Pain Points of Getting Around in the Bay Area
It’s been five months since I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. After having experienced this place for a fair few months, I feel it’s time to talk about some of the pain points of living here — esp. with regards to transportation and getting around. As someone who loves to get around town via cycling or on foot, I feel compelled to share my experiences and pain points.
I’ve categorised the article into sections: Biking, Driving, Walking, Public Transit. I’ll start by sharing small real-life examples encountered by me or my colleagues. I will also offer Solutions wherever I see fit. Strap on, this is a pretty long ride…
Public Transport Pain Points
Trip to Ikea for Shopping
This is a ritual for every new resident of the Bay Area: Shopping for furniture from Ikea. But how does one get to Ikea at 10AM on a Saturday? This is what Google Maps suggests(look at the top-left corner!). I’ve taken the junction of El Camino and Wolfe — two major roads in Sunnyvale — as the starting point, this is roughly 12.5 miles to Ikea.
A colleague who had moved to the US very recently had to take the bus as ride-sharing apps were expensive and they didn’t have a car or a driving licence. They had to spend ~90 minutes to cover these 12.5 miles!
A week later— I drove them to Ikea from our office for another round of furniture shopping. We reached there within 15 minutes. Compare that. 15 minutes by car vs ~1.5 hours by bus.
Morning Hike to a nearby Nature Park
One of the major attractions of the Bay Area is access to nature. The Bay Area is a Biophilic/nature-lover’s paradise. If you’re living at the heart of Sunnyvale city, within a 15-minute drive you will be at Rancho San Antonio County Park, this is a great place to go on long hikes through the forest alongside water creeks, hearing sounds of birds and the leaves rustling.
But how do I get there if I don’t have a car? It takes more than an hour. The distance is half to Ikea, but the travel time by public transit is almost the same. While it’s a nice bike ride as you go along the forests & the mountains, but its also tiring to bike ~30 minutes each way getting to the nature park.
Cycling Pain Points
Biking on the Streets — Unsafe Bike Lanes
I’ve started biking to my office. It is roughly 6 miles from my house. The good part is that the roads are mostly well cared for with hardly any potholes or major bumps. The terrain is also mostly flat so the ride is comfortable….but is it safe?
This is how I have to bike during my commute, this is at Evelyn Avenue.
Coming froma place like India, it’s certainly better here. Lane discipline is respected, and you won’t have interference like cars blocking your lane(mostly). But every time a car goes past me within an arms reach at speeds exceeding 35mph, it doesn’t feel safe. And when we do have slight obstructions like the traffic cones in the above video, or occasionally with cars like this below…
…it’s a little scary every time I have to move a bit closer to the car lanes.
Biking on the Streets — Turning Left at Junctions
A second issue I face with biking on the roads here is: turning left at junctions. See this pic below,
We have a dedicated bike lane(painted in green). The car lane to my immediate left is for straight going traffic. The car lane to my right is for turning right. The second car lane to my left(the one to the right of the yellow lines) is for left-turning traffic. You can see those little bike stopping marks at the end of the left-turn lane and the bike-lane. That’s where bikers are supposed to stop while waiting at this signal.
It’s good to have dedicated bike lanes and bike stopping marks — kudos to that. But if I’m turning left here, my only two choices are 1). leave the bike lane and cut through the left car lanes to get to the left-turn lane; or 2). take the right-lane to join the side-walk and become a “pedestrian”, using the pedestrian signals to cross the street before resuming to bike.
The second option is safe, but too much of a hassle. After some time, you lose patience to do this at every left-turning junction. The first option is quicker, but knowing that cars are coming at high speeds near you, you have to be alert & attentive to always check over your shoulder and signal before moving. Some bikes have thin tyres, making it difficult to control them with one hand: this makes it difficult to signal left while controlling the bike with the right hand alone.
Biking on the Streets — Interacting with Cars at Junctions
A third issue I face while biking here: crossing with car lanes.
The video below is at Mathilda Avenue(a major road in Sunnyvale), up ahead you see the Bike Lane moving to the left to make way for a right-turn exit for cars.
Most major roads in the Bay Area have such spots where the Bike Lane and Car Lane cross-over. As a car driver, you’re supposed to signal and do a shoulder check to look for cyclists. Cyclists have priority so cars should give way. But my biker colleagues have told me they’ve often had to jam on their brakes at these meeting spots since car drivers forget to check for cyclists.
