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I got to ride the Beijing subway multiple times when I visited China a year ago. It really is just about the same experience as riding a subway in any other major city, and the air is actually cleaner down there than it is above ground!
Not to mention the price -- just 2 yüan, or about 32 cents!
The dark side of some of that construction, from what I've heard, is how the government bought up some of the land and kicked poorer people out of their homes. Still, what they did for train infrastructure is nothing compared to what they've done (and are still doing) to build more automobile infrastructure. Robert Moses would feel right at home among these Chinese planners.
If the 2nd Avenue subway is any indication, this would take literally thousands of years to build. Whole civilizations would rise and fall while we wait.
and we're still building one line for the past five years and much more to come.
(2nd ave)
I WISH it were 5 years:
Quote:
The Second Avenue Subway has been a plan and occasional construction project since 1929. After several starts and interruptions, mostly because of lack of
funds, the most recent and financially secure construction plan was launched
when a tunnelling contract was awarded to the consortium of
Schiavone/Shea/Skanska (S3) by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on March
20, 2007.
Oh that Phase Two up to 125th and across connecting with almost all the other lines in the City would be wonderful but I'll never live long enough to see it and I am planning on 20 more years.
I will settle for Phase One so I can forget the Lexington line exists.
While Americans complain that there are few jobs out there, I see a lot of construction sites progress at the 1/10 of the speed of that in red china.
Look at all those bumpy roads in outer boros and those big pieces of iron plates covering the streets for years....these are truly sorrowful things that do not go well with the "greatest city in the world" as some NYC patriots would ignorantly confer to NYC.
It is an interesting city, but far from being the greatest one...so before you NYC patriots say that again, you should realize that you are being very outdated.
While Americans complain that there are few jobs out there, I see a lot of construction sites progress at the 1/10 of the speed of that in red china.
Look at all those bumpy roads in outer boros and those big pieces of iron plates covering the streets for years....these are truly sorrowful things that do not go well with the "greatest city in the world" as some NYC patriots would ignorantly confer to NYC.
It is an interesting city, but far from being the greatest one...so before you NYC patriots say that again, you should realize that you are being very outdated.
Does China have an equivalent to OSHA? It's easy to build lightning fast when you're cutting corners...at least once a year you hear of some major construction accident:
While Americans complain that there are few jobs out there, I see a lot of construction sites progress at the 1/10 of the speed of that in red china.
Look at all those bumpy roads in outer boros and those big pieces of iron plates covering the streets for years....these are truly sorrowful things that do not go well with the "greatest city in the world" as some NYC patriots would ignorantly confer to NYC.
It is an interesting city, but far from being the greatest one...so before you NYC patriots say that again, you should realize that you are being very outdated.
You're confusing "new" with "great". Hence the rush to demolish the old and put up the new. Fast forward 15 years and see how the residents of Beijing feel about their courtyard houses and communities being demolished and taken from them to live in one of the committee-planned innumerable hi-rise living boxes (trailer parks in the sky). Only in retropsect will it be seen what was lost. Learning from other's mistakes - not going to happen.
We could demolish the Brooklyn Bridge and put up a new one that needs less maintenance and looks shiny. But we're not going to.
Does China have an equivalent to OSHA? It's easy to build lightning fast when you're cutting corners...at least once a year you hear of some major construction accident:
Yea but its new and they built it quick. Thats what makes it great. Like the high-speed rail disaster. They got that built quick too. Image before substance.
Aside from finishing stalled projects started decades ago such as the 2nd Ave Subway or extending lines already set, light rail and rapid bus systems are cheaper to build and maintain and offer more flexibility to alter than traditiona subways. Jersey City and Bayonne which wasare good candidates for a subway have a light rail system and buses serve well some areas. New York City is already taking a cue from Los Angeles and instituting rapid bus transit in Manhattan. In the past such service were express commuter buses going from the borough to a few point in Manhattan usually below 59th Street,
Unfortunately we're absolutely extorted by private firms and developers who are often consultants, expect costs to run over and face little reprimand from the legal system. Our costs of subway expansion are 4 times what the costs are in London (with higher wages) and seven times the cost in Paris (with higher wages and worker benefits). It's asinine to think that Paris and London do not have underground infrastructure/utilities that would be disrupted - they do. Yet projects move ahead and they're not so abused by contracting firms as our municipalities are.
We need legislation to protect municipalities, perhaps opening their processes to review also, limit court action and ensure a better procurement system. In China sure they're building massive projects as the government has absolute authority to push projects through, but in Japan and much of Europe large projects move forward without the stagnation we face, and at 10-20 percent of our costs.
A quick article that points out some of our (rather needless) costs:
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