Call it crazy, even for Baltimore, but two-thirds of Inner Harbor visitors say they would gladly spend $7 to glide along the waterfront - up to 95 feet above street level - in a ski-lift-style gondola proposed for downtown, according to a new state study.
The survey, which predicts that as many as 1.9 million people would hop on the gondola every year for the view - not to mention the novelty - is encouraging news for Trey and Peter Winstead, who came up with the idea three years ago to ease traffic and carry foot-weary tourists along the harbor.
Far from a trend in urban transportation, gondolas are nevertheless getting a look in some cities as an alternative to streetcars and monorails, both of which gained popularity over the past decade. Portland, Ore., for instance, is expected to launch its newly constructed aerial tram this month.
"Once it's built, residents and tourists will wonder how they got around without it," said Trey Winstead, who is meeting with city economic development officials about the proposal. "Anytime you try to do something new, just like Harborplace, you're going to run into people who say you can't do it."
Winstead acknowledges that skepticism - that it would work, that it would be safe, that it would make money, that it wouldn't be an eyesore - is the biggest hurdle facing his out-of-the-box idea. The study, he argues, offers at least one answer: That people would ride it.
The study was paid for, in part, by a $38,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Of the 1,218 people interviewed, 44 percent said they would be "very likely" to give the gondola a try and another 23 percent said they would be "somewhat likely." Tourists were slightly more willing than local residents to get on board, but the difference between the two groups was small.
As proposed, the $35 million, privately funded system would carry eight-passenger cable cars from the Baltimore Convention Center to the western edge of Fells Point, with two stops along the way - one at the World Trade Center and the other at Pier Six. At 12 mph, the trip would take about seven minutes. A day pass would cost $7.
"If it were here, I'd get on it," said Laura Mongelli, 31, standing near the World Trade Center. The Bethesda resident, visiting the Inner Harbor with her family, had done a lot of walking.
