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Buffalo Chalet to close open? / Skyways Pjt |
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22-Jul-2009 6:22:13 PM
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On the topic of a gondola / cable car, I doubt it would stack up for the following reasons.
1) There is no population base / public transport hub at the bottom of the mountain. Therefore 95% of visitors would drive there own car to the carpark at the Cable Car base.
2) Since everybody will already be in their own car, most will prefer to drive to the top, as is will be quicker and easier to do so, the cost of a cable car ticket would be bloody expensive to cover costs, and having a car at the top gives the flexibility to tour the top.
Some ballpark dodgy numbers I’ve just made up, If you assume 3 employees ($210,000pa), $30mill construction cost (this figures been used in the past for constructing a cable car in Hobart) with interest repayments at 6%, and maintenance/depreciation another 5%, it would cost $3.5 million a year to operate. According to the Mt Buffalo Management Plan, Mt Buff gets between 150,000 and 200,000 visitor days per year. I’m not sure what a visitor day is, but lets assume 200,000 separate person trips up the mountain each year for the purposes of guestimation. If 10% go up by the cable car, the ticket price to cover costs would be about $175. If 25%, $70. If 25%, and you assume the cable car itself brings in 50,000 new visitors who all use the cable car it’s a more reasonable $35 per person. (The Table Mountain Cable car in South Africa costs 120 return, which is about $19 Australian. It has no competition from a road.).
3) To get people on the cable car, it would be necessary to either jack up the car entry fees on the road to make the cable car more attractive, or close the road altogether to private vehicles. Politically either option would be ‘courageous’. It would be more likely that the Government would have to fund construction and heavily subsidise its use. Maybe it would generate extra tourists to the north-east that would justify a whopping subsidy.
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22-Jul-2009 9:26:03 PM
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I like the logic.
At the risk of being a party pooper to 'progress', I shall remember the gist of your post if/when I need to put in a submission to a 'draft management plan'.
☺
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4-Nov-2009 9:07:47 PM
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Article about proposed chairlift
Discuss
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5-Nov-2009 12:57:18 PM
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If the Alpine Valleys Tourism Board wants to secure a 99 year lease on Buffalo Chalet and has as part of their proposal, a gondola to the top of Mount Buffalo, then I am glad they need to go through the process of
>a very long road to prove the feas- ibility, viability and community support that’s necessary to build
Also...
>Leitner-Poma, which specialises in the construction of cable transport systems, had identified five potential paths for the project.
... I wonder if (and when), all five, or any of them, will be made public.
The AVTB certainly seems to have the ear of local radio, as there was plenty of hoohar buzzing about it a couple of days ago, ... but no 'meat on the bone' yet.
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12-Nov-2009 8:42:00 AM
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Page 5 of the The Age this morning has the stroy about the Gondala.
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12-Nov-2009 10:04:55 AM
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http://www.theage.com.au/national/scenic-skyway-on-the-cards-for-mount-buffalo-20091111-i9yj.html
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12-Nov-2009 11:36:29 AM
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On 12/11/2009 earwig wrote:
>Page 5 of the The Age this morning has the stroy about the Gondala.
"and could attract up to 600,000 users a year"
Hang on a minute, isnt that 1643 people per day? Every day? Even winter? What a crock of shit.
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12-Nov-2009 1:08:20 PM
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The Cairns-Kuranda gondola is pretty good to ride on. It benefits immensely, however, from the fact that Cairns is the gateway to the Reef with a huge number of annual tourists. I doubt that it would be as successful if you didn't have one of the 7 Natural Wonders sitting just off the coast.
Whilst the Buffalo gondola could be equally as good (pretty views, nice day trip), it cannot possibly attract the same number of tourists because it is so far from the nearest major tourist destination - Melbourne. 600,000 users per year you have got to be joking! What a hype-up.
I fear that it would become another white elephant just like the Melbourne "eye" or ferris wheel or whatever that thing is when it gets put back in service. The thing I don't like is that it will be pretty destructive to the Nat Park to build - you can't easily undo that sort of thing, and you won't have a rainforest canopy to disguise the service roads and pilons.
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12-Nov-2009 1:15:21 PM
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cruze wrote;
>600,000 users per year you have got to be joking! What a hype-up.
& ambyeok wrote;
>1643 people per day? Every day? Even winter?
~> that equals 205 people* per hour (for an 8 hour day), 365 days a year!
* ... or 3.4 people per minute.
Hmm, 3.4 is an average 'statistical family unit'?
