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California

Started by andy3175, July 20, 2016, 12:17:21 AM

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FredAkbar

Quote from: Quillz on March 22, 2024, 05:36:55 PM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 09:18:44 AM
Actually, now would be a better time than ever to complete the original plans. San Francisco has not returned to its original state pre-pandemic. Sad to see the state that City is in.
Have you actually been there and seen it for yourself, or are you just making this assumption based on what the media tells you?

No comment on the overall state of the city, but I will say, if there were ever a city where I felt like the road decisions were deliberately made to screw over drivers, it's SF. I lived there from 2015-2023 and bit by bit, the inconveniences to driving crept up. To name a few:

1) Great Highway & JFK closure 
2) reduction from 4 lanes to 2 on South Van Ness 
3) pedestrian head starts everywhere, even where it barely makes any sense to have them 
4) comically inefficient signal configurations like 5th & Folsom, where to turn right from NB 5th onto Folsom you must wait through 3 other phases (only one of which even has pedestrians/bicyclists crossing Folsom)

And you know what, it's okay. I moved out to the suburbs and I couldn't be happier. If the people of SF want driving to be insanely inefficient (whether to encourage mass transit, or to pursue hopeless dreams of zero traffic deaths), it's their city, they can govern it how they want.


Max Rockatansky

Speaking of SF, what is up with most of the signage of US 101 being recently pulled on Van Ness?

citrus

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 22, 2024, 07:36:12 PM
Speaking of SF, what is up with most of the signage of US 101 being recently pulled on Van Ness?

Recently as in the last few months, or the last few years?
If the latter, my guess is that most of the signs were attached to poles that were replaced / taken down as part of the bus lanes work, and nobody really thought to replace them.

This would be Caltrans jurisdiction, right?

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: citrus on March 22, 2024, 08:23:22 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 22, 2024, 07:36:12 PM
Speaking of SF, what is up with most of the signage of US 101 being recently pulled on Van Ness?

Recently as in the last few months, or the last few years?
If the latter, my guess is that most of the signs were attached to poles that were replaced / taken down as part of the bus lanes work, and nobody really thought to replace them.

This would be Caltrans jurisdiction, right?

Yes, District 4.

Quillz

Poor signage is pretty common. A lot of PCH is barely signed between Santa Monica and Oxnard. Sometimes the shields get stolen and not replaced.

Max Rockatansky

1 and 35 are both still fairly well signed in the city.

Rothman

I loved living in SF.  Didn't have a car and it was easy enough to get around.  Of course, that was many moons ago now.  Been meaning to get back.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Max Rockatansky

I like visiting San Francisco.  I'd go as far to say that I find it be the most interesting large city in California.  That said, liking to visit a place and desiring to live there are two different things. 

Speaking for myself, I don't recall the things I liked about living in downtown Chicago outweighing those I disliked.  That is probably the closest living situation I've had to what would  be similar to living in San Francisco.

Plutonic Panda

Quote from: Rothman on March 22, 2024, 09:43:43 AM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 09:18:44 AM
Actually, now would be a better time than ever to complete the original plans. San Francisco has not returned to its original state pre-pandemic. Sad to see the state that City is in.
Huh.  I've mixed-up everyone's backgrounds now.  I forgot you were in the Bay Area.
I'm in the bay area once every other week. You do realize that it is possible to travel from one area to the other, right?

And just so you know the various Bay Area cities and their vibes are completely different from San Francisco and Oakland.

Plutonic Panda

Quote from: citrus on March 22, 2024, 11:47:35 AM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 09:18:44 AM
Actually, now would be a better time than ever to complete the original plans. San Francisco has not returned to its original state pre-pandemic. Sad to see the state that City is in.

