Long Beach Mulls Gondola That Would Connect Downtown Attractions
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — With many of downtown Long Beach's major attractions separated by busy roads and the ocean, city officials are considering a gondola to connect the four most-highly trafficked areas.
The Long Beach City Council will consider a plan at their meeting next week to connect the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the visitor's bureau and the Metro station at Pine Avenue and First Street by aerial tram, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
The Aquarium of the Pacific, the largest in the metropolitan Los Angeles area, is one of the major attractions on downtown's waterfront area and is surrounded by ShoreLine Aquatic Park and several chain restaurants. On the south, it's separated from the south waterfront, where the Queen Mary is docked, by Queensway Bay, and hemmed in on the north by busy Shoreline Drive, which is taken over once a year by the Long Beach Grand Prix.
A gondola, or aerial tram, is being touted as a way to move large numbers of people around during major events, such as the annual Long Beach Grand Prix. Long Beach is also under consideration to host rowing events when the Summer Olympics comes to Southern California in 2028.
The councilmembers will be asked to give the city manager the green light on the plan at Tuesday night's meeting. If approved, the city manager will move forward on determining the feasibility, costs and possible funding sources of such a project.
