A recent suggestion to install a gondola connecting the Olympic Sculpture Park to Capitol Hill was recently coined. Apart from seeming at first a completely weird idea, there are a few things that might reduce its appeal further.
Disclaimer: These are all statements that are not necessarily problems, but that will need extensive consideration in order to make this a successful project.
1. Ability to Actually Get Constructed
Remember when the Monorail project failed, after money was already collected to plan and build it? Yes, the connection between West Seattle, Downtown and Bellevue has been nonexistent ever since. One of the major reasons for this was that very few people actually didn't think it was a joke, or at least that it had any chance of being built. The sheer idea of building a gondola to solve traffic problems reminds you more of a ski resort problem than that of an urban area. So are people really going to take this seriously? Will they be proponents of this seemingly outlandish project?
2. Capacity/Use
Is a gondola really going to hold enough people to alleviate even a small portion of all of the people on Mercer, Denny and other major South Lake Union/Capitol Hill corridors combined? Are people going to have to wait in horrendously sized lines to board a gondola? Or is there the opposite problem? Are there actually going to be enough people riding it to make it worthwhile?
3. Route
Will the route actually be useful? It looks fairly direct on the proposed map, but will it successfully connect people to where they need to be? Will it stop in direct, central, useful locations, or will it stop in badly designed, lowly used locations? Will it serve the needs of the people who are making traffic a problem along its route? Will it destroy integral culture, buildings, or hinder their appeal significantly? Will it connect well to other transit services, avoiding long walks and tedious transfers?
4. Distinct/Direct Advantages and Miscellaneous
Will the gondola have any advantages over other modes of transit that makes it an attractive enough option for getting around? Will it be faster, cleaner or have any other characteristic that will make people want to walk to the stop, wait, pay, and board the gondola? What about fares? Will it be cost-effective? Will it be compatible with ORCA cards? What about bikers? Can they bring their bikes on or be able to store them safely somewhere? Will disabled people be able to ride it?
These are just a few points that the proponents of this project need to seriously consider if they want to make this in any way well suited for the region, existing infrastructure and buildings and its people. On top of that, they will have to convince the public they are not speaking about their dreams.