Car drivers aren’t used to spotting cyclists since we’re a rare species here. Bike Lanes are often empty, because of the above reasons I’ve mentioned so far. It’s just impractical to bike for any purpose here. So these Bike Lanes remain mostly empty and as a car driver, I will tend to neglect them after seeing them empty for a while.
SOLUTION:- Provide Protected Bike Lanes. Having Bike Lanes that are distanced from Car Lanes is beneficial for everyone. Car drivers will feel safe knowing there will not be sudden obstructions from bicyclists, they can drive at peace. Cyclists will have peace of mind knowing they are travelling in a separate and safe path away from cars.
Arriving by Bike — where do I park?
Despite all the above hassles, you persevere and safely make it to your destination. Now you have to park your bike. Unfortunately, bike thefts are common here. It’s not safe to leave your bike free and go shopping. You have to safely lock it if you want to see your bike again. But where do I park? This is the scene at a parking lot of a nearby grocery store this morning.
Lots & lots & lots & lots of car parking. But not a single Bike Rack! There was a sign marking a parking spot as reserved for the disabled. I used it to lock my bike.
This is my biggest concern when I consider biking to my neighbourhood grocery or restaurant. There are hardly any bike racks(despite several bike lanes on the streets). You will find a few poles to lock your bike to, but no proper bike racks. So far, my office has been the only place where I’ve seen bike racks.
SOLUTION:- Provide dedicated Bike Racks at all shopping malls. I am confident that providing this one feature alone will encourage more people to take up biking.
Arriving by Car — looking for Parking
You finally give up on your bike and drive to your grocery. There are lots of parking spots right? Also, shorter travel time so this should be ideal. Take a look at the above satellite pic of a neighbourhood commercial plaza. More land area is dedicated to the parking lot than the actual shops!
If you arrive at a busier time of the day, you will keep driving around looking for parking spots. It’s a hassle, and can become a nuisance. This is one reason why I don’t like driving within a city — the headache of having to look for parking.
Walking Pain Points
Walking here has mostly been a pleasant experience. You have good, well-maintained sidewalks. And pedestrians usually have the priority here — meaning other car drivers will “yield” to you.
I enjoy stepping out of my house and going off on long walks around my neighbourhood. However, it’s not without it’s faults… especially when you have to interact with the road traffic. Most of it is psychological and how the system makes you “feel”…
Having to Wait for a long time
When you arrive at signals, you have to press a button(like in the pic above) and wait to get a “go” light. Here, the traffic lights don’t change for you immediately. You still have to wait at least a couple of minutes until the road traffic parallel to you gets a green light — only then can you go.
Due to the low pedestrian density, sometimes I am the only one walking across the junction and all the cars are just waiting for me. It’s not a good feeling — it makes you feel as if you are holding up all the traffic. It’s somehow your fault that you didn’t get a car.
This feeling is similar to biking. When I’m on a road that is supposed to be shared between cars and bikes(i.e., no separate bike lanes), I see cars passing me at high speeds. It feels strange, as though it is their right to use the road and I am stealing it from them by bringing my bike to this “car” street. It’s not a good feeling and although you tend to get used to it with time, it can negatively affect first-time cyclists.
Feeling Dangerous during Crossing
There are some junctions with STOP signs instead of traffic lights. Cars are supposed to stop at these junctions and yield to pedestrians. But due to higher speed limits, cars are coming in at 30mph+ and come to an almost abrupt halt at these junctions. I am supposed to freely cross the road without having to lookout for cars as they “will” come to a stop. But it isn’t a pleasant experience to see a car coming fast at you while you’re crossing. It certainly feels dangerous at times…
Feeling of Loneliness
I felt a strange sense of loneliness during my first few weeks here — especially when using the sidewalks.
It was a strange feeling: everybody else is either at home or in their cars. I am the only one who is NOT using a car to travel. All this well-maintained sidewalks, but I’m the only one using it.
I will never forget the sounds: the only thing I could hear was the Doppler effect of the car engines becoming stronger and then fading away as it went past me. There was almost no other noise except for the occasional tree leaves rustling, everything else was so quite.
This feeling has faded away gradually as I get used to it, but the US(esp. places like the Bay Area) can give this strong feeling of loneliness for first-time visitors.
Others Pain Points
Based on the experiences listed above, there are other pain points that come to mind.
