In 2017, the  feasibility study came to the conclusion that the so-called  northern route was the best option. Numerous route variants were examined to connect the Venusberg with the Bundesviertel and Beuel/Ramersdorf. Many variants were not suitable because the cable car would then hover over more private space. Others were not shortlisted because the calculated number of potential passengers between the stations was insufficient.

In the end, a northern and a southern route were chosen, but the northern route was found to have the greatest benefit: This cross-connection represents the best connection for most passengers. This route, which connects two rail lines, two streetcar lines and several bus lines, is therefore expected to have the highest passenger volume and the greatest benefit.

As a result of the initial public participation, numerous change requests from citizens were incorporated into the planning, for example in the area of the Erich Kästner School and the playground. These can be read  here.

According to the current planning status, no rescue route is required under the cable car on the Venusberg. This reduces the impact on the existing trees. Only further planning will reveal which interventions in the tree population will nevertheless be necessary. In all likelihood, trees will only have to be felled at the edge of the slope to make room for the support planned there. Such interventions in nature must be weighed up for every construction project; this weighing up is part of the  planning approval procedure. However, the city of Bonn assumes that the cable car will have a predominant benefit for the citizens and also serves the overarching goal of "climate protection".

A geological report for the Venusberg is only part of the preparation for the  planning approval procedure (opens in a new tab). Based on previous assessments, the administration does not assume that the construction of a cable car will cause the slope to become unstable and that the facilities can be erected on stable terrain. The geological report and subsoil investigations will show which measures will be necessary for the foundations of the support.

In February 2024, a commissioned company began soil investigations along the route.

The panoramic cable car ride itself will be a tourist highlight. Congress visitors will also be able to use the future S 13 to quickly get from the airport to the cable car in Beuel.

In addition to the Rheinaue, destinations and activities on the Venusberg are attractive for guests: the wooded part of the Venusberg is largely under protection, ensuring that the nature there will be preserved in the future and used for local recreation by citizens, tourists and day visitors. The Venusberg is suitable for walking and hiking, cycling, skating and horse riding. The "Haus der Natur" would also benefit greatly from the cable car guests. The local recreation area already offers a game reserve, geocaching trails, a barefoot path, vantage points with views of the Rhine Valley, an event venue and a riding stables.

The local recreation area of the Rheinaue on the right bank of the Rhine with the Bonn Arch is also very attractive from a tourist point of view and would be easy to reach by cable car. The city assumes that existing tourist attractions will change and new ones will be created following the construction of a cable car.

Most of the 34 supports currently planned will be located in public spaces and are more than 28 meters high on average. At around 50 meters, the highest support will be on the Venusberg at the hospital, while the lowest, at around six meters high, is planned for the Schießbergweg station.

Yes, landscape protection is affected in the Rheinaue and Kottenforst area. More detailed investigations and considerations on this topic are part of the further necessary planning steps and an integral part of the preparation and implementation of a  planning approval procedure (opens in a new tab).

All vehicles permitted by the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO) - cars, trucks, bicycles, etc. - must be able to drive along Urstadtstraße and Hermann-Milde-Straße. This also applies to deliveries from HARIBO and will be taken into account in further planning.

Basically, the answer is yes. This is because modern ropeways neither generate too much noise nor do lubricants or the like drip down from the supports.

Noise calculations must be determined individually for each ropeway installation and are only carried out after detailed planning with the respective manufacturer. Based on experience with other modern cable cars, it is assumed that noise emissions do not exceed the permissible immission limits for schools in accordance with the 16th Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG). Once a cable car has been built, control measurements are carried out again during acceptance. The cable car in Berlin, whose system is comparable to Bonn, is well below the legally prescribed limits in terms of noise.

There is also no danger under a support: the bearings of the cable pulleys are nowadays installed in a permanently lubricated, sealed design (lubricated for life) so that no lubricants can drip down.

The current planning, which initially proposes corridors for the required supports, envisages a support in the area of the Erich-Kästner-Schule at the edge of the schoolyard. The exact location will be determined in the further process.

The administration took concerns about the playground into account after the first public consultation. According to the current planning status, the playground can be retained. Minor changes to the edge may be necessary.

The planned Schießbergweg cable car station is optimally connected to the future S 13 stop in Ramersdorf. The distances to the streetcar (line 62, Schießbergweg stop) and bus (lines 606 and 607, Telekom Campus stop) are also very short. In this respect, Schießbergweg is an ideal location for a cable car station. There is also a good connection for cycling. In the further planning, solutions such as the use of sharing systems will also be developed in order to create a good connection to the Ramersdorf light rail stop. With an integrated mobile station, these different mobility options could be bundled at the cable car station.

Several routes were examined and the route planned to date proved to have the most potential for three important reasons:

• It touches the least private space.
• It is clearly expected to have the most passengers, which means that the benefits are the greatest.
• It offers the best possible link to local public transport in terms of the transport transition.

It was no longer possible to examine the extension option as part of the present preliminary  standardized assessment. The entire process would have had to be stopped and a new standardized assessment drawn up. However, the administration will have a cable car connection from Schießbergweg via Ramersdorf subway station up to the Ennert investigated.

The contract to examine the potential and technical feasibility of a cable car on the right bank of the Rhine has been awarded to two external planning offices and is currently (May 2023) being processed. The results of the study will be presented to the political committees after the summer break.

The stations must offer enough space to accommodate all of the cable car's technical equipment and provide access to the platform level. The size and appearance of the station depend heavily on the architectural design and the layout of the traffic routes - at this early stage of planning, there are no more precise plans. So far, the following assumptions have been made, but these may change somewhat in the further planning stage:

Terminal station: approx. 30 meters long, approx. 17.5 meters to a maximum of 20 meters wide, approx. 8 meters high (above the respective platform level).

The through station will be slightly longer at around 50 meters.

In general, garaging can be planned for cable cars at any station. However, no other location along the planned route in Bonn offers as much space as the Schießbergweg/Ramersdorf station. In addition, the current planning envisages a station at ground level, which makes it easier to build the garage and therefore also costs less, as there is no need to build a conveyor system for the cabins to overcome the height difference. However, a difference in level between the cable car station and the garage is also technically possible.

The areas required for a station and a garage can only be specified after the detailed planning stage. However, areas must be sealed for both the station and the garage, which must be compensated for elsewhere in the course of the usual procedures for such a structure.