Vaughan could get a new aerial gondola linking Wonderland to TTC subway

Blogto.com, Dailyhive.com
June 14, 2023

Vaughan took a huge leap forward when a new Line 1 subway terminus opened in the city's emerging downtown back in 2017, and the suburb's transit ambitions seem to have pivoted from underground to the open skies above.

Vaughan's next big transit move may very well come from above, according to a 2022 exploratory study prepared for the city.

The white paper produced by civil engineering firm SCJ Alliance explores opportunities and shares a concept for a potential cable-propelled transit system that would plug into the larger transportation network for the City of Vaughan.

The conceptual gondola system is envisioned to stretch 6.2 kilometres above Jane Street, linking two terminal stations at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and the new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, with intermediate stops along the way at major destinations Vaughan Mills and Canada's Wonderland.

A 3S/Tri-cable detachable gondola system is considered the best option for this proposed route, deemed favourable for its ability to accommodate current and future ridership demands -- capable of carrying up to 5,500 passengers per hour per direction at full capacity, well above Vaughan's current ridership needs.

As the 3S/Tri-cable system uses detachable gondolas, the system would offer high flexibility for changing ridership -- an important capability for a route that would serve a seasonal theme park.

The stations would vary in size, with terminal stations planned to occupy footprints measuring approximately 24 metres wide by 45 metres long, with intermediate stations requiring double that length.

The route's over-six-kilometre stretch of cable would be linked by fifteen towers, each rising from bases of around three to four metres in diameter.

Vaughan has identified an area around the intersection of Highway 7 and Weston Road as a primary growth centre, and the gondola proposal considers a possible extension westbound from its Vaughan Metropolitan Centre terminus to serve this emerging area

In the event that the proposed route along the centre median of Jane Street becomes infeasible, the gondola system has a backup alignment proposed along the centreline of Highway 400. The study acknowledges that this route variation would require additional stations in order to negotiate the added bends of the highway alignment.

A City of Vaughan representative tells blogTO, "As part of the Vaughan Transportation Plan process, the City's study team was challenged to think 'outside the box.'"

"Aerial mobility was explored as a new form of transportation, similar to other proposals such as e-scooters and micromobility. However, the aerial mobility concept plans are conceptual only. The City has no plans to implement them."