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Fun fact: the town of Atherton is also singlehandedly responsible for delaying and almost derailing Caltrain's electrification project, because the electric pol

Fun fact: the town of Atherton is also singlehandedly responsible for delaying and almost derailing Caltrain's electrification project, because the electric poles needed would, and I quote, "compromise the quaint character of our neighborhood" (shock horror). https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2017/12/21/atherton-battling-caltrain-over-electrification-poles https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2017/12/21/atherton-battlin... And of course: "Other speakers protested the aesthetic and safety impacts of the taller, and heavier, poles, saying they would also reduce property values." The town also voted to close their own Caltrain station, because they clearly don't want the kind of riff-raff who use public transport there.

spaceman_2020 4y ago
Looking at these complaints, how did the government ever get all the land needed for major infrastructure projects in the past - like the interstate network?
- pas 4y ago
  eminent domain. and it was sold as cleaning up the slums (eg. poor minority neighborhoods) and of course the response to that is why things are going very slowly nowadays https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/29/penn-station-robert-caro-073564 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/29/penn-stati...
- michaelt 4y ago
  The first bit of infrastructure that gets put in produces huge economic benefits. Back in 1760, it made economic sense to have canals dug by hand because they were so much more efficient than transporting coal by horse and cart. It was incredibly expensive, but the thing that came before it was even moreso. And in the 1830s, private investors could expect to make a profit building a railway because it as so much faster. And compared to hand-digging a canal, the costs weren't that bad! It was incredibly expensive, but the thing that came before it was even moreso.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  Public comment/veto as it exists now did not exist at that point in history.
- michael1999 4y ago
  That was the federal government building a military project during the Cold War. Very different political calculations.
- mywittyname 4y ago
  Government willingness to piss off people combined with the fact that the wealthier people were mostly unaffected. Highways destroyed the poor areas of most cities and enabled the suburban housing boom. There were a few successful attempts to stop the encroachment of the federal highway system into cities. I think the Bay Area was one of the first such victories.
daniel-cussen 4y ago
Oh yeah that's Atherton. Taller heavier poles like what are they going to tell Caltrain what the neighborhood requires the impedance and resistance be such-and-so? I lived there, they hate pedestrians, hate new construction, hate public transport (never saw anybody at the Atherton Station, nobodoy getting on, nobody getting off, nothing, it's on for decoration), to diffuse NIMBY accusations. Nothing there, not one business, it's only utility is a discrete place to jump into the tracks. Yeah Atherton is that place. Atherton is the spirit of NIMBY, the spirit of Landlord, the spirit of all those things.

spaceman_2020 4y ago

Looking at these complaints, how did the government ever get all the land needed for major infrastructure projects in the past - like the interstate network?

pas 4y ago
eminent domain. and it was sold as cleaning up the slums (eg. poor minority neighborhoods) and of course the response to that is why things are going very slowly nowadays https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/29/penn-station-robert-caro-073564 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/29/penn-stati...
michaelt 4y ago
The first bit of infrastructure that gets put in produces huge economic benefits. Back in 1760, it made economic sense to have canals dug by hand because they were so much more efficient than transporting coal by horse and cart. It was incredibly expensive, but the thing that came before it was even moreso. And in the 1830s, private investors could expect to make a profit building a railway because it as so much faster. And compared to hand-digging a canal, the costs weren't that bad! It was incredibly expensive, but the thing that came before it was even moreso.
whimsicalism 4y ago
Public comment/veto as it exists now did not exist at that point in history.
michael1999 4y ago
That was the federal government building a military project during the Cold War. Very different political calculations.
mywittyname 4y ago
Government willingness to piss off people combined with the fact that the wealthier people were mostly unaffected. Highways destroyed the poor areas of most cities and enabled the suburban housing boom. There were a few successful attempts to stop the encroachment of the federal highway system into cities. I think the Bay Area was one of the first such victories.

daniel-cussen 4y ago

Oh yeah that's Atherton. Taller heavier poles like what are they going to tell Caltrain what the neighborhood requires the impedance and resistance be such-and-so? I lived there, they hate pedestrians, hate new construction, hate public transport (never saw anybody at the Atherton Station, nobodoy getting on, nobody getting off, nothing, it's on for decoration), to diffuse NIMBY accusations. Nothing there, not one business, it's only utility is a discrete place to jump into the tracks. Yeah Atherton is that place. Atherton is the spirit of NIMBY, the spirit of Landlord, the spirit of all those things.