Plus, remind me, which river goes straight through downtown?
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When you have a chance, please let us know what they said, if they gave any indication of likelihood, etc.
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i’ll take credit if no one else wants to 
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I really thought it was @OakCityDylan that started all this gondola talk years ago.
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This is basically what I thought Raleigh would look like in 2025 when I moved here in 2009. I gave you a 
because I’m projecting my disappointment at you. 
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March 2019
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Asked ChatGPT on how much it might cost to build a 1 mile long gondola, also provided operating costs. I’d love for this to happen, but not sure if the city would be able to pull enough money together to make these estimates happen.
“Ballpark capital cost (1 mile, urban U.S. context)
~$60M–$150M, with a practical planning band around $80M–$120M for a Raleigh corridor (2 minimalist stations on the low end; signature stations/complex utilities on the high end).
Why this range (real projects, $/mile):
Portland Aerial Tram: $57M for 0.625 mi ⇒ ≈ $90M/mi. Urban, complex stations, overruns.
Portland Aerial Tram
opb
London Cable Car (IFS/Emirates Air Line): ≈ £60M for ~0.68 mi ⇒ ~$140M/mi (showpiece stations, river crossing).
London Tour Package
Medellín Metrocable Line K: ~$26M for 1.29 mi ⇒ ~$20M/mi (lower-cost context; not a U.S. proxy).
Wikipedia
Lift Blog
Centre for Public Impact
Rough 1-mile cost breakdown (order-of-magnitude)
Stations (2–3 total): $20M–$45M (architecture, elevators, fare/control rooms).
Towers & foundations: $10M–$25M.
Drive machinery, power, controls, comms: $5M–$10M.
Cabin fleet (capacity/headway dependent): $3M–$8M.
ROW, utility relocations, sitework: $5M–$20M.
Design/PM/CM/permitting (~15–25%): $8M–$20M.
Contingency (25–35% at this stage): $10M–$25M.
Totals line up with ~$60M–$150M.
O&M (very rough)
Portland’s 0.625-mile tram: $1.7M/yr O&M. Scaling to 1 mile (imprecise but useful): ~$2–$3.5M/yr depending on hours, staffing, and service plan.
Wikipedia
Lift Blog
Raleigh-specific cost pushers (quick hits)
Utilities/ROW: Downtown grid, rail interfaces, and major utility corridors can add relocations and time.
Station design choices: Integrated TOD or iconic architecture increases cost.
Wind/icing & hurricane loads: Structural sizing and downtime plans.
FAA/skyline coordination: If near tall-structure zones or any airspace constraints.
Process: Environmental review and community engagement scope.”
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I asked clippy and he (they?) told me to check my macros
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Hopefully someone has a News and Disturber account to summarize this article. Probably nothing new that hasn’t already been shared, but they specifically mention the Gondola idea.
Dix Park and downtown Raleigh: bold plans for connection | Raleigh News & Observer
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Chavis-Dix Strollway “seeking designers for the Strollway’s first Section”. Otherwise, all discussion is hypothetical and “meant to get people thinking about possibilities.”
The studies will continue until morale improves.
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You can easily bypass the N&O’s paywall with privacy tools like uBlock Origin or Ghostery…
But anyways: I also mentioned this in my summary of the report that was released in that presentation, but the talk about gondolas really doesn’t seem all that formal; it’s basically like how we’ve been shootin’ the shit about the concept, except it’s among more powerful people, in public.
Like… that’s all, guys. No real signs about whether people are willing to put money where their mouths are.
If you really still want to hear 'em preaching to the choir, I guess there's this quote (click me!)
Interestingly, though, the article also reviews other things that are going on around Dix Park. The only part that wasn’t something I already fully knew was its updates on the Chavis-Dix strollway (see the thread about this for more), and how the first phase for that won a federal grant for construction.
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This is going to inspire my new catch phrase, which I hope more adopt and communicate to city leaders and planning staff:
“Raleigh: stop studying and f@<!ng do something”
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Really tho. Just f***ing pick something and find funding and move forward. They even said that they need to do this while the park is having its moment.
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“Find funding” from where, from who? 
The Feds, the State, who?
We play this really fun game where we’ll raise property taxes, collect for several years while we perform studies, litigate and plan. Then several years later when prices rise beyond the initial funding, we’ll pretend everything is too expensive and out of our control, then fix a couple of sidewalks or new bike lane.
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Whatever. Local I’d assume. I doubt the feds are kicking in for a walking path or gondola in downtown Raleigh. I don’t mean to trivialize the funding, I just mean let’s start moving to that phase and not keep talking in circles about the same 2 or 3 ideas that we have been for the last few years.
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Yeah you’re not wrong. I have voted for these increases because I liked the stuff they were doing, but so little of it actually gets done. Still waiting on the Peace St streetscape improvements and turning Person and Blount into more pedestrian friendly 2-way streets. Not to mention the Six Forks fiasco. Nothing is getting cheaper while we wait.
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This is it. Just pick something NOW and go do it. No matter where the funding comes from it’s not going to get better if you take 2 more years to decide what you’re doing. Hell pick 2 and start them both, just f***ng do something
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I am not sold on this gondola. Convert the old rail line that is hardly ever used from downtown to Dix onto a nice greenway trail - like the Artey that has been discussed instead.
Cheaper to build and maintain. Now if we could just convince whatever railroad the controls that right if way…
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Oh, if I had my choice between RAPP (Raleigh Aerial People Pods) or The Artery, it’s an easy decision. Artery all the way!
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