Yeah, it actually didn't end up that bad after all. Turns out they'll also have a Royal Blue at the base....which is amazing. In terms of the road work, I believe it is part of the new 3rd st. redevelopment....bike lanes, trees, wider sidewalks, etc.

Wow! Another Royal Blue? I met the owner once and completely forgot his name but good for him. Also, good that its to improve the streets. Hopefully that area gets filled with more pedestrians.

George is AMAZING. Royal Blue is taking over downtown. I've always been a loyal customer. By 2014 downtown will have at least 6 locations....including one on the eastside.

It gets me wondering with Trader Jo's opening up, Whole Foods and now 6 Royal Blues, people better not complain about there not being enough places to shop for groceries in downtown. lol!

Speaking of Royal Blue, yesterday while driving on Congress I saw they block off the 2 parking spaces for the expansion of the seating spaces.

Yeah! They started construction this week on the parklet ! Migol, Yeah....urban dwellers will have NO reason to complain about no grocery options. Oh, and I forgot about the Russian House grocery store on 5th! :cool:

did this just recently open? I've never heard of this one.

Just opened last month. I NEED to check it out
http://www.facebook.com/RussianBistr...90627011018285

Austin's Proposed Gondola System
 

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http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...e.html?ana=fbk

Wow, that looks badass!!! But really? How many people could this possibly carry? Portland has one but it basically just goes up one big hill, this is beyond ambitious. I also wonder how it would do in a real bad storm?

Well, Portland has horrible weather, so they do well in any environment....cost is way less than rail, and they can go over sensitive areas like town lake or wooded spots.

Portland doesn't get storms like we do here though. That said, I love it!!! I guess the 10,000 passengers per hour probably refer to if the whole set of lines were completed. I'm not sure that is enough people to justify it.

It would still be more than ride the metrorail.

I actually think its a cool concept. These things as actual public transport are becoming less pie in the sky as a few cities like Medellin build them.

I Love LOVE LOVE It!!!! :D
i hope it happens

They just made one of these in London to go over the Thames. seems to be doing well over there

Yeah, I remember hearing about that. Honestly, this seems like the best, fastest, most cost-effective option for Austin. I've mentioned it to several friends and ALL have said how it would fit in perfectly for the city.....it's just a little weird....but totally practical.

What's wonderful about this comment, and I don't even know if you said it on purpose, but if there's any way to implement widespread mass transit and at the same time KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD ...this is the ticket, no pun intended. One more reason I have to and will move to this city one day very soon. :notacrook:

You see me. You see Austin.

<3

I'll have to look up some of you Austin ssp folks when I get down there. :cheers:

ooooohhhhh.... "A".... Heeeeaaaaallllyyyyy..... you are so funny!

I love it too!

A little anecdote...During and just after the '84 Worlds Fair in New Orleans, there was a huge gondola that spanned the Mississippi River...from the fair site (current convention center) to Algiers. I recall that on a few occasions the cabs suddenly stopped and passengers were stuck for a good 1-2 hours. Great view, but probably a bit nerve wracking while suspended 200+ feet above the river!

A little history...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississ..._River_Transit

http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...g=2285,1374308

It's true, ahealy is very Austin. :D

Anyhoo, this would be freaking awesome. Can you imagine? It would cause no more traffic congestion, very little to no pollution. Not to mention it's a fantastic way to traverse your city. I know i'd be sitting near the window every time with my camera.

By the way, there's a thread in the transportation section of the forum on some other systems in other cities, plus this one. I also posted the article that ahealy did above.

Here's the link:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=202373

......

How fast would these gondola's travel? It's hard to imagine them as a practical commuter option (from the suburbs, or even the airport). Just curious.

I would imagine faster than sitting in traffic (30 mph?). Plus they're higher up, which means FASTER!!! I totally think it's a practical solution for commuting. I discussed it all over dinner with my best friend who is heavily involved with Austin developments, and he was gaga over it all.

Thanks Kev, I got the Austin in my blooood :P as do you, and everyone else on here.

VERY true! I guess I have this vision of a slow, lazy ride like you see at the Texas State Fair. Definitely interested in learning more about it.

And they're also not gonna go with the traffic like a light rail would, so they won't have to obey traffic signs or whatnot. Or would these gondolas have some form of light traffic function?

It be awesome if they made them very smooth and fast. I'd figure a 3 min ride from Zilker Park to Downtown, or a 6-10 min ride from Downtown to the Domain. It be good for tourism as well... I know people would wanna get on them just for the experience and the views.

I also like that one photo from the link where one of the gondolas goes through the buildings in downtown (looks like San Francisco). I'd imagine it look very futuristic at night... a la the Jetsons.

^Yeah, they wouldn't even necessarily have to follow the routes of streets which means they could travel "as the crow flies" - so straight lines and that would cut down on commute times as well. The only issue there would be is gaining air rights above private property where it is assumed there will never be any vertical development anyway.

There's such a thing?

