>BART is already pointed right at those office buildings, and MUNI is
>becoming that. I don't think this is useful transit. This is creating
>permanent dependency on a particular area, so that bedroom community
>development can continue at the fringes.
Having transit that concentrates traffic downtown is much more efficient
than the alternative, which is Silicon Valley: because business is
spread out over a large area, nobody can take transit even if they want
to.
I used to live in downtown SJ. I lived next to a streetcar stop, and I
worked next to a streetcar stop. The streetcars ALWAYS ran on time. How
often did I take the streetcar? Once a month or less. Why? I had to
drive all over the Valley to meet with other companies, which were not
located within walking distance - or on the streetcar line.
Concentrating business downtown lets people walk from one building to
another when meeting with each other, saving lots of time and certainly
justifying the generally higher cost of operation there - IN MY OPINION.
But if you try to find a high-tech job in downtown SF, you will have
remarkably slim pickings relative to the Valley or the East Bay, because
most Northern California companies don't think that way.
>The reason we should be looking at the DBAD is
>that the regional segregation that BART institutionalizes is a
>*terrible* long term land planning goal.
No, the reason SF needs to have a working Muni is that without it our
high-density way of life collapses. That high-density way of life
ABSOLUTELY DEPENDS on a vital downtown. A downtown assessment district
runs the significant risk of upsetting that balance - making it harder
for high-tax-paying professionals to live in the city without a costly
and time-consuming reverse commute.
BART is a totally separate issue. I agree that it seems built to waste
money. Fortunately much of the money it wastes is paid by taxpayers in
other counties (Contra Costa comes to mind) for useless tracks to
nowhere. So what? They certainly have no obligation to subsidize Muni!
Andrew