Amazon is looking for a second HQ. Why not, Pittsburgh? (Philadelphia: lawyers, bars)

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

I actually think Chicago has the most reliable and comprehensive transit in the nation right now.

We all like to think the East Coast has a leg up when it comes to Transit, just by looking at the comprehensiveness of various systems. But the infrastructure of Transit on the East Coast is in a dire state currently. Its NOT GOOD.

I think the problems in NYC and at metrorail (Capital region), while hassles, can be overcome. Maintenance is a reality. At least those places have their systems IN PLACE and operating. They reach millions of people.

You can have a system in tip top shape, but if its financially managed poorly and planned poorly, or simply does not have "reach", then what can you do? I think that is where we are. Who has a billion dollars to drop on expansion anymore? It took Toronto 30 years (40?) to get a 5 mile extension, and that may not be enough for their current needs.

So the T should be judged for what it is, not against what other cities have. There is no cookie cutter way to develop a metropolitan area. We all know that - our topography, our history, the bust of the steel industry, etc. all had an effect on priorities and the development of the T. It may be an amoeba in a pond of sharks like the NYC subway network, but this amoeba manages itself without problems (for the most part).

Metrorail expansion with the Silver Line was impressive, though. I was still living in VA when that just started. They probably more easily get cash from the Federal government, though. They started relocating utilities even before there was total commitment from the local municipalities! Gutsy.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Chicago is indeed expanding their system, for what it's worth -- at least, extending the Yellow Line that connects the Red Line out to Skokie is in the works, and that track has been extended already since what it was five years ago. It's important to note that this is effectively linking a very good suburb to the city, not just making the network within the city more dense. Even a modest extension of our Pittsburgh line would be amazing, though it seems like pie in the sky right now.

[Blackbeauty212]

Its not just about having train lines going in every direction that make good transit. You can have very good transit with Buses. Pittsburgh was a top 5 city for Transit usage, back before the cuts, and it was still mostly buses. Pittsburgh is still a top 10 city for Transit use.

Think about that still a top 10 city for usage, while PAT is the 23rd largest and the city went through 2 sets of doomsday cuts, which we have yet to fully recover from.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

Its not just about having train lines going in every direction that make good transit. You can have very good transit with Buses. Pittsburgh was a top 5 city for Transit usage, back before the cuts, and it was still mostly buses. Pittsburgh is still a top 10 city for Transit use.

Think about that still a top 10 city for usage, while PAT is the 23rd largest and the city went through 2 sets of doomsday cuts, which we have yet to fully recover from.

Having a large bus system allows the addition of new routes to service a new development very easily. I consider this a plus over light rail.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by guy2073

Having a large bus system allows the addition of new routes to service a new development very easily. I consider this a plus over light rail.

oh, absolutely! i would never vote for a T extension, unless things were dramatically different.

they should work with what they have, and improve on that - buses that run cleaner, with more horsepower, faster entry (cash receiving FASTER, please!), and so on.

i still think a fleet of smaller buses, or even large vans maybe quasi-privately run, but governed by the port authority, maybe, should be given a try for places like Banksville, Summer Hill, maybe even Highland Park. they would run more often, possibly be a subscription service of sorts, or maybe just a circulator between points of heavy use where full sized buses don't manage well.

[spoonman109]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

I don't know where Adobe is based. I was responding to a poster who talked about "all the other companies", then mentioned Microsoft.



Hey, don't kill the messenger here. I just made a list. It was not meant to convey any opinions. I personally am surprised there aren't more "Top 100" schools in NYC and environs.

Rutgers University can count for New York and Newark. The campus has a direct express train right into downtown Newark and Midtown Manhattan. Ranked #69 (tied with Stevens). Enrollment 49,577

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by spoonman109

Rutgers University can count for New York and Newark. The campus has a direct express train right into downtown Newark and Midtown Manhattan. Ranked #69 (tied with Stevens). Enrollment 49,577

OK, cool! I'll edit later.

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by guy2073

Having a large bus system allows the addition of new routes to service a new development very easily. I consider this a plus over light rail.

Exactly, also part of the reason that SEPTA is not a huge advantage over PAT. Pittsburgh has the busways, HOV lanes, and light rail which provide a pretty functional mass transit ROW in each direction. And looks like not too long will also have a new BRT line to the east.

Busses can diverge and merge from various points in the neighborhoods to provide good coverage, and then hit the busways and HOV for quick access to the city core. SEPTA does not have busways or significant HOV at all as far as I'm aware..

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by spoonman109

Rutgers University can count for New York and Newark. The campus has a direct express train right into downtown Newark and Midtown Manhattan. Ranked #69 (tied with Stevens). Enrollment 49,577

*envy* think about being in college, and taking an express into manhattan for an evening, or a weekend day. through your college career of 4 years, you could just take a day a month to explore manhattan, and still not see all its curious nooks and hidden gems.

[Katarina Witt]

Edited list

Atlanta:
#21 Emory U
#34 Georgia Tech
#54 U of Georgia

Austin:
#56 U Texas at Austin

Boston:
#2 Harvard
#5 MIT
#29 Tufts
#32 Boston College
#35 Brandeis
#37 Boston University
#40 Northeastern University
#61 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
#81 Clark University

Chicago:
#3 University of Chicago
#11 Northwestern U.

Columbus, OH:
#54 Ohio State

Dallas:
#61 Southern Methodist U
#78 Texas Christian U

Denver:
#75 Colorado School of Mines
#87 University of Denver
#90 University of Colorado Boulder

Indianapolis:
#56 Purdue (65 mi)
#90 Indiana U

Los Angeles:
#10 Caltech (Pasadena)
#21 UCLA
#21 U of Southern California
#42 U of Cal Irvine (Irvine)
#42 UC San Diego
#46 Pepperdine
#90 University of San Diego

Miami:
#46 U of Miami

Montgomery County, MD
#11 Johns Hopkins U (Baltimore)
#61 U Maryland College Park
Plus all the DC universities

Nashville
#14 Vanderbilt

Newark:
#69 Stevens Institute of Tech Hoboken
#69 Rutgers
Plus all the NYC schools

NYC:
#5 Columbia
#30 New York U
#61 Fordham
#69 Rutgers
#94 Yeshiva U
#97 SUNY at Stony Brook (Long Island)

NOVA:
#32 College of William and Mary
All the DC schools

Philadelphia:
#1 Princeton (Princeton NJ)
#8 U of Pennsylvania
#46 Villanova
#81 U of Delaware (Newark, DE)

Pittsburgh
#25 Carnegie Mellon U
#68 U of Pittsburgh

Raleigh
#9 Duke U
#30 U of NC at Chapel Hill
#81 North Carolina State U

Washington, DC
#20 Georgetown
#56 George Washington U
#69 American U

Toronto:
N/A

Interestingly, Seattle has:
#56 U of Washington

Best computer science programs is a little harder to find; US News ranks the graduate programs. Here's another one: https://www.niche.com/colleges/searc...puter-science/
Top 25:
MIT, Stanford, CMU, Harvard, Caltech, Yale, Rice, GA Tech, USC, Penn, Vanderbilt, Brown, Columbia, Cal Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, Dartmouth, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Cornell, U of Chicago, U of Michigan Ann Arbor, UCLA, Washington U St. Louis, Duke, Renseleaer Polytech Troy NY, University of Texas Austin.