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The pedestrian bridge idea across the Hudson is definitely a pie in the sky solution fraught with too many obstacles to make it a reality, but a gondola system (linking Bayonne and SI, and perhaps another across the Hudson) could be a neat solution to our need to increase linkage among the various land masses. Despite PA talk to the contrary, the new Bayonne Bridge design seemingly left out the possibility option for future expansion of train tracks.

I recall there was talk of running the HBLR over the new bridge, guess that crapped out in territorial pissing matches too.

Bottom line is "the vision thing" is sorely lacking these days. And don't hassle me about crapping on the Hudson Pedestrian Bridge, that's a stupid idea but extending train lines is always a good idea if it can done at a reasonable cost on the surface without crazy land costs.

It's crazy really that a small-minded, small-town mayor can possibly block a regional transportation solution.

The width of water is about half mile, or less, so (costs aside) this should not be a hard thing to implement. It would likely be popular with some SI residents. I have a friend that spends between 90 and 120 minutes commuting to midtown through a combination of walking, bus, ferry, and subway. I bet this route would actually save her some time.

Headline should have been: "Local politicians, uninformed, spout hyberbolic nonsense."

What a creative idea - which means it's dead in the water. Cable cars run up and over Mt. Blanc (and throughout the Alps) and connect France and Italy covering a span of eight horizontal miles and moving thousands of people daily in the process. But I'm sure there is something uniquely treacherous about the little strip of water between Bayonne and Staten Island that makes this project ill-suited. I've been to that part of Bayonne - having cable cars passing over your backyard would be a major improvement.

Mass transit being a hot button issue, I am surprised this post hasn't garnered any replies.

In any case, this article is a perfect encapsulation of why mass transit needs and solutions should be treated as a regional matter: a small-town mayor could sometimes block or prevent the implementation of a viable solution due to pettiness or ulterior motives.

Why the solution itself may not be beneficial to Bayonne or Jersey City (the overcrowding in HBLR trains would get worse, as would also be the case with the PATH) it is undeniable that residents of Staten Island are truly underserved when it comes to commuting solutions for reaching Manhattan or other jobs-rich areas.

Skeptical Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis says the high-wire act is a pie-in-the-sky idea that most likely won't fly in his city.

"The way I look at it, I think it would have to travel too far to go to the Eighth Street Light Rail," he said, adding that he's unsure how the gondola would descend onto Eighth Street.

Besides that, it's unclear what impact the transportation system would have on the neighborhood between First and Eighth streets, where residents have complained for years about the ongoing construction on the Bayonne Bridge.

After touching down in Bayonne, commuters would take a light rail train to the PATH and then a PATH train to Manhattan, according to the Staten Island plan.

Davis said the idea would be more viable if the gondolas only ran to First Street.

"I wouldn't mind if they helped us with building the Light Rail down to First Street and then have the gondola come down to First Street," he said.

The mayor says ferries are a more suitable form of transportation for the Bayonne area, since the land is surrounded by water on three sides.

Staten Island gondola to Bayonne HBLR to PATH

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... #incart_river_mobile_home