lexande
@lexande.bsky.social
People need a place to go.
https://transit-timelines.github.io/
mastodon.social/@lexande
twitter.com/threestationsq
https://transit-timelines.github.io/
mastodon.social/@lexande
twitter.com/threestationsq
How about Brown Line extension to Jefferson Park or Montrose?
November 23, 2025 at 1:20 AM
How about Brown Line extension to Jefferson Park or Montrose?
If you're comparing to quoted US pretax salary those often already have most of the cost of health insurance subtracted/"paid by employer". At Google the paystub deduction for health insurance was $0; when I worked for CUNY it was like 1% of my income. Far less than the statutory German 8%.
November 23, 2025 at 1:09 AM
If you're comparing to quoted US pretax salary those often already have most of the cost of health insurance subtracted/"paid by employer". At Google the paystub deduction for health insurance was $0; when I worked for CUNY it was like 1% of my income. Far less than the statutory German 8%.
I think more important than the ring routes is the fact that the radial lines often intersect with transfer stations outside the core, providing two-seat crosstown connections with radial frequency. But the two spots in Chicago where lines cross outside downtown don't even have transfer stations!
November 23, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I think more important than the ring routes is the fact that the radial lines often intersect with transfer stations outside the core, providing two-seat crosstown connections with radial frequency. But the two spots in Chicago where lines cross outside downtown don't even have transfer stations!
My rent in Berlin is the same as it was in Boston.
November 23, 2025 at 12:45 AM
My rent in Berlin is the same as it was in Boston.
Wasn't that going to be super infrequent commuter rail?
November 23, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Wasn't that going to be super infrequent commuter rail?
The ring routes mostly run with tram-sized vehicles because there isn't enough demand to fill RER-sized trains. Everybody fantasizes about a ring route between their personal outlying destinations but in fact ring routes usually mean three-seat rides, might still be faster to change downtown.
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 AM
The ring routes mostly run with tram-sized vehicles because there isn't enough demand to fill RER-sized trains. Everybody fantasizes about a ring route between their personal outlying destinations but in fact ring routes usually mean three-seat rides, might still be faster to change downtown.
They ran every 10 minutes with no problem on the exact same infrastructure 70 years ago, give me a break.
November 23, 2025 at 12:30 AM
They ran every 10 minutes with no problem on the exact same infrastructure 70 years ago, give me a break.
Right now during midday periods trains leave Millennium station at :00, :20, and :55 after the hour. Making those evenly spaced (thereby cutting the worst-case waiting time almost in half) could be done with the same number & size of crews as today.
November 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Right now during midday periods trains leave Millennium station at :00, :20, and :55 after the hour. Making those evenly spaced (thereby cutting the worst-case waiting time almost in half) could be done with the same number & size of crews as today.
Metra can start running MED frequently all day any time they want.
November 22, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Metra can start running MED frequently all day any time they want.
The Madrid, Moscow and London metros reach pretty far out.
November 22, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The Madrid, Moscow and London metros reach pretty far out.
Seems a little unfair to leave out the RER
November 22, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Seems a little unfair to leave out the RER
Stoplights and left-turning cars can be as big an issue as mixed traffic.
November 22, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Stoplights and left-turning cars can be as big an issue as mixed traffic.
Yeah but the non mixed traffic TTC streetcar segments (e.g. Spadina) aren't especially faster as I understand it?
November 22, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Yeah but the non mixed traffic TTC streetcar segments (e.g. Spadina) aren't especially faster as I understand it?
But in the same period Toronto transit planning was focused on doubling down on in-street surface rail, with Transit City.
November 22, 2025 at 5:42 PM
But in the same period Toronto transit planning was focused on doubling down on in-street surface rail, with Transit City.
I definitely expect that, but they aren't going to invest in lots of office space then. And it still seems plausible that tech employment won't return to its 2022 peak.
