The days of trudging up the hill from University Hall, sometimes two or three times a day, could be coming to a close as ULethbridge considers plans to build a funicular to connect the upper and lower campuses.
For the uninitiated, a funicular is a type of rail system that uses two carriages, one on each side of a top pulley. The system uses the technology of an elevator, where the cable from the carriage travelling down the incline pulls the other carriage up the incline. Such a system still requires a motor to power the pulley, but it only needs enough force to make up for a difference in weight between the two cars.
Dr. Arthur Erickson (LLD ’81) probably didn’t imagine the University of Lethbridge would expand up the coulee like it has. When it was originally built, University Hall, built in the Brutalist style (or just brutal, as some have said), was the entire campus. Soon, the Students’ Society Building, as it was then called, was added, along with student residences. At the time, the worm provided a covered walkway from the upper campus to the lower campus, serving the University community from 1972 to 1975.
“As we look to redevelop University Hall in the coming years, we want to ensure that it’s easy for the public to navigate the campus,” says Gene Lublinkhof, Director of Magic Construction Projects. “Funiculars have existed for nearly 500 years, and installing one here at ULethbridge would not only facilitate members of our campus community travelling from the lower campus to the upper campus in a timely manner, but it would also attract visitors from the community and beyond.”
The Angels Flight Railway in Los Angeles provides a good example of what a funicular looks like. Funiculars are rare in Western Canada — the closest thing to a funicular in Alberta is Edmonton’s inclined railway running below the Hotel MacDonald.
In these days of ever-tightening finances, tourists, of course, will be charged a fee to ride the funicular. These fees will allow the University to recoup the cost of building the funicular in no time at all and could even provide enough funding to build another to connect the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building to Science Commons.
“When you look around campus, it’s the folks with offices and labs in the Water Building who have the farthest trek down to UHall of anyone on campus,” says Lublinkhof. “While we want to serve all members of our campus community, we’ll start with the funicular between UHall and upper campus. We could even have a naming contest. My personal favourite is Flight of Fancy.”
On the upside, the funicular would be built on the current path from the north patio of University Hall to the plaza outside the Students’ Union Building. Much of the engineering work is in place from previous construction on campus, although the project would still come with a considerable cost.
One downside is that the funicular would impact an annual University of Lethbridge tradition — the march of graduates up the hill during convocation. To preserve this time-honoured tradition, the march would be moved to the path on the south side of University Hall, the Centre for the Arts and the Library.
For those who are inclined to get their steps in by trudging up the hill, along with the south-side walking path, the zigzag path from UHall to the upper campus between Markin Hall and the SU Building provides an alternative. Add in a strong westerly wind, and the fitness quotient goes up dramatically.
“Imagine what a delight it will be to get a lift up the hill at the end of a long day or, if you’re like me, going from meeting to meeting all over campus,” says Lublinkhof. “We will be putting the ‘fun’ in funicular! While the cost may be a bit steep, I’m inclined to believe anything is possible on April 1!”