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blackjack48on Reshaping New York

John Rahaim, SF's Planning Director, recently gave a speech regarding the challenges SF has faced in adding units and offices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZhp-xKxB_A (34 min, starts about 1:25 in)

Some of the most important points he made:

-80% of the city's growth will occur in 20% of the city's area.

-Neighborhoods are in opposition to projects which follow community-crafted plans that were designed to encourage growth. He argues that it is not the amount of growth, but the rate of growth that those neighborhoods are opposed to.

-Large segments of the city are zoned to protect industrial and production businesses.

-Last year, SF reviewed 8,000 permits (for everything from routine window replacements to new construction). Of those, 6,000 were considered "routine" and were issued over the counter while 1,800 became "cases" that require additional review and hearings. For comparison, NYC (a city with 10 times the population of SF) reviewed only 500 equivalent "cases". It issued most permits (including one for a building that purports to be the tallest residential highrise in North America) "as-of-right" without any review by their planning department.

TL;DR: SF's planning code is much more strict than that of NYC and gives residents a lot of veto power.

blackjack48on Reshaping New York

It's important to point out that 92k units is the amount needed to accommodate future growth. The creation of those units is entirely dependent on local politics, which is even more polarized here than in NYC.

blackjack48on Hyperloop

I can assure you that the CA system isn't "theoretical" anymore. Terminals are already being constructed in SF and Anaheim. Right-of-way acquisition has begun and construction is scheduled to begin in the Central Valley this year.

blackjack48on Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]

I'm fairly certain they've realized this. My guess is that "Proposed SF-LA tube costs billions less than HSR" makes for a better headline.

blackjack48on Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]

Location is a primary reason why Musk can claim Hyperloop will be cheaper than high speed rail. As the paper correctly points out, right-of-way acquisition is very expensive. Bypassing major population centers is an easy way out of using eminent domain or expensive tunneling to build the system. The HSR project is required by Proposition 1A to pass through several population centers in the state and have a couple dozen stops. Notably, Hyperloop proposes to bypass all of the SF peninsula, San Jose, and Central Valley cities like Fresno and Bakersfield. HSR was politically viable because these regions were included in the project. Furthermore, the route and station map appears to hint that Hyperloop's stations are positioned away from city centers. For example, the "San Francisco" station appears to be located in the East Bay and the "Los Angeles" station is closer to Burbank. This is quite significant from an urban planning perspective as it means that short haul transit or car trips have to be accommodated for a majority of those people who want to use the system. It also adds to the total travel time needed to get from door to door for a greater number of people than does HSR.

I'm not saying that Hyperloop is an inherently flawed project or that HSR is the perfect solution to the state's long-haul transportation needs. I just think that Musk is oversimplifying the situation.

blackjack48on Maybe buses should be free

Transit subsidies are actually what the generated toll money is supposed to be used for. The point of congestion pricing is to induce a portion of the population to switch transportation modes by making public transit a more attractive option in terms of price and quality. When London implemented the its congestion charge, there were transit improvements in place on day one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge#Public...

In the US, the toll money often goes toward expensive, politically-motivated capital improvements, not operation expenses. In the worse case scenario, the money is used to build more toll lanes, which isn't going to encourage mode shift.

blackjack48on Maybe buses should be free

They discontinued the free ride zone: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/bus/ride-free-area/index.ht...

blackjack48on Detroit's Decaying Old Train Station Has 5 New Windows and No One Knows Why

You do in most major metros. Especially if the building is considered a "historic resource."

blackjack48on How Engineers Are Building a New Railroad Under New York City

That's about standard for a deep-bore tunnel in the U.S. these days. The 1.7 mile long Central Subway in SF is $1.6b (without factoring in the inevitable cost overruns.)

blackjack48on Why People Hate the Google Bus

the fault lay not with freespending techies but building restrictions: "The city has to relax planning controls."

The SF planning department is frequently derided for micromanaging sensible projects that would sail through the permitting process in other cities. The prolonged finessing of architectural details and even paint color can delay and kill many projects. Though, IMO, the bigger problem is the perverted process of "community involvement" used by the city. Essentially any permit issued for any project can be appealed by any single person. This unwavering obstruction of change is a large part of what makes San Francisco really expensive.

While the process may be to blame, I think the tech companies should do more to engage with the local government for mutual benefit: anything from campaigning for an improved development process, to funding street improvements that provide space for employee shuttles (so they don't block local Muni bus stops.)

blackjack48on Google SMS search has been shut down

I wouldn't exactly refer to them as a "dying breed" quite yet. I recall seeing a statistic somewhere that in many developing countries, SMS adoption rates are still going up. There's still a prominent market for SMS search, just not necessarily the one that Google wants to serve.

blackjack48on Why aren't younger Americans driving anymore?

The article neglected to mention that technology use really requires you to go car-free. Many states are enacting hands-free laws and every indication suggests that outright bans on cell phone use will follow. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/13/us/ntsb-cell-phone-ban) Car manufacturers have been trying to integrate voice commands and web services in car dashboards, but those features can't compete with the full productivity enabled by access to a mobile device. Public transit operators need to understand that wifi access will be a deciding factor for many commuters looking to go car-free.

blackjack48on Amazon Coins Launching

It's more analogous to an indefinite, interest-free loan to Amazon.