City Councilwomam Jeske chimes in with some pithy comments in the lower commmnets section
Fine article yesterday from Transit in Utah, under the headline, "Godrey still wants to play with aerial gondolas in Ogden..." Blogmaster JMD springboards off of yesterday's Kristen Moulton article, provides a couple of additional informational links (including one from WCF), adds some thoughtful analysis, and then offers up conclusions which bear a striking resemblance to much of what we've been saying at Weber County Forum for the last three years:
What it comes down to is a gondola is good for point to point transportation especially for situations that involve huge elevation changes. What it is not designed to do is blend into the urban fabric of a community. How will 25th Street benefit from the Gondola? Instead imagine a streetcar traveling along the street bring people from FrontRunner to shop and dine in Ogden."Pipe Dream?" Where, gentle readers, have we heard that terminology before?
What Godfrey should be working on is bringing a new vision to the city, one that focuses on the character of the city, provides the opportunity for independently owned retail stores and restaurants which would give residents of Salt Lake City an alternative to the chain stores and restaurants of Gateway and other developments. Ogden could build something really unique that would cause people to want to travel to the city. Between the river walk, 25th Street, and Washington Blvd Ogden has an outstanding opportunity to develop a unique destination that will bring new life to the city.
Or will Godfrey take the opportunity that Ogden has and squander it on some pipe dream?
We welcome Transit in Utah's entry into the discussion of urban gondolas, and hope this excellent public transit-oriented blog will continue to follow Boss Godfrey's ongoing antics, as the lumpencitizens of Ogden fight the good fight for rational public transportation alternatives.
Transit in Utah is listed in our Utah blogroll (right sidebar), BTW. We read it regularly, and urge our readers to check it out. We consider it, in fact, to be the premier public transit blog in Utah.
