FTA, $500 per day to rent an historic mansion overlooking the bay (i.e. before the bridge obstruction)
I have a family wedding to attend back east this autumn and we're looking at around that (before "service fees" and taxes) to sleep 5 out in the sticks of New Hampshire -- short-term housing has truly gotten out of hand, basically everywhere.
They mention this was before the Loma Prieta earthquake which was in 1989; if we take inflation from 1980 to now into account that'd be $1600-1900 today. Probably still good value, esp. given the view, but I guess it does depend on how it was furnished at the time.
It's sad because AirBnB has also similarly shrunk the "suite" class of room that we as a 5 person family need. So we're forced into using AirBnB/VRBO because hotels only offer 2+2 (and most rental sites don't let you even look for 5 person rooms). Ugh.
I have the exact opposite experience -- as someone who always wants two adjoining rooms (for kids). Doing that in a hotel tends to cost as much as 3 times what an Airbnb would cost, and the airbnb is more comfortable. You just need to actually read reviews.
Things must be different here (BC, Canada). I can't think of why I'd ever rent a hotel room when AirBnB's are usually a similar price and way more comfortable (usually).
Unless I had a worry about cancellations I suppose.
also, interesting they had to design it not to cast a shadow on that house
"""
But the decision to build an architectural icon didn't end problems - it started new ones. The most bizarre was with the U.S. Navy. In 1998, it refused to let Caltrans onto Yerba Buena Island to finish its engineering work. The Navy's issue was whether the Bridge would overshadow the one-time home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, a hero of World War II.
"We had to come up with a design where we wouldn't cast a shadow down onto that particular property," Ney explained, with the Nimitz home in the background and directly next to the new span. "We had to make sure that the bridge snugged up close enough to the existing one so that we weren't coming over the top of Admiral Nimitz' house."
"""
It may not cast a shadow directly on it, but the bridge still destroyed the mansion's utility.
The alternative would have been to run the new east span south of the old one, instead of north. Apparently San Francisco preferred that option, but Oakland wanted the north alignment. I'm not sure why, all I've seen mentioned so far is that they chose that particular alignment to ensure drivers would get a good view of San Francisco while driving west...
San Francisco is the only place I know with this bizarre obsession that things shouldn’t be allowed to cast shadows on other things, as a general rule.
Why is it strange? Sunlight is an extremely valuable asset, both physically and mentally. I actually find the opposite mindset (that sunlight doesn't matter) really strange.
There was a case in Oregon, I think a couple decades ago, where an Indian tribe built a longhouse in town then tried to prevent construction of any building that might cast a shadow on it. I don't remember whether they aimed at the courts or city council, or how it turned out.
It brings to mind good memories of family outings spent in former officer's housing, up in Officers Row at Fort Worden, WA. Hide & seek was a lot of fun.
From below, I suspect most structures like that are ugly. But personally I think the new bridge span looks nicer than what it replaced. Not gonna sing its praises, but I think it's an improvement.
Fun fact: You still can't reach Treasure Island or Yerba Buena island by foot or bike from San Francisco. People living on TI are entirely dependent on Muni and private automobiles, and even then SFMTA tried to cut service to Treasure Island a few years back.
Recently a regular ferry that goes between the island and the ferry building was established. It’s a very pleasant ride and they allow you to take your bike on it.
>> In 1998, the feud between the Navy, which still owned Yerba Buena Island, and Brown went public. Navy officials expressed frustration that the new eastern span would flow directly over Nimitz House and the nearby historic residences of other officers. A Navy aide called the plan “devastating.”
It puts the fun into “In 2000 we’ll have flying cars” when the whole XXth century was spent building highways and ramps that were higher and higher into the air, and the whole XXIth will be spent trying to put them underground. The real futurist landscape is a city like Lyon in France, or Amsterdam, where cars are put away and we walk or bike to work.
Most of the times I have worked in Amsterdam people did not go to work by bike or on foot. Most people came in by car, the second largest group used the train into Amsterdam and only a small part was able to walk or bike to work. Those were usually upper-management, people able to afford housing in Amsterdam and not living in the surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. For them it was still a 25 minute bike ride to the industrial estate that the office was in, so sometimes they would call an Uber to work.
