New UTC apartments

[johnmatrix]

Do you guys think Westfield will make the new planned housing at the UTC mall condos or apartments?

ps. I put together this site, http://www.newutc.com, to compile all the information I’ve been able to gather online related to Westfield’s redevelopment of the UTC mall.

[briansd1]

Great development. We could use more density in that area.
Condos or apartments, it’s all good. I’m hoping for condos though. I want to see this succeed so we have more developments of this kind.

[UCGal]

It wouldn’t be a stretch to put another residential high rise in that area – Costa Verde is already there, right across the street.

It makes sense in many ways – it’s a transportation hub, there’s shopping and restaurants.

My husband and I talked about, before we built the companion unit, downsizing to a condo in one of the high rises at UTC once the kids are grown… have a walkable lifestyle, only need one car (for vacations and further out errands), etc.

[an]

[quote=UCGal]It wouldn’t be a stretch to put another residential high rise in that area – Costa Verde is already there, right across the street.

It makes sense in many ways – it’s a transportation hub, there’s shopping and restaurants.

My husband and I talked about, before we built the companion unit, downsizing to a condo in one of the high rises at UTC once the kids are grown… have a walkable lifestyle, only need one car (for vacations and further out errands), etc.[/quote]
Once the trolly goes from UTC through MM (which they already have plans for), you will be able to get to most stuff you need without the need of a car.

[briansd1]

UCgal, AN is right, when you retire, the trolley should have made it’s way to UTC, perhaps with a link into the airport.

There should build other complexes at Mira Mesa Mall and Westview shopping area, and link all of it to UTC and directly to the UCSD campus. That would greatly add affordable housing for the student population.

[enron_by_the_sea]

Someone is building a big apartment building in Miramesa near Westview as we speak.

[enron_by_the_sea]

I know its a hijack, but how about just expanding the bus service?

Why do some people have this fetish with train lines? They take forever to build, almost never result into positive RoI and you have this problem of how to get to/from train station to where you need to go.

Buses on the other hand can go anywhere, do not need huge infrastructure build-out, can be expanded/updated in the direction of real demand, much cheaper to run and possibly do not have as negative RoI as the trains/trolley…

[briansd1]

Bus is slow and subject to traffic.
I love high speed train service.

My own experience is that trains encourage ridership when they are punctual to the minute. You can wait for buses and they never show up. You miss them frequently and traveling by bus takes a 1/2 day just get to the destination.

When I’m in Philly, to go to the airport, I’d rather walk 1.5 miles to the train station than to wait for the bus, then transfer, because I can’t rely on the bus to be timely. I could wait forever and I’d miss my flight. Maybe they should build a smart phone app to give updates of bus schedules.

[UCGal]

The best public transit systems are hybrids of light rail and bus.
Philly is a good example of this – Septa to bring folks in from the burbs. The El and the Broad Street line for intra-city cross town type stuff. And buses to get between neighborhoods.

A good friend in Philly was 37 before she got her drivers license – was a mom, employee, functioning person all without a car.

When I was in NYC 2 years ago for a week we used 100% public transportation – trains/subway combos to get to/from the airport. Cross town buses to get across central park. Subway lines to go north/south. We didn’t even use a taxi… all public transit. It was fast and looking at the people on the buses and subways – it was the way everyone traveled – including the middle class and professional folks. All it took was watching who got on/off the bus near the Met museum to convince you it wasn’t just the poor folks on the bus in NYC.

San Diego’s public transit has some good and some bad. If you live in UTC, Fashion Valley, or Downtown – you can get pretty much anywhere. The trolleys are great. I have quite a few friends who commute by coaster. But if you don’t live or work near a bus line, it’s awful.

[SmellsFeeshy]

So they are going ahead with the building of residences at the mall after all? I remember hearing that the project had been put on hold originally due to the market crash, but I guess now that the market is recovering they are going to build?

[briansd1]

[quote=UCGal]The best public transit systems are hybrids of light rail and bus.
Philly is a good example of this – Septa to bring folks in from the burbs. The El and the Broad Street line for intra-city cross town type stuff. And buses to get between neighborhoods.

A good friend in Philly was 37 before she got her drivers license – was a mom, employee, functioning person all without a car.
[/quote]

As you’re mentioned before, even Philly has suburban sprawl.

Philly is pretty good as American cities go, but if you look at the map you see large parts of the city unreachable by subway or train.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=philadelphia,+pa&hl=en&ll=39.955741,-75.163736&spn=0.049279,0.091667&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.621706,93.867188&vpsrc=6&hnear=Philadelphia,+Pennsylvania&t=m&z=14
That only leaves the bus, but many buses only come every 1/2 hour and if you miss it, you’re screwed. So you have to get to the bus stop 1/2 hour ahead of time. And with waiting time, that could easily turn to 1 hour, not including the ride time, the transfer time, and time to ride on the train, plus any other transfer and waiting for the bus to destination.

The bus stops a short block away from my place in Philly. If I take that it will take me near the train station to the airport making it convenient for me. I’ve tried waiting for the bus without success. So I walk to the train station instead. Not good when it snows or rains.

My idea of a good public transport system is Paris, France where every residence is within 500 meters of a subway station. Everything is dense but fairly low-rise, without the suburban sprawl we have here.

Other than NY, when you look at American public transport maps, you see the train extending out to the suburbs rather then servicing the urban core (which is not good ROI because of low density). For example, San Francisco’s bart has only one line going across the city. The cable car is a tourist thing and the buses are unreliably timely (I once stayed at Fisherman’s Wharf and took the bus to other parts of the city. It’s very time consuming).

In America, I don’t think that we want people without cars to be mobile and to get to work on time. Our cities are planned accordingly. It’s almost hopeless. I think that we fund buses just to claim that we care about the poor, but in reality, we don’t.

Talking about ROI, Las Vegas would be the perfect place for a train line, directly from the airport terminal to the hotels on Strip, thus reducing inconvenience and pollution. There would be huge rideship day and night, but that would put the fleets of private cars and taxis out of business.

I take public transport myself, whenever convenient or available (such as bus to and from One America Plaza to SD airport). I challenge anyone who criticizes public transport to take it themselves.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=briansd1] . . . I take public transport myself, whenever convenient or available (such as bus to and from One America Plaza to SD airport). I challenge anyone who criticizes public transport to take it themselves.[/quote]

I’ve taken this bus to the airport as well, brian, when I didn’t want to bother friends in the middle of the business day for a ride to the airport. It’s VERY convenient (if you will be checking just one bag). Also, I used to leave my car underground in my workplace parking lot (employer-paid) while out of town on short trips. The other times I’ve taken the trolley and bus when my car was in the shop were, of course, slower, but got me exactly where I needed to go.

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