First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
#181
in Northern California
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 284
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Glad you avoided the latest trouble on BART:
Two pepper-sprayed in teen robbery on BART – The Mercury News
Two pepper-sprayed in teen robbery on BART – The Mercury News
#182
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Alternatively... there are more ways than driving to get to a BART station, for example being driven there - as Steerpike was - or taking public transit/uber etc. Or, as in my case, walking...
#183
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Clearly we need more BART crime to reduce the number of people using the system.
Alternatively... there are more ways than driving to get to a BART station, for example being driven there - as Steerpike was - or taking public transit/uber etc. Or, as in my case, walking...
Alternatively... there are more ways than driving to get to a BART station, for example being driven there - as Steerpike was - or taking public transit/uber etc. Or, as in my case, walking...
Life is becoming more and more of a hassle, I find myself restricted to a
10 mile radius because of traffic, parking and general over crowding. BART is just a symptom of the overall problem. I guess the reason I feel this way, having lived in the Bat Area since 1970, the quality of life here has diminished on an exponential scale.
#184
in Northern California
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 284
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Crime rates are also rising. Not just on BART. I live in a nice neighborhood but almost every day someone is subject to petty crimes like mail theft, car windows smashed and the like. Such events were rare when I first moved here 15 years ago.
#186
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
This Road is now a four lane busy road with houses on either side.
Taken circa mid 1990s
Attachment 128254
Taken circa mid 1990s
Attachment 128254
That's certainly true of where I live too.
#187
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Of course you are right, and it's been going on for generations. When I talk about this I'm reminded of my Father saying the same thing about West London. "All this use to be fields and farms"
#188
in Northern California
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 284
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
The population there has grown from about 4,000 in 1970 to almost 80,000 today. And it's a similar story in neighboring Dublin and Pleasanton too.
I consider that more than the usual "sprawl".
Last edited by malch; Aug 7th 2017 at 10:14 pm.
#189
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Bay Area Census -- County Population, 1860-2000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area
It would be interesting to know equivalent figures for the population of London and its surroundings.
#190
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
Oddly enough my wife said a few minutes ago, she we go to San Francisco this week, I said how are we going to get there? She thought we might go just after 9:00am and wait for a 10:00am spot. Really is that what we have to do just to catch a freaking train.
#191
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
No, you can uber/lyft it to BART...
#192
in Northern California
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 284
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
But I don't believe there's been anything like that kind of growth in the towns that I lived in around Surrey, Bucks and Berks.
#193
in Northern California
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 284
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
To be honest, we rarely make the trip anymore. We have a couple of friends who make the daily commute into the city and they do NOT enjoy it one little bit. I think both are looking for new jobs closer to home.
#194
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
What about the overall population growth of, say, a forty mile radius of London compared to the population growth of the Bay Area?
#195
in Northern California
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 284
Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_London
Of course, the population did fall in around the 1980's. But 1970-current is something like 7.5 to 8.5m, well short of Bay Area growth.