Movin’ on up: This major Alberta city is on track to get a nifty in-city gondola

Times are changing and with it, so are the ways that we can travel from one place to another. From space tourism to ultra-fast trains, we’ve seen some wild ideas make their way down the pipeline – but this has got to be one of the most scenic!

Prairie Sky Urban Gondola, the Edmonton-based company that recently proposed a sky-high system in Red Deer has been working on another uplifting project –  and this one hits a little closer to home.

Way back in 2018, Praire Sky actually published a report titled ‘‘Urban Gondolas in Public Transit.” in which the company pitched their first ropeway – one that would take customers to and from downtown Edmonton and Whyte Avenue.

“Urban gondolas are highly versatile mass transit solutions that provide fast, reliable, safe, fully accessible and cost-effective transportation into even the most geographically challenging areas.,” they wrote.

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“As Edmonton grapples with how to increase transport capacity across our river valley and better connect downtown and Old Strathcona, a gondola is uniquely well-suited to provide this capacity.”

Since they first brought this project to the city’s attention they’ve successfully conducted several assessments, received approval to work with the city to come up with a construction plan, attracted shareholders, and have moved to phase 3 of their project development – according to their website.

This means that we could actually see this project become a reality sooner rather than later, as long as everything stays on track which is pretty cool, no?

As for 2022, the company aims to continue to work on a lease agreement and this spring – will begin doing geotechnical and environmental assessments in collaboration with indigenous leaders and advocates.

As this particular story continues to pick up heat going into the end of the season, we’ll definitely keep you updated – especially because it’s only a matter of time until we get some more news!

For more information on their current progress or the project itself, you can view their website here – otherwise, stay patient!

Who knows, come 2025 Edmonton might get its own urban gondola – and wouldn’t that be neat?