3 ms·

Seconded opinion for strong regional government with zoning control. If the property owner fiefdoms aren't going to address the problem, it's time to take solvi

Seconded opinion for strong regional government with zoning control. If the property owner fiefdoms aren't going to address the problem, it's time to take solving that problem away from them. To give an example of how bad this is, the city of Atherton has sued Caltrain 7 times over the electrification project, the latest one related to (wait for it..) the use of 5 45 foot poles instead of 10 35 foot ones. https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/03/01/caltrain-and-atherton-cant-reach-a-deal-on-electrification-poles https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/03/01/caltrain-and-ath... And this despite the fact it comprises less than a mile of the track and doesn't even stop at the Atherton station during weekdays. How can anyone expect this problem to get any better without major changes to zoning control and major revisions to the property tax/rent subsidies? I'm not holding my breath, and neither are all the other people that are starting to think about leaving.

makomk 8y ago
Wait, the fact that local residents can't even use the big ugly mass transit line going through their neighbourhood is meant to make them somehow more sympathetic to it?
- kyledrake 8y ago
  As I understand it, there is discussion to start using the station again after they finish electrification, which of course assumes the town doesn't try to stop that somehow. It will also reduce air (and probably noise) pollution to nearby properties, because the trains will no longer be running huge motors spewing massive amounts of diesel exhaust while flying through the town. None of that matters. Atherton is the wealthiest zip code in the country, and is comprised completely of high-end houses and mansions owned by the super rich, most of whom couldn't care less about mass transit or regional growth issues. They've got theirs, the hell with everybody else. Their strategy for keeping it this way is to fight all change, even if it's mutually beneficial.

makomk 8y ago

Wait, the fact that local residents can't even use the big ugly mass transit line going through their neighbourhood is meant to make them somehow more sympathetic to it?

kyledrake 8y ago
As I understand it, there is discussion to start using the station again after they finish electrification, which of course assumes the town doesn't try to stop that somehow. It will also reduce air (and probably noise) pollution to nearby properties, because the trains will no longer be running huge motors spewing massive amounts of diesel exhaust while flying through the town. None of that matters. Atherton is the wealthiest zip code in the country, and is comprised completely of high-end houses and mansions owned by the super rich, most of whom couldn't care less about mass transit or regional growth issues. They've got theirs, the hell with everybody else. Their strategy for keeping it this way is to fight all change, even if it's mutually beneficial.