Elevator World

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

VT PART OF LARGEST MONTREAL TRANSIT INVESTMENT SINCE 1960s

New vertical-transportation (VT) equipment is a key part of approximately CAD16 billion in infrastructure underway over the next 10 years at stations of the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) public transport agency in Montreal, Canada, the Montreal Gazette reports. What the source describes as the "largest phase of development since the metro opened in the 1960s" includes bringing the number of elevator-accessible stations from 15 to 41 by 2025. Toward that goal, elevator installation is underway at an unprecedented 11 stations. Comparing the work to "repairing a plane when it's in full flight with passengers onboard," STM CEO Luc Tremblay says adding elevators involves major reconstruction of some stations. In addition to elevators, STM is upgrading or replacing its 293 escalators.

Image credit: photo courtesy of STM

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

CLOSINGS FOR THANKSGIVING

The offices of Elevator World, Inc. will be closed on November 28 and 29 for the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. They will open for regular business hours on December 2.

Image credit: by Sue Junky from Pixabay

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

ELEVATOR TOWER AMONG DETAILS APPROVED FOR TORONTO TOWER

New details, including an adjacent, 15-story elevator core, have been approved for Northam Realty Advisors' and BTS Realty's 70-story, 277-m-tall condominium tower set to rise on top of the Bell Trinity Square office complex at 483 Bay Street in Toronto, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat reports, citing Urban Toronto. Revealed in renderings, a façade of staggered, rectangular frames and a landscaped "reveal" between the 29th and 30th floors distinguish the structure. According to the plan by architect IBI Group, the elevator tower would rise next to Bell Square's existing atrium. "Residents would first ride these elevators to and from the ground, with a transfer to the new building at any level from 11 to 15," the source observed.

Image credit: courtesy of IBI Group

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

EESF PROMOTES MEETING, ASKS FOR FEEDBACK

The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation (EESF) will be holding its annual general membership meeting on February 26-28, 2020, in Tampa. It recently invited volunteers, donors and supporters to attend. Executive Director Shelly Johnson invited donors and supporters to email her any specific issues they would like addressed. There is also still time to nominate an individual to serve as a board of regents member-at-large, but nominations will be closed on November 29. Johnson also requests stories of how National Elevator Escalator Safety Week (November 10-16) was celebrated. Efforts will be shared with the industry in EESF news updates, and Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

SLOW VT REPAIR VEXES MIAMI TRANSIT PASSENGERS

Riders of Miami's Metrorail and Metromover systems are lodging complaints about the slow progress on bringing broken-down elevators and escalators back into service, but the city's mayor said the problem was caused by changes in the business model of repair companies, CBSMiami 4 reports. Hundreds of thousands of people use the systems every week, but many say vertical-transportation (VT) equipment that goes down has tended to stay down for long periods. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Giménez said the county has the money to repair the units, but VT companies have narrowed down who can make repairs. “The elevator companies have changed their business model. . . . We used to be able to hire different elevator repair companies to repair our elevators,” Giménez said, adding, “Now, elevator companies are saying only [certain] folks can repair our elevators, and they have to have our parts.”

Another official said the county is planning to upgrade all of the systems' VT equipment to avoid problems "with replacing components that are 30 years old.”

Image credit: photo by FrickFrack from Wikipedia

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

ELEVATOR ENTRAPMENTS KEEP RICHMOND FIREFIGHTERS BUSY

Firefighters in Richmond, Virginia, have been called out for nearly 500 elevator rescues over the past two years, with many of the units being repeat offenders, WRIC 8News reports. Since 2017, the Richmond Fire Department has responded to 23 calls at Johnson Hall, on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). “It’s kind of normal, actually, just to see fire trucks and people getting stuck in the building,” said VCU freshman Samantha Griffin. “Basically, for the whole month of September, at least once a week, I could recall that somebody got stuck in the elevator.” VCU is responsible for its elevators, but a recent radio dispatch call noted that the nearest available elevator technician was several hours away. Other elevator problems have been reported at hotels and apartment buildings around the city. A tenant in one building said its elevator "shakes a lot" and frequently mislevels. Firefighters said the troublesome elevators often have past-due inspection certificates, with one unit showing its last inspection was in 2015.

Image credit: courtesy of StockSnap from Pixabay

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

EW PROJECT OF THE YEAR WINNERS

ELEVATOR WORLD is pleased to report the winners of the 2020 Project of the Year contest. Winning projects, which will be featured in our January 2020 issue, are (with category): “The Vessel” in NYC submitted by Liberty Elevator (Elevators, New Construction); “Empire State Building” in NYC submitted by Otis (Elevators, Modernization); “Jewel Changi Airport” in Singapore submitted by Schindler Singapore (Escalators, New Construction); “San Diego Convention Center” submitted by KONE (Escalators, Modernization); “Riosol Hotel” in Gran Canarias, Spain, submitted by thyssenkrupp (Inclined Lifts); “Yacht Obsession” in Mystic, Connecticut, submitted by Gillespie (Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts); “Mega Elevator” in Tel Aviv, Israel, submitted by ELMAS (Special-Purpose Lifts); and “Device for Assessment of Technical Condition of Guides” in Chełm, Poland, submitted by The State School of Higher Education – The Institute of Technical Sciences and Aviation (Elevators, Upgrades and Repairs).

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

STEEL PILINGS PLACED FOR HUDSON YARDS SKYSCRAPER

Work has begun on the pilings for a 58-story residential building in Hudson Yards, NYC, New York YIMBY reports. The 695-ft-tall tower is one of two expected to rise at 601 West 29th Street. The long, hollow steel pilings have been placed into the ground, and a completion date of September 2023 has been posted on the construction fence.

Image credit: courtesy by Michael Young for New York YIMBY

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

WMATA COMPLETES US$176-MILLION ESCALATOR OVERHAUL

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has announced the completion of a US$176-million, multiyear escalator overhaul that included 145 new units, The Washington Post is among news outlets to report. The last escalator replaced in the project was at Court House Station earlier this month, marking a milestone for a journey that began after an escalator malfunction at L'Enfant Plaza injured six people nine years ago. In addition to 145 new escalators, 153 units received new motors, steps, handrails, safety devices and electrical systems. WMATA has also been installing canopies over station entrances where escalators are exposed to the elements. Eight have been installed, and six more are planned at Smithsonian, Judiciary Square, Archives, U Street and Arlington Cemetery.

 

Image credit: courtesy of WMATA

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

KONE LANDS 74-UNIT DEAL FOR PROJECT IN TIANJIN, CHINA

KONE has won a contract to supply 74 total units to Tianjin Pingan Teda IFC, a luxury mixed-use development planned in Tianjin, China, the company announced on November 14. The development will have two towers, rising 313 m and 240 m in height, and will bring office space, apartments and high-end shopping to the city. KONE will deliver 54 elevators for the project — 12 MonoSpace®, 37 MiniSpace™, four MiniSpace DoubleDeck and one MiniSpace Transformer — as well as 20 TravelMaster™ 110 escalators to the development. The complex, which includes a 68-story residential building, will also be equipped with the E-Link™ monitoring system, and the contract includes two years of standard maintenance. The project is being developed by Tianjin Meiyin Real Estate Co., Ltd., and is scheduled for completion in 2022.

 

Image credit: courtesy of KONE

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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