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The Plan to Give New York City a Cable Car Transportation System Is Still an Option

You don't need to travel to the USA to know that New York City is a very busy place. Being one of the largest cities in the world and also a pretty popular tourist destination makes the Big Apple very crowded indeed.
East River Skyway 1 photo
Photo: East River Skyway
If you're a tourist, that's part of the city's charm. If you actually live there and have to cope with commute every single day, it quickly becomes a drag. And the thing is there are no real alternatives: if you drive your own car, you're caught in traffic; if you ride the bus, you're stuck in the exact same traffic; if you take the subway, you're doing the same thing hundreds of thousands of other people are doing so you'll end up smelling armpits and having your internal organs rearranged. There's no escape.

Well, if you look up, you'll find out that there is one. "Where the hell am I going to get the money for a helicopter," you'll ask and, unfortunately, there is no answer to that question. There is, however, a very good one to the transportation problem.

If you think about it, it makes so much sense that it's almost hard to explain why it hasn't been done before. Building a cable car system around New York City could solve a lot of the congestion issues raised up by the limited access and egress points in and out of Manhattan.

There are a host of advantages and no real drawback, except for those who are afraid of heights. The cable car system - or gondola - is easy to build, relatively cheap (compared to a bridge or an underground tunnel under the river), it has a very small footprint on the ground (which is a big plus in a crowded place like Manhattan) and it can ferry a lot of people with ease.

Considering the vistas provided, it will undoubtedly become a tourists' favorite (you just can't get away from tourists in this town, can you?), but it's not like they're not already using the existing subway system, so their part of the transportation problem is already factored in.

The project is called the East River Skyway and it's not exactly new. The man behind it is real estate entrepreneur Dan Levy who got his inspiration during a ski trip. In the first stage of his project, the cable car system would link Brooklyn and Manhattan via Williamsburg, but if it were to get the green light and prove a success, a much wider coverage would be considered. You can go over to the project's website and show your support regardless of whether you live in New York or would simply like to cross the East River in a cable car next time you'll be visiting.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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