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So true. I have thus far, seen the following comments in my (Mountain View) NextDoor feed, made by the anti-growth brigade: -Complaints about the removal of t
by fern12 9y ago
So true. I have thus far, seen the following comments in my (Mountain View) NextDoor feed, made by the anti-growth brigade:
-Complaints about the removal of trees to accommodate bicycle lanes
-Complaints about restriping/widening of bicycle lanes
-Complaints about how the architecture of new apt buildings on El Camino Real is ruining the character of MV
-Complaints about how the removal of historic buildings in downtown MV (by their landlords, who can no longer afford to maintain them) is also ruining the character of MV
-Complaints about why are there so many RVs and campers parked on Shoreline
-Complaints about why so many restaurants in downtown MV have a hiring shortage and quick turnover
-Complaints about why the checkout lines in Safeway are so long and there aren't enough checkers
-Complaints about the traffic on Shoreline (i.e. near Google)
-Complaints about Google's attempt to add pre-fab housing
And of course, if you imply that they should sell their $$$ house and move elsewhere, it becomes a discussion of how "my family has lived in MV for 3 generations, etc, who gives you the right to tell me how/when to move"
- muninn_ 9y ago> -Complaints about the removal of trees to accommodate bicycle lanes I would absolutely complain about that. Remove road lanes instead. Why would you remove trees? Are they idiots? The rest of the stuff (ruining the character, etc...) are fine. There's no reason people can't be upset that this area they moved in to is changing because everybody else wanted to follow suit. I wouldn't want to have moved to Mountain View then all of a sudden Google shows up and now I'm dealing with all this bullshit traffic. Send Google somewhere else. They don't need to be on the coast. You guys act like people don't have any right to wish to have their way of life preserved. Ridiculous.
- fern12 9y ago>I would absolutely complain about that. Remove road lanes instead. Why would you remove trees? Are they idiots? Do you currently have a commute that involves Mountain View? Ever driven on Shoreline when there's both a concert and an accident on the 101? Ever gotten stuck on Rengstorff or Castro when there's a Caltrain incident? Sure, let's remove a road lane. Then all the traffic will back up and clog the residential streets.
- muninn_ 9y agoOk so what do you think happens if you keep adding lanes? Hint: traffic never gets better. It's called induced demand. I for one also don't want my world turned into a mega highway for the suburbs. Once traffic gets bad enough, people will have to find alternatives, like biking, taking the bus, or simply moving to other areas.
- fern12 9y agoI never said anything about adding additional car lanes. My point was, that removing trees to add a bike lane can be a good thing. Yes, it is unfortunate to remove a historical tree, but if it makes bicycling safer and takes more cars off the road, why not?
- prawn 9y agoAre there congestion charges of any sort in SF?
- rayiner 9y agoI almost choked laughing at the idea MV has character.
- jogjayr 9y ago> Complaints about how the architecture of new apt buildings on El Camino Real is ruining the character of MV That's bizarre to me. The "architecture" on El Camino in MV is strictly of the suburban-strip-mall variety. Even identikit glitzy new apartment buildings are an improvement over that, even without taking into account how they can help alleviate the housing crisis.
- DrScump 9y agoOne contrast is the Two Worlds development on El Camino. It mixes ground-floor business fronts with upper-floor residential... and it was built thirty-two years ago.
- fern12 9y agoAgreed. That ship has sailed. Meanwhile, I drive by this house (http://tinyurl.com/yblhpelz http://tinyurl.com/yblhpelz) every day. The property has been boarded up and abandoned for at least 2 years. It's within walking distance to the Caltrain, and biking distance to Google and dozens of other tech companies. Yet there it remains.
- DrScump 9y agoA Great Moment in Mountain View NIMBYism was when the former Emporium property at CA 85 and El Camino was optioned by Home Depot to build a store there. It would have brought millions of dollars in local tax revenue shares. An initiative vote overturned the Planning Commission's approval -- "Big Box" stores were unwelcome (Ironically, a Best Buy now sits on the adjacent parcel). The site became a residential care facility. Sunnyvale and East Palo Alto get that tax revenue instead.
- fern12 9y agoFascinating tidbit of local history. Thanks for sharing.