The state of the city is maybe 5-10% worse than before the pandemic, but news articles make the world think it is 10x worse.
Now's not the time to complete previous freeway plans. Hayes Valley, the Marina, the Inner Sunset (where cancelled freeways were supposed to go through) are areas that have all recovered from the pandemic and would be much worse off with freeways running through them - it's really the Union Square and Financial District areas that have changed.
You are very right that the news is making it far worse than the situation really is. But my larger point is San Francisco proper doesn't seem to have recovered like other cities have Los Angeles. Oakland is in the same category as San Francisco, but I think for different reasons because of the crime rates which are pretty bad now, but with San Francisco are over by the news, particularly the conservative news outlets. With that being said, they are pretty bad and I do believe the governor has announced he is a pretty large California patrol presence as an attempt to curb some of the crimes.

Now my freeway comment was more or less tongue in cheek, though I would like to see a lot of the propose freeways built in San Francisco I would want them built as tunnels. But I digress before we get in the complete fantasy territory and go off-topic.

Rothman



Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 10:32:29 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 22, 2024, 09:43:43 AM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 09:18:44 AM
Actually, now would be a better time than ever to complete the original plans. San Francisco has not returned to its original state pre-pandemic. Sad to see the state that City is in.
Huh.  I've mixed-up everyone's backgrounds now.  I forgot you were in the Bay Area.
I'm in the bay area once every other week. You do realize that it is possible to travel from one area to the other, right?

And just so you know the various Bay Area cities and their vibes are completely different from San Francisco and Oakland.

Well, yeah.  I lived there.

Looks like I flipped your snooty switch on.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Rothman on March 22, 2024, 10:37:56 PM


Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 10:32:29 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 22, 2024, 09:43:43 AM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 09:18:44 AM
Actually, now would be a better time than ever to complete the original plans. San Francisco has not returned to its original state pre-pandemic. Sad to see the state that City is in.
Huh.  I've mixed-up everyone's backgrounds now.  I forgot you were in the Bay Area.
I'm in the bay area once every other week. You do realize that it is possible to travel from one area to the other, right?

And just so you know the various Bay Area cities and their vibes are completely different from San Francisco and Oakland.

Well, yeah.  I lived there.

Looks like I flipped your snooty switch on.

That's assumptive.  I was just visiting San Francisco a week ago.  How does not wanting to live in a dense urban area but otherwise liking to visit come off as "snooty" to you?  I also enjoy visiting cities like Seattle and Portland for similar reasons. 

At the end of the day, if one wants to live in a dense city like San Francisco there are certain things one must adapt to.  Not having constant access to personal transportation and stuff like freeways would be among those items.  If you think those kinds of thing isn't for you then perhaps it is best just to live somewhere else. 

Rothman

#2312
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 22, 2024, 10:47:28 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 22, 2024, 10:37:56 PM


Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 10:32:29 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 22, 2024, 09:43:43 AM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on March 22, 2024, 09:18:44 AM
Actually, now would be a better time than ever to complete the original plans. San Francisco has not returned to its original state pre-pandemic. Sad to see the state that City is in.
Huh.  I've mixed-up everyone's backgrounds now.  I forgot you were in the Bay Area.
I'm in the bay area once every other week. You do realize that it is possible to travel from one area to the other, right?

And just so you know the various Bay Area cities and their vibes are completely different from San Francisco and Oakland.

Well, yeah.  I lived there.

Looks like I flipped your snooty switch on.

That's assumptive.  I was just visiting San Francisco a week ago.  How does not wanting to live in a dense urban area but otherwise liking to visit come off as "snooty" to you?  I also enjoy visiting cities like Seattle and Portland for similar reasons. 

At the end of the day, if one wants to live in a dense city like San Francisco there are certain things one must adapt to.  Not having constant access to personal transportation and stuff like freeways would be among those items.  If you think those kinds of thing isn't for you then perhaps it is best just to live somewhere else.

Wut?

No one was talking to you... :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Plutonic Panda

I love San Francisco. It really hurt me to see it how it was in 2020. Sure it's improved but not as fast as LA. No doubt it'll make a comeback. It's too beautiful and unique of a city not to. But the contrast of one of side of the Golden Gate Bridge and the other is shocking.

Techknow

I too visited SF a few times this month, with both friends and family. I didn't get the impression that the city hasn't "recovered". Instead I felt like there's lot of traffic, lots of people and it took time to find street parking, but none of the places I went were around the downtown area instead I was at Crissy Field and Japantown last Saturday.

Also I noticed for the first time that Park Presidio Blvd (CA 1) has a HOV lane now. It's actually part of a pilot program that started in 2020, so yeah I'm quite late in my observation. I don't know if it makes a big difference, it took me 30+ minutes to drive from the southern part/edge of the city using CA 1 to the Golden Gate Bridge and Crissy Field.

Quillz

Quote from: Techknow on March 26, 2024, 11:02:05 PMI too visited SF a few times this month, with both friends and family. I didn't get the impression that the city hasn't "recovered". Instead I felt like there's lot of traffic, lots of people and it took time to find street parking, but none of the places I went were around the downtown area instead I was at Crissy Field and Japantown last Saturday.

Also I noticed for the first time that Park Presidio Blvd (CA 1) has a HOV lane now. It's actually part of a pilot program that started in 2020, so yeah I'm quite late in my observation. I don't know if it makes a big difference, it took me 30+ minutes to drive from the southern part/edge of the city using CA 1 to the Golden Gate Bridge and Crissy Field.
Mainly because "recovery" is a meaningless term that is more dependent on one's politics than anything else. Last time I went to SF, it seemed as it was in the 00s and 90s. Same complaints, same kind of people, etc. COVID happened but I've not seen anything dramatically changed. To me, there was nothing to recover from. But my perspective is more a visitor, living there would be different.

TheStranger

Quote from: Quillz on March 27, 2024, 01:35:49 AMLast time I went to SF, it seemed as it was in the 00s and 90s. Same complaints, same kind of people, etc. COVID happened but I've not seen anything dramatically changed. To me, there was nothing to recover from. But my perspective is more a visitor, living there would be different.

The retail pullout from downtown has been pretty staggering in the last 2-3 years, with Macy's recently announcing the year-end closure of their iconic Union Square west coast flagship store.  The planned redevelopment of the Crocker Galleria food court/mini-mall in the Financial District has instead left that structure with only two or three open shops.

The areas that seem to be doing better are the more far-flung areas within the city, i.e. compare Stonestown Mall with its crowds and food options, to the downtown San Francisco Centre which Westfield divested and which has lost tenants consistently.  (Stonestown also has the advantage of free parking in a nicer area)
Chris Sampang

Plutonic Panda

Quote from: TheStranger on March 27, 2024, 10:40:01 PM
Quote from: Quillz on March 27, 2024, 01:35:49 AMLast time I went to SF, it seemed as it was in the 00s and 90s. Same complaints, same kind of people, etc. COVID happened but I've not seen anything dramatically changed. To me, there was nothing to recover from. But my perspective is more a visitor, living there would be different.

The retail pullout from downtown has been pretty staggering in the last 2-3 years, with Macy's recently announcing the year-end closure of their iconic Union Square west coast flagship store.  The planned redevelopment of the Crocker Galleria food court/mini-mall in the Financial District has instead left that structure with only two or three open shops.

The areas that seem to be doing better are the more far-flung areas within the city, i.e. compare Stonestown Mall with its crowds and food options, to the downtown San Francisco Centre which Westfield divested and which has lost tenants consistently.  (Stonestown also has the advantage of free parking in a nicer area)
When I speak of San Francisco, I'm speaking San Francisco proper. I'm actually considering buying a row home somewhere near Golden Gate Park because I love it so much. Everyone sees things in a different lens, but I have definitely noticed the city is not the same since the pandemic. A lot of places aren't, but they have recovered to a degree. I really can't say the same thing about San Francisco.

A lot of people here would think I'm just making things up if I were to tell you what I witnessed on some of my previous trips, especially at night.



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