Unlike the nearby Bay Bridge that was built to accommodate the Key System streetcars, the Golden Gate displaced existing ferry service. Carl Nolte, the Chronicle's historian, provides the background for the 40th anniversary of its ferry service.
When the 6-county bridge district was set up, it was authorized to run only the bridge, which opened in 1937. It took an act of the state legislature to allow it to run its two transit systems -buses and ferries.
"The Golden Gate Bridge had driven the earlier San Francisco-Marin ferries out of business, and for 29 years the bridge was the only way to get from San Francisco to Sausalito.
But by the late '60s, the bridge was at capacity and consultants hired by the district recommended ferries as a short-term solution. The long-term answer, they said, was rail rapid transit under the bay to Marin.
A ferry system, the consultants said, would carry 8,000 to 11,000 daily passengers and would pay its own way.
That turned out to be a ferry tale...In the last fiscal year, the Golden Gate's Sausalito and Larkspur boats combined carried an average weekday load of 6,161 passengers. The ferries never came close to breaking even; the difference is made up by bridge tolls."
Thanks to Gladwyn d'Souza
FULL STORY: After 40 years, ferries thriving on S.F. Bay
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
New York’s Deadliest Neighborhoods for Pedestrians
Pedestrian deaths rose last year, but remain below pre-2020 levels.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.