John Rowland wrote:
alex_t wrote:
There's also a nice picture of the MonoMetro as it passes down
Liverpool Street. But they only give 10% chance for that one, sadly.
That's really sad.
I think nobody will deny that the only unused space left in London, is
space between house *above* roads - so such project could be very
useful and really change transport situation for the better.

The sky isn't unused, it has amenity value. In America they have
progressively torn down the Els and replaced them with subways on the same
alignment.

Exactly - elevated monorails are very visually intrusive, despite the
slimmer supports and tracks. If they are intended to go down existing
streets, most streets in London would look completely closed in if an
elevated monorail were running down them. The video shows them on
Waterloo Bridge, Euston Road, at Canary Wharf - where there is a lot of
space.

A central London monorail system was proposed in the 1960s but soon
abandoned. A key sticking point was the station infrastructure. A
monorail may look slimline, but an elevated station certainly does not -
you need platforms, stairs and lifts. The station shown on Euston Road
in the video already makes the street look very enclosed - imagine what
it would look like on a narrower typical street such as Regent St or
Oxford Street. People already complain about the intrusiveness of tram
overhead power lines - imagine the reaction to a two-track monorail down
Oxford Street!

Another irritation for office workers or residents of flats and houses
next to a monorail route is that their reasonably private first or
second floor room suddenly becomes a fishbowl for thousands of people
gawping in every hour.

Pie-in-the-sky impractical idea. Nice video though.

--
Dave Arquati
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London