It's funny seeing that people's attitudes haven't changed in 100 years. Today in San Francisco you still see a small minority of NIMBYs protesting every little change. But the difference is, now they actually have the power to completely block projects. What changed?
If I had to wager, I would say CEQA making it much harder to build, and much easier to block any construction.
Tons of laws changed, particularly in response to the construction of urban highways and “slum clearance” both of which involved the demolition of entire neighborhoods
Cool article! The Golden Gate is so iconic that Portugal contracted American companies to build a similar one in Lisbon and painted it the same color: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_de_Abril_Bridge
Originally it had only 4 car lanes (2 in each direction), but was designed to be expanded and some 30 years later two new lanes were added and two sets of train tracks were built in the lower deck, which now carry both intercity and suburban trains that are much faster than driving during rush hour. An interesting unique feature is that 2 of the lanes are made of steel grating instead of asphalt in order to reduce aerodynamic forces in high winds.
It's so easy to look at decades old successes and scoff at opponents, but without hindsight it's easy to appreciate criticism. We're no smarter or more sophisticated than anyone back then, and shouldn't use a story like this to justify making fun of opponents of new projects, today. I'm certain that there are 10 boondoggles to every success like this, and if we took those into account, maybe we'd be a bit more sober about our criticism of people whom we've never met who healthily question everything.
Something to note is they have “automatic gates” that are supposed to prevent overnight pedestrian access while allowing overnight bicycle access. Can anyone share how these gates work in practice?
I'm pretty surprised to see all this bridge hate. I use the bridge multiple times a week to mountain bike or surf in north bay. I picked my spot in the city in part because of it's proximity to the bridge.
Traffic projections were “over-optimistic” is the anti-bridge argument that could have swayed me the most. I’ve always been struck by the contrast in population density north and south of the Golden Gate. Perhaps because Marin is more mountainous than the mildly hilly San Francisco?
a bridge to nowhere, that's a blight on that neighborhood in SF (in the middle of a beautiful park), and has served to fuel and encourage car culture, and does not integrate with public transit in the slightest
few civic minded people celebrate the freeways that have torn 20th century cities apart, and this bridge is (a very pretty) extension of this
If I imagine it as an ugly bridge then I can see your points well. But I really think you have to figure the beauty of it into the equation. It draws unbelievable tourism to the city. My wife (a Brazilian) has a tattoo of it - that's how strong the allure is for some people (although of course there are people all around the world who have a tattoo of whatever architectural icon that drew them to their adopted city). $35M to make your city an international icon is a bargain. Of course the creators probably had no idea it would have that kind of impact but my only point is that when talking about the GGB the beauty is an inextricable part of the equation.
When I lived in SF, I really enjoyed taking the Muni 76X express bus from downtown SF across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods. It only runs on the weekends, but that's not the bridge's fault.
and does not integrate with public transit in the slightest
I used to live in SF and commuted to Sausalito daily, either by GGT bus or bike (or rarely, took the ferry but riding home from the ferry wasn't much shorter than just riding to Sausalito).
Of all the bridges in the bay area, the Golden Gate is the least deserving of such contempt IMHO.
At least pedestrians and cyclists can make use of it, I've done multiple bike rides from The Sunset to Marin/Sausalito/Larkspur via the GGB. Never a bad time.
The Bay Bridge however, now that's a bridge I can get behind hating on. Lots of lost opportunity.
[+] [-] cheesy_luigi|3 years ago|reply
If I had to wager, I would say CEQA making it much harder to build, and much easier to block any construction.
[+] [-] seoaeu|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ginja|3 years ago|reply
Originally it had only 4 car lanes (2 in each direction), but was designed to be expanded and some 30 years later two new lanes were added and two sets of train tracks were built in the lower deck, which now carry both intercity and suburban trains that are much faster than driving during rush hour. An interesting unique feature is that 2 of the lanes are made of steel grating instead of asphalt in order to reduce aerodynamic forces in high winds.
The other bridge across the Tagus is also remarkable, given that it is the longest in the EU: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama_Bridge
[+] [-] Lammy|3 years ago|reply
I love how it looks like we just copied them back :p https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_span_replacement_of_th...
[+] [-] goatcode|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Cupertino95014|3 years ago|reply
leave out the adverb.
If you question everything you're not adding any information. If you support some things and question others, then people tend to listen to you.
[+] [-] tomcam|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bombcar|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CoffeeOnWrite|3 years ago|reply
https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/visiting-the-bridge/bikes-...
[+] [-] knoxa2511|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anewpersonality|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] divbzero|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bsimpson|3 years ago|reply
That was the coolest fireworks show I've ever seen.
[+] [-] gumby|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tingletech|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] basedgod|3 years ago|reply
few civic minded people celebrate the freeways that have torn 20th century cities apart, and this bridge is (a very pretty) extension of this
[+] [-] kaycebasques|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xivzgrev|3 years ago|reply
The Golden Gate Bridge does not have a subway. But it does carry a lot of buses. It also has biking and walking lanes, unlike other Bay Area bridges.
Is your ideal to have no bridges, or at least bridges closed to individual cars (Like market st)?
[+] [-] humanistbot|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Johnny555|3 years ago|reply
I used to live in SF and commuted to Sausalito daily, either by GGT bus or bike (or rarely, took the ferry but riding home from the ferry wasn't much shorter than just riding to Sausalito).
[+] [-] pengaru|3 years ago|reply
At least pedestrians and cyclists can make use of it, I've done multiple bike rides from The Sunset to Marin/Sausalito/Larkspur via the GGB. Never a bad time.
The Bay Bridge however, now that's a bridge I can get behind hating on. Lots of lost opportunity.