Quote:
Originally Posted by mthd
without the terminal and possibility of the dtx extension, there is no upzoning. the upzoning was borne out of the hope of generating incremental revenue to fund improvements in the area, namely the new terminal.
we might want them to do it anyway, but politically i cannot imagine it.
annoying sf politics aside, i couldn't disagree more with the notion that the extension isn't worth building. it may be the only really $$ transit project in the bay area that IS worth building. tall buildings and high density are impossible without good transit, and transferring to the n-judah or t-third at 4th & townsend is ridiculously slow. downtown needs regional rail connections and caltrain is it as far as parts south are concerned.
the development in progress around 4th & townsend is a tiny little drop in the bucket compared to the current volume of use around the terminal, not to mention the enormous future growth imagined.
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I completely agree. That's the whole point of constructing the transbay terminal, to eliminate the number of connections required. As the eastern part of the city continues to mushroom in population and more jobs are located downtown, the current infrastructure will be insufficient. Add to this all of the commuters from the South Bay on Caltrain, and eventually from SoCal on the high speed rail and you'll need a better transit hub.
In addition, I think that an urban centerpiece is not only forward thinking, but it will be the catalyst to further accelerate development of the area. I see how Yerba Buena Gardens has created a dynamic new area of the city and I'm sure we'll see a similar thing here, only on a grander scale.
Sure, it will be a hassle to construct things underground and to inconvenience residents, but isn't that exactly what happened back in the 60s, when they were constructing BART under Market Street? Can you imagine SF today without BART running right through downtown?