English proverb first recorded about 1638

I'm curious--have you ever actually crossed the continent by rail? I have over a dozen times. It gives one a more practical view of AMTRAK.

Sort of related but the book Waiting on a Train is an excellent read.

I think right now I am most intrigued by the possibilities of the approach from the SW (especially since the plaza next to SF Tower turned into such a dud), where there is open space connected to the future retail (and Parcel F seemed to want to contribute to it).

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1883/...9b24aa63_b.jpg

I was having fantasies of turning the alley here into something livelier as well

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1857/...aec775ed_b.jpg

it stretches to SFMOMA, which in my mind always seems farther away from the terminal than it really is

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1863/...ff2b1baa_b.jpg

There will actually be three separate buildings going up along that SW plaza, parcel F being the tallest. Plus most of the ground level retail seems to be in that corner. The under bridge park will mean we can just walk from there to the South and around two more new buildings on Howard and 33 Tehama. 400 and 500 Folsom will then have their own little plaza with retail, and you can keep walking over to the future temporary Transbay Terminal park. I agree that it will be a great plaza in a few years and though not talked about much, the under bridge park will really give this area the complete neighborhood feel.

Gondola is almost ready

https://i.imgur.com/8GR54VHh.jpg

I found a coffee spot behind the escalators lol

https://i.imgur.com/RuTzPqQh.jpg

[IMG]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1846/...1a28f5cf_b.jpgBus Bridge into Salesforce Transit Center by viewguysf, on Flickr[/IMG]

https://i.imgur.com/gC9X062h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kfTWUBdh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XO76zeqh.jpg

I always thought that there would be a market for a high speed rail service between San Francisco and Sacramento.

But I recognize the costs of tunneling under the bay.

If and when they build the planned Phase 2 of the HSR, it will include trains between SF and Sacramento via San Jose without tunneling under the Bay. It may seem like a roundabout route but at high speeds on dedicated tracks (so no sidelining for passing trains etc) it still should be a fairly quick trip.

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1842/2...75c8c6ac_b.jpg
http://www.hsr.ca.gov/Newsroom/Multimedia/maps.html

Aren’t there long terms plans to make improvements to the Capital Corridor? That gets you at least pretty close to the City.

I do agree though. Why not prioritize Amtrak’s busiest California route?

I thought Pacific Surfliner was busier.

Getting a little off-topic here, but back when it was still at least a possibility, I thought the main HSR route via the Altamont Pass option, combined with an HSR-grade Capitol Corridor that had timed transfers in the Fremont/Union City area might have been a good way to have gone. (the upgrade of Cap Corr would have essentially replaced the Phase II alignment to Sac up the Central Valley)

the transfer for trips to San Jose seemed like the principal drawback, but if really timed well and was a simple cross-platform transfer, wouldn't have been too disruptive. and this would have given you much faster trip times to Sacramento from the entire Bay Area, and better East Bay connections (e.g., with BART that would have been much less expensive than the extension to SJ).

(also would have potentially annoyed the Atherton people less, since it literally doesn't go through their backyards)

I'm not sure Caltrain would have been able to get as much funding from HSR for its electrification with that alignment, though.

Love those photos from Timbad.

I saw that the Gondola was going up and down yesterday and also this morning.

My guess is that the public will have access sometime next week or during Dreamforce.

I don’t think it was a good idea to build a Gondola. Would have preferred a long escalator to get up there to the park.

Nice to see the place filling up the retail:

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranc...631&j=83782301

http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...en-picked.html

Of course there's no money actually in hand to do it.

A bit of bad news along with the good:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...h-13221933.php

well, and the alley is now getting a little makeover (I think as part of the 2nd St Streetscape project?), which may just be a raised crosswalk, along with one across the street in the foreground here

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1863/...5512469e_b.jpg

close-up of the paving treatment the alley is getting (the sidewalk on the right also seemed to be either a bulb-out or an overall widening as well)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1873/...56c7e505_b.jpg

The restaurant on top of the park as of 9/14/2018:

https://i.imgur.com/dOe2tdvh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OPTwTSVh.jpg

Gondola testing:

https://i.imgur.com/qe6195Mh.jpg