The next attraction coming to Long Beach may be an aerial tram in which passengers can take a ride over the Queensway Bay from downtown to the Queen Mary with picturesque views of the harbor and the city. Whether the project moves forward, however, depends on the community’s support.

 

Alex Bellehumeur, a former Long Beach harbor commissioner and owner of Statewide Developers, Inc., presented the project proposal in a presentation to the 12-member Queen Mary Task Force at its April 6 meeting.

 

“Just imagine yourself on one of these luxury modules,” he said. “It’s like a limousine in the air . . . Ultimately it will combine the downtown area and bring it all together in just a fun way to experience our wonderful City of Long Beach.”

 

The proposal, which was brought forward several years ago before the Queen Mary’s former master leaseholder, “Save the Queen,” defaulted on loans after the ship’s previous operator QSDI filed for bankruptcy, includes an aerial cable car system, similar to a concept being proposed in San Diego by aerial tramway developer Doppelmayr.

 

The aerial tram, which Bellehumeur said would be called “The Wave,” would shuttle thousands of people aboard cable cars 110 feet above the water from the Aquarium of the Pacific to the Maya Hotel to the Queen Mary and then to the Carnival Cruise Lines terminal. He said the cable cars would have videos about different Long Beach attractions and facts about the city.

 

Bellehumeur said funding for the project is “doable,” adding that $4 million in seed capital has already been raised for the project, with a potential to obtain grant funds.