IDEA:
L1-08 - Underground water based public transport

PILLAR:
C - Waterborne

RESEARCH AREA:
RA5 - People Mobility - Systems and Services

TEAM NAME:
Agnieszka Weis

TEAM MEMBERS:
Agnieszka Weis (Team leader)


UNIVERSITY:
Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk

COUNTRY:
POLAND

ABSTRACT:
Communication in city centers is a challenge for many cities, especially for those with historical settlement. Limited road traffic and periodically increasing amount of tourists are only two among many obstacles.
The most obvious way to ease the streets is transferring the communication underground. Building a new main might be hard because of the costs. But what if the tunnels are already there?
Canals once used to drain water are still present in many european cities, such as Gdańsk. Designed to fit people and the cleaning equipment this historical treasure could become a tourist attraction and a basis for building an effective transport mode.
My study is based on old Gdańsk’s canal analysis. The existing net became a base for designing the underground waterborne system and vessels to operate it. Such modern transport mode could enlighten the streets and communicate the historical cities without damaging its settlement. It would be relatively cheap because of using the existing infrastructure and current energy.
The vessel could be a monohull unmanned capsule accommodating up to six persons. Inside underground canals it would be attached to the electric network and use a battery while overground.
Depending on the amount of the accessible canals the system could be oscillating or circular. The number of vessels and timetable could be modified depending on the needs.
Until 1871 canals of Gdańsk were filled up to create „modern” road infrastructure. Today, differently perceiving modernity, we can create a vision using the potential of the underground city canals.