Feeling of Isolation/Difficulty to Socialise or Meet People
The Bay Area can sometimes seem like an isolated place. Due to the reliance on cars for getting around, most people are sitting inside automobiles or staying home. Hardly anybody is taking a walk! The “normal” thing is to use your car for pretty much any travel. Why are you walking? Where is your car?
Having to get into a car to go pretty much anywhere can be a deterrent to do any activity. For instance, I’d love to join local Meetup groups and take part in local activities(Cinema, or volunteering, or Arts, etc.) I’d love to explore restaurants from different cuisines, I’d love to visit the museums around the Bay Area. But to do all of this, I will require a car. It’s not just a mode of travel here, it’s a part of your lifestyle.
Life of Senior Citizens
This makes me wonder: would I like to retire here? It is difficult for me to imagine being 80 years old while living here. Once you’re too old to drive, how will you get around? How will you walk to your friend’s house who might be living far away? I have observed that most people who take the bus tend to be senior citizens(60+ age). Once you’re old, it seems like the only way to get around is to rely on ride-sharing apps or public transit. And we’ve already seen how difficult it is to get around town using buses here, and ride-sharing apps don’t come cheap especially when you’re retired and may not have a strong source of income.
Health Issues — sitting too long in a car
Human bodies are designed to move. Try sitting in one place for long, and you will begin to feel uncomfortable. Even though you will get to places quicker with cars, having to sit inside them for long periods of time isn’t good for anybody’s health.
It can lead to back issues and body stiffness in the long-run. It is more healthier to walk/cycle more often. I don’t have any data-points to prove this, but I’m sure that people who consistently sit in cars for long periods of time for commute will tend to have more health issues(esp. if they also exercise less).
The Good Stuff
Despite all that I’ve said so far, I want to end with a positive note. Life is still great here…
Good Points — Walking
Despite my negative points about walking, I am glad we have great walking infrastructure here. Almost every street has wide and stable sidewalks that are comfortable to walk on. Almost every signal has pedestrian buttons that give some degree of safety to walking. Pedestrians have the right of way in most cases so cars will come to halt to let you pass.
Good Points — Biking
Despite all the pain points, I would still bike here. Even though we don’t have protected Bike Lanes yet, we do have Bike Trails scattered around the Bay Area. These are paths dedicated for cyclists and pedestrians. They tend to be long and are a convenient way to get from point A to point B without interfering with(or getting interfered by) road traffic.
One of my favourite is Steven’s Creek in Mountain View. It is long and can get you from one end of the city to the other without ever having to go interfere with cars at any point.
My only complaint would be: there’s not enough of them! If your house and office both happen to be close to a trial, you’re lucky. Else, a significant part of your commute will involve road biking.
Good Points — Driving
Even for cars, the quality of the roads here is high-quality. Even the most bumpiest ride I’ve had here has been very smooth when compared to riding in other countries. The lanes are clearly demarcated and people tend to (more often)follow lane-discipline, leading to smooth and predictable traffic flow that makes for a more convenient driving experience.
The highway system here is amazing. If you enjoy going on long road trips, you will be happy here. It is a joy to get into a car and cruise on the highway in this country. I’m grateful that I get to experience such good quality-of-life here.
Good Points —Focus on Community Events, and increased attention towards Pedestrian Friendly Designs
Despite the car-dependant system, there are several festivals and community events taking place throughout the area. There are several community events(like Sunday Farmer’s Market, etc.) during which streets are made pedestrian-only, encouraging people to mingle with each other.
To Conclude
I feel a good city is one where citizens can conveniently get between places without too much hassle. Any city that does this well has my respects.
Although the Bay Area may not do well in my books based on all my pain points above, it is still a great place to live. It has some really talented & smart people, a vast diverse population and houses many tech companies that have a significant impact on the lives of people from around the world(think Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple…). I have many things to be grateful for in this place. I can visit forests, deserts, the Pacific Ocean, National Parks, etc., all while being close to so many industries that change people’s lives.
We can(& should) bring about more change in the cities of the Bay Area — make the streets safer for pedestrians and cycling. We’ve already done well by having developed a great infrastructure. Let’s keep working hard towards a safer, greener Bay Area.
I have to thank Aangi Shah for helping me write this article. I wanted to share my opinions and thoughts about transportation in the Bay Area, but could not have articulated it this well had it not been for Aangis’ honest feedback and suggestions.