I suppose this system could accommodate large cabs, such as the Roosevelt Island tram in New York? That could be a very practical commuter option, if designed for long distances.

http://newyork.diarystar.com/images/...rial-tram1.jpg

http://newyork.diarystar.com/rooseve...d-aerial-tram/

FYI... This tram travels at approx 16mph.

^Youtube has a lot of videos of that one. If this can work in a place like New York which is extremely pressed for space, it can work anywhere.

• Video Link

I have to say the Tramway seems to go pretty slow.

Really though, look at the cars on the bridge. They're only going about as fast as it is thanks to congestion.

Cuius est solum eius est usque ad caelum et ad inferos.

For whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell.

In modern day this is modified somewhat so that the rights are limited to what you could reasonably use (not going to be building into airline flight paths for example). But yes, a property owner could reasonably use the air above it someday for a skyscraper. Putting a gondola above someone's property would necessarily mean getting an easement or condemning the use of the air space.

Makes no sense that if its yours up to the heavens you'd have to get permission to build highrises, skyscrapers by the city council. A bit off topic but this also makes me wonder that if, hypothetically speaking, I actually had a rocket that would fly me to outer space, the government would allow me to do such thing.

I don't think so. Since the article was posted, I have heard so much positive feedback. It's even been featured twice in the ABJ.
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...re-catchy.html

Height restrictions are like any other zoning restrictions. So long as it doesn't totally destroy the value of the property they are constitutionally permissible.

That doesn't mean that you lack the property rights - it just means you must conform to the zoning (or get a variance). As a practical matter - it may well be an argument in favor of not having to get air rights if there is a height restriction in place.

But the underlying principle of property rights in America begins with the notion that if you own the surface you effectively own the subsurface and the air above it (of course, mineral rights are frequently severed from surface lots, especially here in Texas, but that is another matter altogether).

As far as building a rocket - I'm fairly certain the FAA holds jurisdiction on all matters involving flight and has the federal power to regulate it as it likes.

I get the feeling this wont happen because will think its "ugly"

"ugly" meaning anything different and taller than a tree.

I don't think its ugly at it. If made right it could be quite elegant and whimsical

My friends and I have talked about having a gondola to serve downtown to Zilker many times in the past. I always thought it would be PERFICT for Austin! :) What they are suggesting above is a lot more than I would have ever thought of, but wow! How cool would that be? :D

I hope they try it at least on a small scale. I'd imagine it is something that they could easily grow in the future.

As far as someone thinking it is 'ugly' well who could possibly think anything like that could be half as ugly as I-35 near UT? lol

So,

After (mostly) having recovered from the race weekend, I have to give the organizers and the city some really big kudos for pulling it off without a hitch.

I parked at the expo center and made it to the track in less than an hour (including parking) every day and never took more than 2 hours to make it home after the race. Much much better than I thought it would be.

The race itself was amazing (with tons of on track passing!), the facilities aren't ready, but everything still went well.

Of some interest to people here, there is a 250 foot observation tower at the track that you can go up. I think it costs 30 bucks or so to go up, but it seems like it would be a good view.

The Fan Fest downtown was a bit disapointing. There were tons of race fans downtown, but it seemed like all of the Austinites decided to stay as far away as possible from downtown this weekend.. 6th street hardly had anyone on it. the bars around the fan fest (3rd/4th) were packed, but a lot more people should have come out.

It was certainly not the cluster some were predicting.

Maybe it was the London effect. During the Olympics, Londoners, fearing a crush, stayed home in droves. Restaurants and shops were dying on the vine.

I went on Saterday, Fan Fest was fun walking around and taking a few pictures of people who ask me to, then it got kind of dull after seeing everything. I got a few pictures of the cars, and the female models but that was pretty much it. Overall I say it was good but everything there seemed overpriced even the sodas were selling at $3 a bottle, no thank you.

Yeah, am I the only one that felt like "fan fest" was just a giant elitist sexist commercial that threw up on downtown. It was really unoriginal and BOOOORING. #improvements #takenotes

The organizers need to let Austin be Austin next year. That's why people like this city so much. The Fan Fest organizers tried to turn their blocked off area of downtown into some generic F1 event. Take a page out of the SxSW play book next time.

That's the impression that I'm getting from the photos on the F1 events taken by Mexic-Arte and such. Bunch of fake booby models posing with fat ugly man drinking budweisers and whatnot. That doesn't seem something like the average Austinite would be into.

And one thing you can count on is that organizers of these events will not listen to constructive feedback since its all about the $$$$$$$.

I enjoyed the free cigars, sunglasses and Enrique Inglesias concert:cool: But yes, not many people and plenty of booths that I could care less about. Still, most of the tourists I talked to were having a good time.

Now just imagine if they let the locals take charge!

That's what they should of done in the first place is to let the locals takeover the party. But it was an awesome event.

I was downtown last night at the Royal Blue store off congress and was amazed to see they completed the deck project that covered 2 parking spaces downtown. I will take some pictures later on today.