Can Amazon provide shuttle vans and buses for employees?
Naahh… Too expensive.
They will put so much pressure on the local government that it will quickly allow construction of residential buildings in industrial zoned areas.
In Seattle, Amazon does have a pretty big fleet of company shuttle buses/vans (partly to shuttle between their offices but some people use it to commute.) However, you have to remember that these shuttles
add local traffic to busy city streets
.
Google does it in the Bay Area so I don’t know why that wouldn’t be an option for Amazon.
And shuttles may not go to your door or even your street. Park n Ride is an option, but still.
Again, to me, the infrastructure improvement benefits those going to to the Amazon location, those workers building it, and the ancillaries that provide to the trades. Sure, you might get a new mall out if it, or cinemas, a bike path. But not necessarily income. Meanwhile, those funds don’t go to other civic needs.
I know I’m repeating myself. But starting smaller would have let these locations grow at a pace.
Next month Amazon will pay for additional bus service on routes that serve their Seattle offices.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/amazon-metro/
As noted in the article, Amazon does have an employee private bus service from the east side - at least two major routes, I think. It’s one of the things we looked into when researching an area for DS to live when he got his job last year. He ended up in a apartment walking distance from work. After having to commute by car, train, and foot in Chicagoland, being able to fall out of bed and be at work in 15 minutes is a huge plus for him.
@igloo, we managed to raise 2 children in the city. It’s really not a big deal, at all. That is not to say that it is for everyone and it may not be for you. We are not alone in raising our children in Philadelphia or any city. If I had to shop with my kids while by myself I’d just pull up, drop the bags in the door (child in car!) and then park and bring her/them back with me. Not really a big deal but also not how we usually did it. If we needed a large shop we’d do it with all of us or one adult would stay with the kids and one would shop. But, you know, single parents in the city also make it work. We tend to walk most places and would just do runs with the stroller.
I think there was a thread a while ago where we all argued about bringing the cart back when we have kids in the car. You’d deal with that in the suburbs.
And our water is fine to drink, though we do use a brita. We don’t like disposable water bottles.
^ We raised two kids in Manhattan and it wasn’t difficult. In fact, it had many advantages, though I agree it’s not for everyone. We had a small but well stocked grocery a short block from our apartment. I walked right by there on my way home from work, so I did a fair amount of day-to-day grocery shopping there while DW was home with the kids. Or we’d switch off and I’d stay with the kids while she shopped. There was also a really nice fresh produce market about three blocks away. On weekends I’d take the subway (on the same corner as the local grocery) a short 10 minute ride to some really nice specialty shops, or one of us would take the car to a larger market (the best I’ve ever seen) to stock up, or we’d all do the big shopping. The doorman helped us unload. Once a month we’d all head out to Costco in suburban New Jersey to buy some staples in bulk, plus some items for the freezer. With all that, we enjoyed tremendous variety and quality, and the prices were really quite reasonable if you knew where to look.
I lived in small towns as a child, and in college towns and large cities ever since. I’ve never really lived in the suburbs. I don’t think I’m cut out for it.
So I’m relaxing and watching the Cubs game and again my mind wanders. I start to think about how much the Wrigleyville area has changed. For longtime Chicagoans the transformation around Clark and Addison is amazing.
Here’s a link for those who are interested: https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/wrigleyville-cubs-opening-day-2018-development-businesses/
Anyway, the changes made me think of this thread, Amazon’s HQ search. For a city/state with financial problems, I keep reading about expensive improvements.
Residential high-rise construction: https://chicago.curbed.com/maps/high-rise-tower-skyscraper-construction-map
Union Station: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ori/ct-biz-union-station-redevelopment-meeting-ryan-ori-20180625-story.html
Chicago Riverwalk : https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/8/3/17648528/chicago-riverwalk-east-renovation-announcement
Public/Private innovation center w/ UIUC, Northwestern and the University of Chicago: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2018-03-04/tech-center-heart-chicago-taking-shape.html
Regardless of Amazon’s decision it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. In the meantime, the Cubs won!
Kid also at Amazon in Seattle for several years now. Was recruited from Wisconsin- no need to look at local U’s for recruiting but rather for the atmosphere they bring to a city. Columbus would be “local” for the upper Midwest, not just its instate schools and has some top CS departments in nearby states. Son walks to grocery stores (real ones with all of the products)- his car sits in its parking spot most of the time. Used to walk to work, team moved so now a short convenient bus ride, a mile or so. Know a couple who tried living further out but opted for a condo closer in for shorter commute time. Sorry, I don’t see new Amazon recruits willing to commute long times.
Seattle is vibrant with waterfront and plenty of outdoors- mountains included. I can see Chicago as it has a lot going for it even in the western suburbs. You can’t think family friendly for these workers, you have to think young. The place will age with them. I agree needing to park away from one’s home is NOT at all appealing. Sure, people manage in NYC but not my ideal. Cost of housing does matter- if already high, then what?
Last summer, my D worked in downtown Austin. She lived about 3 miles away, and it would take her 45 minutes to get to work because of the heavy traffic. Crazy.
Austin really is terrible as far as traffic. Nashville studies Austin to figure out how to fix our traffic problem and avoid some of the problems Austin has encountered. Austin’s problem is that it is really hard to fix in terms of road infrastructure due to the river. Nashville has gotten bad- even in the suburbs, but nothing like most cities. I just don’t see Amazon picking a state where there are issues over what restroom you can use.
“She lived about 3 miles away, and it would take her 45 minutes to get to work because of the heavy traffic.”
Time to bike, at least when it’s not too hot or raining.
It’s too hot to bike most of the time in Austin! Only in the winter months does it cool down to sub schivtzing !!
It’s always too hot in Austin in the summer, especially when expected to wear professional attire. Not a practical solution alas.
I love reading about all the traffic problems. My daughter is a traffic engineer. Full employment for her in perpetuity!
^^^Please send her to Austin!!! We need help!
I now sit at traffic lights and think “D should really fix this.”
Betting odds on Amazon’s second corporate headquarters:
https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2018/09/newarks_got_long_odds_to_land_amazon_hq2_bookmaker.html
Bovada, an online gambling site, released its odds last week, favoring Northern Virginia as the pick, followed by Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas.