4 ms·
No argument -- you could post articles all day like this. Things that other cities copy: Our classic street car system. Our bicycle network. Our fire suppre
by pdx6 10y ago
No argument -- you could post articles all day like this.
Things that other cities copy:
Our classic street car system.
Our bicycle network.
Our fire suppression network.
Our seawall system.
Our water treatment system.
How to get startups like San Francisco does!
Failings aside, setting an example for other US cities should be San Francisco's goal. We have a lot of smart people here, and have historically (the TV was invented on Green St! SF has a history in avionics, oddly enough too).
- rosser 10y agoWe do some things spectacularly right, and I adore the pants off this city, but it doesn't begin to mitigate the levels of auto-craniorectal impaction I see every day, public sector or private.
- jcoffland 10y agoIt's utterly amazing how many places claim to be the sight of the invention of the TV. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2958 http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2958
- pdx6 10y agoI was referring to Philo Farnsworth's work in 1927: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_Farnsworth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_Farnsworth
- jahewson 10y agoThe bicycles were copied from London.
- rayiner 10y agoI've never heard of any city looking to San Francisco for any of these things. What city had built a street car system in recent memory? People look to places like Amsterdam for their bicycle networks. People look to places like New York City for their water treatment systems.
- sarcher 10y agoEast Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) is a subject of conversation nationally when looking at organic waste treatment, but I guess that's not technically San Francisco.
- pdx6 10y agoThere are a few: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Streetcar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Streetcar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosha_Electric_Streetcar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosha_Electric_Streetcar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEPTA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEPTA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Trolley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Trolley SF's sewer system has won awards from the federal government: http://www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=392 http://www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=392 I was referring to US bicycle network and cities. SF implemented many bike lane programs, inspired by European cities, that have been replicated in other US cities.
- rayiner 10y agoThe first electric streetcar in the U.S. was actually in Richmond, VA. Philly and Chicago built street car networks roughly contemporaneously with San Francisco. E.g SEPTA's current street cars date back to Philly's 19th century network). Between the 1880s and 1930s, it was Chicago's streetcar network that was the largest in the world. As for bike lanes, nobody is looking to San Francisco to see how they implemented Amsterdam's bike lanes.
- rhino369 10y agoDC was dumb enough to build a street car route because yuppies think they are better than bus riders.
- m_mueller 10y agoAs someone who lived in Zurich, which serves >200M streetcar rides yearly: It is, just not for the reasons you think. Streetcar lines are largely built to have their osn reserved space along the roads in a space saving fashion. That means way less sensitivity to traffic situation. That means that, while slow, ETAs are quite reliable. That means you have something you can plan tight schedules with - and at the same time relax while driving. Couple that with efficient and abundant local trains and you have something way more comfortable and efficient than cars.
- twelvechairs 10y agoSpeaking as someone from another country involved in urban planning the key things i have heard SF mentioned for on a modern transport side are: - technological uptake (uber, variety of sharing options eg scooter sharing, new developments proposing to pay ongoing uber rather than provide parking) - using technology to measure and understand transit issues - Your cycleways are also a good example of implemntation in a western country. One thing i particularly like is the categorisation system of cycleway quality. - a little futher back the tearing down of the embarcadero freeway Of course thats not to say there arent issues as well. Central SF seems far more progressive than other areas from a governance perspective. My personal understanding is there is a lot of local politics at play. Here in Sydney Australia the state government has taken a lot of power away from local governments on these issues (with strategic gain but also ignoring real local issues). The uk 'city deals' model is another strategy aimed at the same issues
- WildUtah 10y agoSFPark digital metering and reform of minimum parking requirements are big advances for San Francisco that are well known.