Infrastructure

The Cost of the Technological Sublime: Daring Ingenuity and the New San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

Karen Trapenberg Frick
2008

Meg-projects are often captivating to political leaders and the public because of their colossal size and the technical hurdles they overcome. This feature of major infrastructure in the landscape has been termed the 'technological sublime' (Marx, 1964; 2000; Nye, 1994). This chapter uses the concept of the sublime to contribute a new dimension to understanding the evolution of mega-project design and optimism bias. The case of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in Northern California is used to demonstrate how the technological sublime dramatically influenced bridge design, project...

Bay Bridge Congestion-Pricing Project: Lessons Learned to Date

Karen Trapenberg Frick
Heminger, Steve
Dittmar, Hank
1996

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, connecting San Francisco and the East Bay, is one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the nation. In an effort to address traffic congestion in this corridor, the Bay Area Congestion Pricing Task Force—a group of business, environment, public interest, and government organizations—has been examining the viability of variable tolls on the Bay Bridge. Tolls would be higher during peak commute hours when demand is highest and lower in off-peak hours when the bridge has excess capacity. This supply-and-demand-based concept is known as congestion...

Bay Bridge Toll Evaluation: Final Report

Deakin, Elizabeth
Karen Trapenberg Frick
Cervero, Robert
Alexander Skabardonis
Barnes, Ian
Kingsley, Karla
Rubin, James
Murakami, Jin
Amaro, Javier
Jensen, Erik
2011

On July 1, 2010, the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) raised the tolls on the seven state‐ owned bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area. For six of the bridges, a flat $5 toll was implemented for passenger vehicles with a 50% discount ($2.50 toll) for peak‐period 3+ person carpools, which had previously crossed the bridges free of charge. On the San Francisco‐ Oakland Bay Bridge, a more complex toll structure was put into place. The toll was increased to $6 during weekday peak periods (5‐10 a.m. and 3‐7 p.m.), and the off‐peak weekday toll was left unchanged at $4. The peak period 3+ person...

Bicycle Infrastructure that Extends Beyond the Door: Examining Investments in Bicycle-Oriented Design Through a Qualitative Survey of Commercial Building Owners and Tenants

Orrick, Phyllis
Karen Trapenberg Frick
Ragland, David R
2011

This paper presents the results of a qualitative survey of commercial owners, managers, and occupants in the City of Berkeley who have invested in on-site bicycle facilities such as secure parking, showers, changing rooms, and clothing lockers, what we are calling “bicycle-oriented design” (BOD). The sites represent a selection of building types common in the commercial building stock in U.S. cities.The research is designed to answer three questions about the use of BOD: (1) what were motivations behind the decision to invest in BOD (2) what are the challenges and rewards for investing in...

Impact of Peak and Off-Peak Tolls on Traffic in San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge Corridor in California

Barnes, Ian C.
Karen Trapenberg Frick
Deakin, Elizabeth
Alexander Skabardonis
2012

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge is located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area in California and connects two of the largest cities in northern California over San Francisco Bay. In July 2010, the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) increased tolls on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge from a flat toll collected westbound only to weekday peak and off-peak tolls. BATA also instituted a carpool toll of $2.50 (previously carpools crossed for free) payable by FasTrak electronic toll collection tag only. With floating-car data provided by BATA, the change in travel time for the I-80, I...

Bicycle Infrastructure that Extends Beyond the Door: Examining Investments in Bicycle-Oriented Design Through a Qualitative Survey of Commercial Building Owners and Tenants

Orrick, Phyllis
Karen Trapenberg Frick
Ragland, David R.
2011

This paper presents the results of a qualitative survey of commercial owners, managers, and occupants in the City of Berkeley who have invested in on-site bicycle facilities such as secure parking, showers, changing rooms, and clothing lockers, what we are calling “bicycle-oriented design” (BOD). The sites represent a selection of building types common in the commercial building stock in U.S. cities.The research is designed to answer three questions about the use of BOD: (1) what were motivations behind the decision to invest in BOD (2) what are the challenges and rewards for investing in...

Airports and Bicycles: What are the Obstacles and Incentives for Operators 1 to Improve Bicycle Access?

Orrick, Phyllis
Karen Trapenberg Frick
2013

In this paper we use a case study approach to examine how airport operators are addressing bicycle access to their properties and the motivations and obstacles they face, in light of new policies to integrate bicycles, along with transit and walking, into transportation planning, design and construction, and to increase bicycles’ role in the transportation system. Eight influential elements emerged from our review of policy documents and research literature. We used them to guide interviews with key informants. The eight elements are: governance structure, location, access roads, self-...

Pursuing the Technological Sublime: How the Bay Bridge Became a Megaproject

Karen Trapenberg Frick
2014

The newly opened eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is a classic example of a megaproject at $6.4 billion and a textbook embodiment of what I have identified as the “six Cs” of a typical megaproject: colossal,captivating,costly,controversial,complex, and subject to issues of...

Politics Across the Hudson: The Tappan Zee Megaproject

Karen Trapenberg Frick
2016

Philip Plotch’s political history about the replacement of New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge should be on the bookshelf of planners and other practitioners. Elected officials, community members, and students engaged in or entering megaproject and urban politics debates.

Remaking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge: A Case of Shadowboxing with Nature

Karen Trapenberg Frick
2016

On 17 October 1989 one the largest earthquakes to occur in California since the San Francisco earthquake of April 1906 struck Northern California. Damage was extensive, none more so than the partial collapse of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge’s eastern span, a vital link used by hundreds of thousands of Californians every day. The bridge was closed for a month for repairs and then reopened to traffic. But what ensued over the next 25 years is the extraordinary story that Karen Trapenberg Frick tells here. It is a cautionary tale to which any governing authority embarking on a...