November 21, 2025 at 9:00 PM
I definitely expect that, but they aren't going to invest in lots of office space then. And it still seems plausible that tech employment won't return to its 2022 peak.
Isn't the most recently founded one still Facebook, from 2004?
Tech jobs & VC investments are a *lot* harder to come by than they were in the 2010s, with AI stuff a pretty narrow exception. Maybe VC appetite for "the next Facebook" will return post-AI but maybe it won't.
Tech jobs & VC investments are a *lot* harder to come by than they were in the 2010s, with AI stuff a pretty narrow exception. Maybe VC appetite for "the next Facebook" will return post-AI but maybe it won't.
November 21, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Isn't the most recently founded one still Facebook, from 2004?
Tech jobs & VC investments are a *lot* harder to come by than they were in the 2010s, with AI stuff a pretty narrow exception. Maybe VC appetite for "the next Facebook" will return post-AI but maybe it won't.
Tech jobs & VC investments are a *lot* harder to come by than they were in the 2010s, with AI stuff a pretty narrow exception. Maybe VC appetite for "the next Facebook" will return post-AI but maybe it won't.
There was a great opportunity for this sort of thing in the 2010s but I suspect the Bay Area may have missed the boat at this point.
November 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
There was a great opportunity for this sort of thing in the 2010s but I suspect the Bay Area may have missed the boat at this point.
OpenAI and Anthropic employ very small numbers of people. I think you will have trouble getting firms to invest in office space when they fantasize they will soon automate their workforce, & if they abandon that fantasy VC investment might dry up almost entirely.
November 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
OpenAI and Anthropic employ very small numbers of people. I think you will have trouble getting firms to invest in office space when they fantasize they will soon automate their workforce, & if they abandon that fantasy VC investment might dry up almost entirely.
Yes? Doctors should be allowed to have vacations & retirements; the obligation to not deliberately actively harm is much stronger than the obligation to help. Now, if somebody *else* was planning to cure them & you stopped them, *that* is more like murder.
November 21, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Yes? Doctors should be allowed to have vacations & retirements; the obligation to not deliberately actively harm is much stronger than the obligation to help. Now, if somebody *else* was planning to cure them & you stopped them, *that* is more like murder.
The Brighton Main Line wasn't electrified until 1933, which I think is well after the period people are mostly asking about here?
November 20, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The Brighton Main Line wasn't electrified until 1933, which I think is well after the period people are mostly asking about here?
In fairness Brighton is as close to London as Ronkonkoma is to NYC.
November 20, 2025 at 8:53 PM
In fairness Brighton is as close to London as Ronkonkoma is to NYC.
For that matter, Queens briefly had a lot more mainlines in the 1870s, including three different competing lines from LIC to Flushing. But after they were consoldiated into the LIRR the redundant ones were abanoned. In London more such lines were kept open until suburbanization made them useful.
November 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
For that matter, Queens briefly had a lot more mainlines in the 1870s, including three different competing lines from LIC to Flushing. But after they were consoldiated into the LIRR the redundant ones were abanoned. In London more such lines were kept open until suburbanization made them useful.
Not being on a coast means lines hoping to serve long-ish-distance traffic in every direction. There were an awful lot of mainline railways in Hudson County. But I'm not sure how relevant such mainlines were for housing development in the era we're talking about, apartments need frequent service.
November 20, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Not being on a coast means lines hoping to serve long-ish-distance traffic in every direction. There were an awful lot of mainline railways in Hudson County. But I'm not sure how relevant such mainlines were for housing development in the era we're talking about, apartments need frequent service.
NIMBYism/regulation? The London Building Act of 1894 limited building heights to 98ft (80ft below the roof line), along with a lot of other provisions which might have effectively banned many apartment building designs. www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/57...
www.legislation.gov.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:37 PM
NIMBYism/regulation? The London Building Act of 1894 limited building heights to 98ft (80ft below the roof line), along with a lot of other provisions which might have effectively banned many apartment building designs. www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/57...