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Here we go. This is from the 2010 Census and the primary mode of transit to work. It's basically an average percentage away from even. So I took all the modes of transit to work and calculated the average percent difference away from the middle (i.e. 6 modes split up evenly would be 16.67% as the middle point).
The greener something is, the more diverse the commutes are and the more red means more one sided
Here we go. This is from the 2010 Census and the primary mode of transit to work. It's basically an average percentage away from even. So I took all the modes of transit to work and calculated the average percent difference away from the middle (i.e. 6 modes split up evenly would be 16.67% as the middle point).
The greener something is, the more diverse the commutes are and the more red means more one sided
I live in a city that people describe as automobile optional (SF) and I'm really not being hyperbolic but literally everyone I know has a car and each member of a family has a car. And unless you work in the Financial District or are going to a place that is just easier to get to / deal with using public transportation (one example out of many = a Giants game), we drive just about everywhere no matter the distance really. Now I've lived here my whole life, as has everyone I really know (again not being hyperbolic) - so is that a native thing where as transplants are more likely to be car free? I just don't understand how people get by with out one. This may sound silly but how do you go grocery shopping at a Safeway or something? Do people just get what they can carry and make multiple trips a month via public transportation or something as opposed to stocking up? How do you handle making any kind of physically large purchase? Borrow cars or take cabs or what? Getting a cab for such things seems ridiculous to me. Apologies for my ignorance and getting kind of off topic.
Last edited by RadicalAtheist; 04-11-2014 at 08:40 PM..
^^^Maybe it's where you live and your very unique perspective. First of all, it's amazing that everyone you know is born and raised in SF. Apparently that is truly a rare breed . I'm a transplant, and in my office of ~10, not one person is from here.
1 from Chicago
1 from Boston
1 from western Mass
1 from Hartford
1 from Greenwich
1 from East Bay (Piedmont) - she's the most local one
Our office admin is from Oakland (so also local I guess, but not from city)
1 from Guam
1 from Bend, OR
I'm from Jacksonville, FL
Our office is in the financial district - $500+/mo to park in our tiny little garage (for a 1.2 million SF building). Of the above, 6 or 7 have cars. Most pay ~$200+/mo to park in their residential neighborhoods, or they rotate streets if they have street parking, but nobody is using their car to run errands, commute, or "get around". Way too much of a hassle to lose your spot or to find a spot when going grocery shopping.
For errands, grocery shopping in particular, most neighborhoods are of walking convenience. I am within a block of several convenience stores and Real Food Co, and within 4-5 blocks of WF and TJ's. WF has underground parking, and yes there is usually a line of cars in the street waiting to get in. But at the same time, that's why in the time it takes for 1 car to enter the garage, 6-10 of us walked up. Still, I get 90+% of my groceries from local grocers, convenience stores, and corner markets around me. I also use Walgreens to get a fair amount of staples (have 3 to choose from within 2-5 blocks).
In a nutshell, I'm not sure your experience is necessarily "typical" of an SF resident experience. Most people have cars (SF is also about the richest city in the country, so everyone has a friggin Prius, Tesla, Beemer, or Asian/Euro import, but uses for Tahoe or Napa trips on weekends rather than getting around on weekdays). Also, SF, NYC, and DC are the most transplant heavy cities I've been in. It's rare to run into a native that is born and raised and lived here all or most of his/her life. So props to you for being one, but no props for surrounding yourself with others who are natives. Part of the fun of the city is that everyone comes from somewhere else and brings something cool/unique to the table from wherever they're from or lived prior.
Also, just look at Muni ridership stats. Almost the same amount of people who live in the city are using a form of Muni every day. Muni is only within SF city limits, so this doesn't factor in BART (which is mostly B&T riders with some city riders), or other commuter transit options (Caltrains, ACT, etc etc).
Unlinked trips (like all APTA numbers)
LRT - 214,600/day
Bus - 305,900/day
Trolley bus - 193,100
Total excluding cable cars (we know that's mostly tourists) - 713,600 (divide by 2 for each way and 356,800). SF population is 837K, so that's a huge chunk using Muni to commute each day within the city.
Drove to work: 45.8%
Drove alone: 38.5%
Public Transit: 33.0%
Walked: 15.1%
Bicycle: 1.7%
Taxi: 0.9%
Worked @ Home: 3.6%
Transit/walk/bike/taxi: 50.7%
I think cities like Boston, DC, and SF are trending more towards NYC in "car ownership" than Atlanta, LA, Houston, etc. Yes, people own cars. People in the NE Quadrant of SF (the densest part) probably have car ownership rates not too dissimilar to Manhattan, whereas people in other parts of the city probably have higher ownership rates but use rates still quite low (comparing to say Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, etc). Owning and using day to day are also two different things. SF has a high amount of workers who leave the city for work and notable transit limitations there (Caltrains is at capacity, for instance, forcing the "Google busses", which only can get another 40,000 or so workers). If you worked tech in the valley, you might commute by car. If you are a realtor, like anywhere in the country, you'll be driving around. If you are an executive in the financial district, you might commute via driver, alone, so does that count as Driving Alone in Vehicle?
I guess bottom line is, I don't believe the stats and my own experience lead me to believe that SF and peer cities are overhyped as car free cities. I personally don't own a car, and couldn't imagine dealing with one here. My roommate is a realtor and needs one. So he has one and uses it daily. It's a blessing and a curse to have one.
^^^Maybe it's where you live and your very unique perspective. First of all, it's amazing that everyone you know is born and raised in SF. Apparently that is truly a rare breed . I'm a transplant, and in my office of ~10, not one person is from here.
