A Decision Analysis of the Gondola Line Project

Simon Fraser University’s main campus is situated atop Burnaby Mountain where currently 18,200 students commute to school during the week. This means heavy traffic and commute during the week where hordes of students make their way to and from the university on a daily basis. Even though, the university is only 2.7 kilometres away from the nearest Skytrain station, the mountain adds another 300 meters due to its elevation. Additionally, the growing number of students in the university is projected to reach 25,000 in the near future. Apart from the SFU campus, there is a community of 3,000 individuals, that is expected to increase to 10,000 in the future (Fisher and Rolin, 2011, P.2).This brings forth a challenge to urban and city planners as they brainstorm and submit proposals to city council to avoid an eminent transit nightmare. A highly publicized and debated solution to the eventual growth of Burnaby Mountain was brought forward to the transit committee. The proposal included an upgrade to the transit system from the current method of bussing students to installing a high capacity Gondola Line from the mountain to the nearest Skytrain station. This idea brought the transit committee, Translink, into a situation where they had to make a decision which involved thousands of commuters and millions of dollars. The decision involved various and revolving variables which the committee had to decide upon. First, following the media announcement of the proposal there was outcry by local residents about the consequences the line would have to the environment and to the neighbourhood which were around the proposed line. Additionally there are concerns about the costs of the project which was estimated at $120 million with operating costs running at $3.5 million.(Fisher & Rollin, 2011, P.4)

There were many variables to be considered such as the financial analysis, environmental analysis, the interest of the public, and the hypothetical impact and benefit this would have on the community. This is a daunting task for the committee because ideally the decisions of a public administration should have an effect of a win-win situation. But in this case there are many players to be considered such as the students, the mountain community, the commuters and employees, which Translink serves. All these individuals and groups must be taken into consideration and a decision must be made where all or most will be benefited by the installation of the Gondola Line. In summary, in order to gain a better understanding of the Gondola Line and to find the best possible outcome for the situation, a proper analysis of the proposal needs to be made. This includes finding previous similar cases where such a proposal was made, understanding the financial implications and costs, and taking the concerns of the citizens into consideration. Translink also has other projects currently at work which would be risked if this endeavour were to fail or if resources within Translink were not used appropriately. Perhaps, although unlikely, there is a solution or an alteration to the proposal that would make all individuals satisfied with the final resolution. But before such a point is reached, there should be a proper exploration of all aspects of the case and clear understanding of the implementation of this plan.

Refrences:
Fisher. Ian, & Rollin. Robert. (2011) Burnaby Mountain Project Success in integrating sustainable Transportation and Land Use. 2-4. Retrieved from http://www.tac-atc.ca/english/annualconference/tac2011/docs/sut1/rollin.pdf