Here is my concept for a gondola lift to Mt. Adams.

The terminals are at central locations in both downtown and Mt. Adams that are easily accessible to pedestrians. This is especially important on the steep hillsides of Mt. Adams. The line between them would travel over the Hixon building and the KZF Design Building located next to the downtown terminal. The terminals themselves may have to be three or four stories tall so the cars could clear obstacles.

(This map shows the gondola line as well as potential future development on surface parking lots.  The green blocks are real projects already in process including the Eighth & Sycamore development.)

This gondola line could accomplish several things:

• It would bring Mt. Adams out of isolation from the rest of downtown- an isolation that may have once been beneficial to Mt. Adams when downtown and OTR were in decline, but as downtown and OTR continue their renaissance, is sure to hurt Mt. Adams businesses.

• The gondola line could work in conjunction with the streetcar and Redbike to expand car free commuting options for residents (as well as all other types of trips.)

• The gondola line could form the centerpiece of a “Bucktown” neighborhood (the historic name for the area) of condo towers in the empty lots on the eastern edge of downtown. You can read more about the colorful and sometimes tragic history of Bucktown here and here.

• Finally, this would be an exclamation mark for the city’s tourism industry as the views would be unmatched for hundreds of miles.  It would put a day in Mt Adams, Eden Park and the Art Museum on the “must do” list in any Cincinnati tourism article and in walkable reach of downtown’s hotels.

View of OTR from Mt. Adams terminal location:

The guideway would follow this treeline into Downtown (view from Ida Street Bridge):

Metrocable gondola lift system in Medellin, Colombia (source: Wikipedia)