Boston gondola could ferry thousands between South Station, Seaport

Millennium Partners, the same folks behind Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing and the would-be Winthrop Square Garage tower in the Financial District, are in talks with city and state officials to build a gondola system that would glide as many as 15,000 people a day between South Station and the Seaport District.

Yes, a gondola—a chain of aerial trams from one point to another.

The idea is not that exotic. It’s been vetted for between Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City; and urban gondolas are already in operation in cities in Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, China, and Turkey as well as in Singapore.

Portland, Ore., has an aerial gondola and a tram has long traveled between Manhattan and the East River’s Roosevelt Island in New York (it’s pictured above).

Millennium Partners’ plans for Boston are still very preliminary, including an exact route and the height of the gondola. But the firm does control about 12 acres between Northern and Drydock avenues in the busy, busy Seaport District.

That might be a natural starting and ending point. The city “envisions sizable new development” there and wants Millennium’s subsidiary to offset the effects of any such development on traffic, per the Globe’s Adam Vaccaro and Tim Logan.

Might a gondola be the answer? Keep an eye on the sky.

• One idea to beat Seaport traffic: Glide over it [Globe]
• 10 urban gondolas changing the way people move [Curbed]
• Williamsburg ‘gondola’ gains support as L train shutdown looms [Curbed NY]
• Millennium Tower: the Ultimate Timeline for Boston's Tallest Residential Building [Curbed Boston]
• Boston shadows legal change doesn’t mean much to one key state official [Curbed Boston]
• Seaport District development: Mapping the biggest projects in the busy Boston enclave [Curbed Boston]