~> a family every minute is ambitious... ;-)
From the link;
>''If we find that there is total negativism, then we will obviously take note of that message.''
This does not commit them to acting on it!
>Public meetings and other forums will take place in north-eastern Victoria over the coming months to discuss the proposed project.
This could prove interesting to attend! ... I wonder if ParksVic rep/s will be there?
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3-Aug-2010 10:38:18 AM
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Alpine Shire Council is meeting tonight to discuss the Mt Buffalo gondola proposal, amongst other things...
The only things I have heard in the local media regarding Council and the proposal, give me the impression that they are 'pro' its development. This may however simply be a presentation-bias produced by the developer mob(?) ...
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Post edit.
Local radio today said re the meeting tonight, that last month Skyways Development held 20 community meetings regarding the proposal, and surveyed over 500 people, with the finding/result being that 65% were in favour of the development...
Hmm, a case of lies, damn lies, and statistics(?), as I have been around for that period and regard that whole process as rather quietly advertised, if at all;... and it would be good to see how the survey questions were framed;... as well as the response rate of the allegedly 500+ interviewed...
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3-Aug-2010 12:57:42 PM
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The report to Alpine Shires Councillers/Alderman in on page 407/408 if anyone is interested.
http://www.alpineshire.vic.gov.au/Files/M8_-_3_August_2010.pdf
It doesnt have any real detail on projected cost / routes etc (this is presumable not being made public becuase its only a quick feasibility)
Basically, the Council are looking for $50k to $100k from the State Gov for a detailed feasibility study.
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3-Aug-2010 1:18:03 PM
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On 3/08/2010 oweng wrote:
>
>Basically, the Council are looking for $50k to $100k from the State Gov
>for a detailed feasibility study.
A cynic might wonder if the whole concept has been floated in order to benefit by obtaining the tender for the $50k-$100k grant to carry out the feasibility study. A tidy sum to pocket whether or not the project goes ahead.
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3-Aug-2010 3:01:29 PM
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Or maybe there is an election soon ...
Mr Abbott said yesterday tourism contributed $93 billion a year to the economy and was responsible for 500,000 jobs. But it had been ''in the doldrums'' and the Coalition's package was focused on improving domestic tourism.
Regional tourism organisations will be able to bid for grants of up to $100,000 through a $14 million fund. A $40 million infrastructure fund is aimed at local tourism projects, such as putting pathways or signs in national parks.
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3-Aug-2010 5:21:34 PM
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or maybe people just want something to draw more money into the area?
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3-Aug-2010 5:58:52 PM
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I'm confused how anybody could for even a second think this would be profitable. There just isn't even close enough tourism in the area.
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3-Aug-2010 9:37:14 PM
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Putting a frikken gondola up there would be a complete eyesore to say the least as I'm imagining that it'd go right up the guts of the gorge...I suppose it'd give Simey and Cheeshead some god vantage points for the photography tho...
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3-Aug-2010 9:56:43 PM
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Sounds like the mt stirling to Mt Bulla cable car proposal of a about 10ish years ago. If it does happen I can see a potential ecelant rope swing opportunity :-)
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3-Aug-2010 10:07:21 PM
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On 3/08/2010 Paulie wrote:
>Putting a frikken gondola up there would be a complete eyesore to say the
>least as I'm imagining that it'd go right up the guts of the gorge...I
>suppose it'd give Simey and Cheeshead some god vantage points for the photography tho...
Careful with the imagery there Paulie ☺,... as I heard someone once say that 'he who wrote the book' was god; ... then again if he isn't, then the author of said book might get a big head...
;-)
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4-Aug-2010 9:56:48 AM
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i thought it was proposed to come up the spur from the buckland valley
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30-Oct-2010 8:33:35 PM
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From various sources, as announced on Friday...
“Our Government will now work over the next 12 months with the Mount Buffalo Community Enterprise while they develop a financially sound and socially beneficial plan for the redevelopment and reopening of the chalet.”
Mr Jennings also announced that the Mount Buffalo Chalet would open its doors this summer, for a series of tours and a community day, while the Community Enterprise develops its plans.
The Mount Buffalo Community Enterprise group participated in the recent Request for Tender conducted by Parks Victoria to identify an operator for the chalet.
Govt has put up $200,000 to help the group get it's act together.
FAQ's re MBCE found here.
This could work quite easily with keen people involved, as I am familiar with other similar community enterprises that do so already.
A possible side benefit if one becomes part of the solution, is that it will also make it easier to deal with issues like the skyway proposal?
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