1 from Chicago
1 from Boston
1 from western Mass
1 from Hartford
1 from Greenwich
1 from East Bay (Piedmont) - she's the most local one
Our office admin is from Oakland (so also local I guess, but not from city)
1 from Guam
1 from Bend, OR
I'm from Jacksonville, FL
Our office is in the financial district - $500+/mo to park in our tiny little garage (for a 1.2 million SF building). Of the above, 6 or 7 have cars. Most pay ~$200+/mo to park in their residential neighborhoods, or they rotate streets if they have street parking, but nobody is using their car to run errands, commute, or "get around". Way too much of a hassle to lose your spot or to find a spot when going grocery shopping.
For errands, grocery shopping in particular, most neighborhoods are of walking convenience. I am within a block of several convenience stores and Real Food Co, and within 4-5 blocks of WF and TJ's. WF has underground parking, and yes there is usually a line of cars in the street waiting to get in. But at the same time, that's why in the time it takes for 1 car to enter the garage, 6-10 of us walked up. Still, I get 90+% of my groceries from local grocers, convenience stores, and corner markets around me. I also use Walgreens to get a fair amount of staples (have 3 to choose from within 2-5 blocks).
In a nutshell, I'm not sure your experience is necessarily "typical" of an SF resident experience. Most people have cars (SF is also about the richest city in the country, so everyone has a friggin Prius, Tesla, Beemer, or Asian/Euro import, but uses for Tahoe or Napa trips on weekends rather than getting around on weekdays). Also, SF, NYC, and DC are the most transplant heavy cities I've been in. It's rare to run into a native that is born and raised and lived here all or most of his/her life. So props to you for being one, but no props for surrounding yourself with others who are natives. Part of the fun of the city is that everyone comes from somewhere else and brings something cool/unique to the table from wherever they're from or lived prior.
Also, just look at Muni ridership stats. Almost the same amount of people who live in the city are using a form of Muni every day. Muni is only within SF city limits, so this doesn't factor in BART (which is mostly B&T riders with some city riders), or other commuter transit options (Caltrains, ACT, etc etc).
Unlinked trips (like all APTA numbers)
LRT - 214,600/day
Bus - 305,900/day
Trolley bus - 193,100
Total excluding cable cars (we know that's mostly tourists) - 713,600 (divide by 2 for each way and 356,800). SF population is 837K, so that's a huge chunk using Muni to commute each day within the city.
Drove to work: 45.8%
Drove alone: 38.5%
Public Transit: 33.0%
Walked: 15.1%
Bicycle: 1.7%
Taxi: 0.9%
Worked @ Home: 3.6%
Transit/walk/bike/taxi: 50.7%
I think cities like Boston, DC, and SF are trending more towards NYC in "car ownership" than Atlanta, LA, Houston, etc. Yes, people own cars. People in the NE Quadrant of SF (the densest part) probably have car ownership rates not too dissimilar to Manhattan, whereas people in other parts of the city probably have higher ownership rates but use rates still quite low (comparing to say Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, etc). Owning and using day to day are also two different things. SF has a high amount of workers who leave the city for work and notable transit limitations there (Caltrains is at capacity, for instance, forcing the "Google busses", which only can get another 40,000 or so workers). If you worked tech in the valley, you might commute by car. If you are a realtor, like anywhere in the country, you'll be driving around. If you are an executive in the financial district, you might commute via driver, alone, so does that count as Driving Alone in Vehicle?
I guess bottom line is, I don't believe the stats and my own experience lead me to believe that SF and peer cities are overhyped as car free cities. I personally don't own a car, and couldn't imagine dealing with one here. My roommate is a realtor and needs one. So he has one and uses it daily. It's a blessing and a curse to have one.
I'm actually intrigued by MUNI's rail network and it's ability to move around people in San Fran. I'm intrigued because DC is building the exact same network and I can't wait to see it's impact on transporation and especially development in this city. The DC streetcar system will fill in the gaps between the DC metro and will allow hundreds of thousands of additional people to live in the city core through increased density along the routes of the 37 mile, 8 line system. Most of the population growth over the next 30 years will be around streetcar routes, the new blue line metro loop, and in downtown DC by repurposed office buildings converting to residential.
I do think DC will probably have the second most populated core by 2030 behind NYC because of the amount of development potential that exists in the core. That is the reason I'm on the fence about the height limit. No city outside of NYC will be builtup as far as DC will. It's pushing development miles from downtown in every direction. You will be living in 9 story highrises 3-5 miles from the CBD in many places. Only NYC has that dynamic. If we didn't have height limits, we would just build up in downtown which keeps the rest of the city low rise at 2-4 stories.
Last edited by MDAllstar; 04-12-2014 at 10:03 AM..
Which US cities have the most vibrant urban core outside the traditional 6 (NYC,CHI,SF,BOS,PHILLY,DC).
Let's say top 4 just to round out the 10. Please exclude places that are primary vacation destinations (AC, Vegas Strip). I'm defining urban core as the downtown and adjoining urban neighborhoods.
I'm actually intrigued by MUNI's rail network and it's ability to move around people in San Fran. I'm intrigued because DC is building the exact same network and I can't wait to see it's impact on transporation and especially development in this city. The DC streetcar system will fill in the gaps between the DC metro and will allow hundreds of thousands of additional people to live in the city core through increased density along the routes of the 37 mile, 8 line system.
DC is not building the same exact network. The MUNI rail network is partially underground, the DC streetcar is not.
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. I'm a transplant, and in my office of ~10, not one person is from here.
