As you may have heard, TriplePundit is developing a three-part multimedia series to examine the challenges facing many tech companies when it comes to their impact on communities. Next up, TRANSPORTATION.
Along with the influx of new residents come congested freeways and new pressures on public transportation. The San Francisco Bay Area’s physical geography (a peninsula), and a lack of historical attention to mixed-use urban planning, have constrained affordable and desirable housing near centers of industry. The result is long commutes for many workers.
We’ll explore how people get to work: How long does it take, and how do people travel? We’ll also take a historical look at the urban planning decisions made by Silicon Valley cities. Finally, we’ll look at the private buses tech titans employ to get their employees to work. Is this a Band-Aid or an effective permanent solution?
We’ll investigate:
- The evolution of public transport and roads in the Bay Area – why is public transportation so difficult in the sprawling Silicon Valley?
- How the politics of a small number of homeowners cripples Caltrain and other transit options