Flying cars is a dream of baby boomers. To everyone else, this is a nightmarish scenario of unending noise and exhaust spewing from these baby boomers flying over the residential areas.
It's an interesting chicken and egg problem in America.
Have people lost the will to think big because others before them have failed, or do people assume that they will fail because they don't think big.
I guess the asset-light strategy works sometimes (a lot of cities are regretting mass transit investments post-pandemic), but it sure doesn't seem to lead to better quality of life.
Because a lot of people will never want to take public transit even if it was more convenient than it is now. In the US outside of NY, Chicago, SF, and perhaps a few others public transit sucks. Even adding 5 new light rail lines isn’t going to change things in Houston when most people want suburban life and only go downtown for a sporting event or concert.
Every bit helps. If you look at the Central Expressway (Bay Area) and compare it to Lawrence Expressway. Lawrence sits above, goes via an overpass and generates a lot of noise. Central, on the other hand had been lowered down. And lets smaller roads to pass over it. A lot less noise.
If an electric car is in an accident and the battery catches fire, my understanding is it is very difficult to get under control.
Something I am curious about is what will happen when we have hundreds of electric cars going through the Lincoln Tunnel? Will battery fires be better or worse than gas fires?
I’m genuinely interested in the environmental discussion that took place during engineering that led to this decision. There are a couple of federal statutes pertaining to construction of roads on (or near) historic properties (FHWA Sec. 106 and 4f). I can’t imagine that this was an ineligible historical resource given its age and historical significance.
Even the alterations to view itself could have qualified, so I’m assuming that there were no feasible alternatives. There may also be some other nuances that the article didn’t cover, so I’m not completely certain, but it’s enough that I’m curious.
Readit News
I have a family wedding to attend back east this autumn and we're looking at around that (before "service fees" and taxes) to sleep 5 out in the sticks of New Hampshire -- short-term housing has truly gotten out of hand, basically everywhere.
Unless I had a worry about cancellations I suppose.
Deleted Comment
Unless you're trying to be in, like, Lancaster during PorcFest or something.
tl;dr Porc refers to porcupines, which is their mascot for libertarians
""" But the decision to build an architectural icon didn't end problems - it started new ones. The most bizarre was with the U.S. Navy. In 1998, it refused to let Caltrans onto Yerba Buena Island to finish its engineering work. The Navy's issue was whether the Bridge would overshadow the one-time home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, a hero of World War II.
"We had to come up with a design where we wouldn't cast a shadow down onto that particular property," Ney explained, with the Nimitz home in the background and directly next to the new span. "We had to make sure that the bridge snugged up close enough to the existing one so that we weren't coming over the top of Admiral Nimitz' house." """
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-bay-bridge-competing-agains...
The alternative would have been to run the new east span south of the old one, instead of north. Apparently San Francisco preferred that option, but Oakland wanted the north alignment. I'm not sure why, all I've seen mentioned so far is that they chose that particular alignment to ensure drivers would get a good view of San Francisco while driving west...
It’s just strange.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/SF-supervisors-...
https://thetokyofilesurbandesign.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/ja...
Deleted Comment
https://goo.gl/maps/8Xc6MUhmAdKQTXbHA
It brings to mind good memories of family outings spent in former officer's housing, up in Officers Row at Fort Worden, WA. Hide & seek was a lot of fun.
Not In My Immediate Territorial Zone
“Oh yeah? We’re the state! You and what navy will stop us?”
“We ARE the Navy!”
“Oh.”
… The mansion’s bright white siding is turning dull and black from car exhaust. …
Anecdotal though.
Have people lost the will to think big because others before them have failed, or do people assume that they will fail because they don't think big.
I guess the asset-light strategy works sometimes (a lot of cities are regretting mass transit investments post-pandemic), but it sure doesn't seem to lead to better quality of life.
Sadly, boring tunnels is a teensy bit more expensive than paving roads... :(
Something I am curious about is what will happen when we have hundreds of electric cars going through the Lincoln Tunnel? Will battery fires be better or worse than gas fires?
https://www.autoweek.com/news/a38225037/how-much-you-should-...
Even the alterations to view itself could have qualified, so I’m assuming that there were no feasible alternatives. There may also be some other nuances that the article didn’t cover, so I’m not completely certain, but it’s enough that I’m curious.