheers for Las Vegas making the effort and let's hope the use of energy from renewable sources continues to expand. There's no reason why the American Southwest can't be the Saudi Arabia of solar power.

[Merrily Gather]

I thought it was the whole city too Jukesgrrl. I was wondering why this wasn't making national news more. Now I get it. Boy are those headlines missleading! It's just the government buildings. Jeez.

[mc702]

if I had a dollar for every outlandish Vegas public transport vaporware proposal...

[Bruff]

Imagine dining over the Strip...
The $8,500 per gondola price tag might offend some of cheepskates.

[lvmensch]

I think we are missing the complexity of the problem.

I would think it possible to do a quick gondola down the strip. But that would basically be a tourist attraction not a mass people mover. And note that once you do it the space above the strip is gone.

As you move it toward a people mover you need more stations...every block or so. Now it starts to get complicated. These will end up reasonably complex structures integrating bridges and escalators and perhaps other services.

If you extend it to the airport you need the capability to handle baggage. Vehicles which are designed to handle baggage are different than those for people with only light stuff.

When you are all done I think you have reinvented the monorail. Note the German vehicles are really inverted monorails with the device powered from electric feeds not a cable.

I would still like to see something run down the middle of the strip providing quick transport and moving lots of people. Bit I think it needs both airport access and more flexibility than a gondola system.

Two autonomous vehicle lanes above all the rest? Exits to each of the big resorts? Vehicles 10 feet apart doing 30 mph? Anywhere to anywhere on the strip in 10 minutes? Downtown in 15?