Parking Has Eaten American Cities - Page 3

Crawford · #41 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 5:10 PM**

I remember, back in the late 90's, a really raunchy scene along Market near City Hall. Human waste, porn and tourist ripoff shops, homeless washing in plaza fountains, that sort of thing. It was pretty intimidating. I haven't walked that stretch in ages but it has to be somewhat gentrified. But I've never taken MUNI, so maybe disorder has worsened on transit.

And it's probably a bit different than NYC in that Uber/Lyft didn't really change things here, they just made existing systems more efficient. NYC has had "rideshare" since forever, just car services you used to call. Pretty much all larger professional firms in the city have used "rideshare" for employees working late since forvever. You work past seven, you get a "black car" home, even way back in the 70's-80's.

Pedestrian · #42 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 5:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

I remember, back in the late 90's, a really raunchy scene along Market near City Hall. Human waste, porn and tourist ripoff shops, homeless washing in plaza fountains, that sort of thing. It was pretty intimidating. I haven't walked that stretch in ages but it has to be somewhat gentrified. But I've never taken MUNI, so maybe disorder has worsened on transit.

So-called "Mid-Market" has always been the scariest place in San Francisco as far as I'm concerned. It's being massively rebuilt now and of course it's where the city induced a number of tech companies--Twitter, Dolby Labs, Square, Spotify--to move in with tax breaks. But I honestly can't say the street scene is that much better though my hopes are up for when all the new condos are finished and people move into them and demand police action (in that regard, I noted a pair of beat cops on every block on a recent walk through the area and that's new).

The situation on transit is much bigger than Mid-Market. BART, as you may know, shuts down for a couple of hours from just after midnight to 5 AM and the transit cops are now kicking all the homeless off trains at the end of the line suburban stations where they have no place to go but an empty parking lot. Local libs are wringing their hands. The point being the situation is affecting even the most remote suburbs now.

Quote:

And it's probably a bit different than NYC in that Uber/Lyft didn't really change things here, they just made existing systems more efficient. NYC has had "rideshare" since forever, just car services you used to call. Pretty much all larger professional firms in the city have used "rideshare" for employees working late since forvever. You work past seven, you get a "black car" home, even way back in the 70's-80's.

What's always been very different about NYC and SF is that in NYC you could stand briefly on almost any corner of Manhattan and wave down a cab fairly easily. SF engineered a shortage of cabs such that it was almost impossible to get one in any kind of bad weather or rush hour--any time but noon on a sunny day. Many times i used to just walk to some downtown hotel where they were all lined up waiting for airport fares.

Uber/Lyft stepped into the cabless breach, supplying the need that was obvious to everyone except the buffoons running the MTA (Metropolitcal Transit Authority).

JManc · #43 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 7:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obadno

Bird Scooters and Hover boards

The Future is hell

People over 20 riding these things look ridiculous.

Steely Dan · #44 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 8:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

People over 20 riding these things look ridiculous.

why?

do people over 20 riding a bicycle look ridiculous?

do people over 20 riding a skateboard look ridiculous?

do people over 20 rollerblading look ridiculous?

JManc · #45 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 8:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

why?

do people over 20 riding a bicycle look ridiculous?

do people over 20 riding a skateboard look ridiculous?

do people over 20 rollerblading look ridiculous?

Jury's out with a 40 year-old skateboarding but rollerblading and biking doesn't look awkward and no one associates either one of them with a toy. A scooter?

Steely Dan · #46 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 8:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

no one associates either one of them with a toy. A scooter?

that's just a leftover image.

as they get more and more commonplace, they will increasingly cease to be associated with a toy.

there's nothing inherently ridiculous about them.

LosAngelesSportsFan · #47 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 9:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

People over 20 riding these things look ridiculous.

Why? these scooters are fantastic. I use them daily and honestly, so do many many people. Instead of being limited to things within a 10 block radius, its now 30 over the same time frame. Often times, its faster to use the scooters than to uber, drive or take the subway.

iheartthed · #48 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 9:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

People over 20 riding these things look ridiculous.

I feel judged...

But in all seriousness, I almost feel like everybody riding these should have a drivers license. They are kinda dangerous if you aren't used to managing a motorized vehicle. They're a little more sophisticated than just riding a bike.

JManc · #49 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 10:30 PM**

I rode one in San Diego out of curiosity because they were everywhere but was so self conscious and felt ridiculous. My wife wouldn't even touch one. The bikes make sense. You can go faster and cover more territory.

harryc · #50 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 10:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

People over 20 riding these things look ridiculous.

That's what they used to say about bicycles.

Sun Belt · #51 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 11:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

why?

do people over 20 riding a bicycle look ridiculous?

do people over 20 riding a skateboard look ridiculous?

do people over 20 rollerblading look ridiculous?

No.
Yes.
Yes.

eschaton · #52 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 12:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

That's what they used to say about bicycles.

Frankly, bicycles are more of an adult thing than a kid thing these days. My urban neighborhood is relatively low-traffic and has lots of children. I see at least three times as many adults riding bikes as kids.

A large portion of this I think comes down to the recent upper-middle class social norm that kids are not allowed out of sight of parents or other adults until they are at least preteens, if not teenagers. It just means there's a lot less time to ride bikes (no more lazy summer days where you spend the whole day outside with friends), and there might not even be enough time to practice riding enough to get good at it.

10023 · #53 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 2:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

do people over 20 riding a bicycle look ridiculous?

do people over 20 riding a skateboard look ridiculous?

do people over 20 rollerblading look ridiculous?

No, yes, and absolutely.

eschaton · #54 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 3:04 PM**

I honestly don't consider rollerblading to be a "kid" activity. It seemed like interest peaked in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and it's nowhere near as popular today. On the occasions I see people still rollerblading (largely when riding my bike on paved trails) it invariably seems to be physically fit women in their late 20s/early 30s.

Steely Dan · #55 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 3:19 PM**

^ immutable fact of the universe #7: a young fit athletic woman wearing tight form-fitting clothing NEVER looks ridiculous doing anything.

10023 · #56 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 3:44 PM**

Does anybody even use roller skates anymore aside from those weirdos in Central Park dancing to disco music?

eschaton · #57 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 4:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023

Does anybody even use roller skates anymore aside from those weirdos in Central Park dancing to disco music?

I know some people who do roller derby. But that seems to be a really select group - women who want to beat the crap out of each other when on wheels.

Sun Belt · #58 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 4:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023

Does anybody even use roller skates anymore aside from those weirdos in Central Park dancing to disco music?

I see more people roller skating than I do roller blading -- which isn't very many -- it's just that I cannot remember the last time I saw anybody using in line skates.

JManc · #59 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 4:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschaton

Frankly, bicycles are more of an adult thing than a kid thing these days. My urban neighborhood is relatively low-traffic and has lots of children. I see at least three times as many adults riding bikes as kids.

This. I live in a sleepy suburban bedroom community infested with young families and most of the people I see on bikes are adults. The only kid I see on a bike are really young ones with their parents. Far from the era when my friends and I why crisscross the neighborhood on our BMX's 8 hours a day.

Sun Belt · #60 Posted **Jul 1, 2019, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

This. I live in a sleepy suburban bedroom community infested with young families and most of the people I see on bikes are adults. The only kid I see on a bike are really young ones with their parents. Far from the era when my friends and I why crisscross the neighborhood on our BMX's 8 hours a day.

That's because today's kiddos take Uber, instead of walking/riding bikes.

When I was around 15, my best friend and I once rode our mountain bikes 14 miles to get to a mall. I bought a cookie and a drink, only to turn around and ride back home.

Summer break can get boring after a few weeks.