City Planners Looking at Aerial Gondola System to Connect Platinum Triangle with Anaheim Resort

Concept image of what a gondola stop at Anaheim GardenWalk, located on the northside of Katella Avenue, might look like.

By DUANE J. ROBERTS
Editor & Publisher

Internal emails, contracts, and PowerPoint presentations obtained by The Anaheim Investigator through the public records act reveal city planners are exploring the option of constructing an aerial gondola system to connect the Platinum Triangle with the Anaheim Resort in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The proposed gondola system, which a recent estimate suggests will cost up to $125.7 million, would be built by Swyft Cities, a crowdfunded high-tech startup based in northern California, and begin at a station near the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a transit hub located close to the Honda Center and Angel Stadium.

While the final route has yet to be decided, there seems to be interest in an alignment running east-west along Katella Avenue featuring six stops. At Harbor Boulevard, the line would split into two branches, each ending near the eastern entrances of Disneyland, California Adventure theme parks and the Anaheim Convention Center.

The Katella Avenue route for the proposed gondola system.

Emails reviewed by The Investigator show Jeral Poskey, CEO of Swyft Cities, and Clay Griggs, one of the firm’s co-founders, have already discussed their gondola concept with “key stakeholders” such as The Walt Disney Company and OCVibe, a $4-billion mixed-use district being developed on 100-acres of land surrounding the Honda Center.

In a March 5th message Griggs sent out to several city planners working with him on this matter, he emphatically boasted that “our meeting earlier with OCVibe went very well,” hinting they were quite supportive of it. “They will be sending over plans for the parking garage; they are currently envisioning our maintenance facility on the top floor.”

Indeed, a floor plan created by OCVibe and reproduced in a PowerPoint slide demonstrates their commitment to Swyft Cities isn’t just limited to offering space for a “maintenance facility,” but a control center, charging bays, and even a boarding station–all within walking distance of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.

OCVibe floor plan for a gondola maintenance facility.

Concept image of gondolas next to OCVibe parking garage.

During initial talks with Swyft Cities, city planners were told that towers erected to hold the gondola cables in place could be specially customized to resemble the Los Angeles Angels’ iconic “Big A” logo—an idea which taps into Anaheim’s distinct character as being the only city in Orange County that hosts a major league baseball team.

Two design renderings the firm created not only contrast the scale and form of an imagined “Angels” tower with a “standard single” tower but also provide a birds-eye glimpse of how it might actually appear in real life facing west on Katella Avenue toward the Anaheim Convention Center and California Adventure theme park.

However, building a gondola system along Katella Avenue might be problematic. As Poskey himself acknowledged in an email, there are “palm trees”–literally hundreds of them. Many would have to be removed to make way for the towers, and it is not inconceivable that could generate opposition from both residents and hoteliers alike.

“Angels” tower vs. “Standard Single” tower.

Concept image for a gondola system using “Angels” towers.

Last December, Swyft Cities shared a PowerPoint presentation indicating that their gondola system—comprising of a fleet of around 35 “pods”—could be implemented at an estimated cost of roughly $33 to $37 million. This equated to just under $11 million per mile, subject to variation based on final design and alignment considerations.

“This proposal is substantially cheaper than ATN’s BRT proposal,” noted one city planner, making reference to $70 million the Anaheim Transportation Network is planning to invest in a bus rapid transit system and associated mobility hubs to accommodate the expected influx of tourists during the 2028 Summer Olympics.

But by July, their estimate had changed drastically. In another PowerPoint presentation Swyft Cities submitted that same month–of which the City of Anaheim paid them a $20,000 consulting fee to produce–they reported the gondola system would now cost $125.7 million, or $33 million per mile. It is not known why these numbers tripled.

Estimated cost for a 3.5-mile route last December: $37 million.

Estimated cost for a 3.8-mile route in July: $125.7 million.

As of today, no source of funds has been identified to pay for this system. However, one slide included in the July PowerPoint presentation says that financing could come from public-private partnerships, grants, and the California Infrastructure & Economic Development Bank, a public entity owned and operated by the state.

It should be mentioned that Anaheim isn’t the only local city looking at aerial gondolas. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the City of Irvine is working closely with Swyft Cities on developing one that will ferry visitors around the Great Park, a recreational area being built on land previously occupied by a Marine Corps Air Station.

Emails reveal city planners here reached out to their Irvine counterparts to learn more about it. “I wanted to check in to see if you have cost estimates or any other useful information to share in your due diligence on Swyft Cities,” wrote Rudy Emami, public works director, in a March 11th message to Sean Crumby, who held a similar job in that town.

Email inquiry about the gondola project in Irvine.

While “key stakeholders” like OCVibe have quietly expressed enthusiasm for the gondola system, its implementation is not a foregone conclusion. Because Swyft Cities has never delivered a fully operational system, there are concerns about its ability to fulfill its promises–putting taxpayer money at risk of significant cost overruns and system failure.

Mike Lyster, the city’s chief communications officer, told The Investigator that gondolas aren’t the only option being explored to connect the Platinum Triangle and Anaheim Resort: “We continue to look at transportation technology from a half-dozen or more different providers. It would be incorrect to suggest we’re focused on a single one.”

“In the months ahead, we could issue a potential request for information from many different types of transit tech companies out there, including gondola, trackless, autonomous, trams and others,” Lyster added. “We may need a consultant to help with this process … But nothing has been decided, and nothing is scheduled at this point.”