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An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

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Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#141

Post by flukus »

keyboard_slap wrote: post #98

What problem is this system trying to solve? It seems to be, in this initial deployment, that the office park is too far away from the restaurants its employees want to visit, compelling them to drive there. I feel like a better solution would be permitting denser and mixed-use development, so employees can walk to their favorite restaurants on the ground floor instead of driving >1km to them or paying for a delivery…

If something like this is financially viable (doubt) then it sounds like the density already exists and the problem is the restaurants aren't near the people. All the replies are focused on the density you mentioned but mixed use is probably the bigger and far more easily solved problem.

Letting restaurants open nearby to where there are clearly a lot of people is a tried and proven solution, not gadgetbhan for food.

Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#144

Post by sojournerc »

rgmerk wrote: post #136
sojournerc wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I think it was generalizing an entire country of people with an "us" vs "them" tone

I think it's pretty fair to suggest that the United States (with very limited exceptions) is the least pedestrian-friendly country in the developed world.

Fair, but that doesn't mean every American is so lazy as to lack the ability or desire to walk places, as was suggested.

Also, the US is a big country and shouldn't be treated as a single thing.

Colorado, where I live, has an amazingly active population relative to other states.

It's worth applying a little nuance, instead of broad brushes based on stereotypes.

Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#145

Post by keyboard_slap »

conductr wrote: post #138
keyboard_slap wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not objecting to convince in favor of density because there isn't a choice to be made between the two. You can have convenience in low or high density development. The difference is in cost and complexity; high density development has all the convenience with fewer delivery costs

What's the cost of rebuilding our existing tangible cities for density? Is that without complexity? What about consideration for time? It's not as easy as hitting "new game" on Sim City

On this small scale, rebuilding would likely be more expensive than this tunnel. But extending this network to every home would be (IMO) on the same order of magnitude as redevelopment in cost, complexity, and time. Redevelopment is complicated during construction but this system is also complicated forever. Our cities are already being rebuilt piece-by-piece every day; I'd just like zoning laws to permit rebuilding with mixed use and higher density development

Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#147

Post by tonyedgecombe »

sojournerc wrote: post #144
rgmerk wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's pretty fair to suggest that the United States (with very limited exceptions) is the least pedestrian-friendly country in the developed world.

Fair, but that doesn't mean every American is so lazy as to lack the ability or desire to walk places, as was suggested. Also, the US is a big country and shouldn't be treated as a single thing. Colorado, where I live, has an amazingly active population relative to other states. It's worth applying a little nuance, instead of broad brushes based on stereotypes.

>Fair, but that doesn't mean every American is so lazy as to lack the ability or desire to walk places, as was suggested.

Most are but they aren’t any different to other parts of the world. I walked past someone getting in their car this morning only to meet them getting out a couple of minutes later at my local shop.

The only exceptions to this are countries that make walking easy and driving difficult. Without the carrot and stick the majority will take the easy option.

Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#148

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

KaiserPro wrote: post #108
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #86

I always wondered why things like this weren't more prevalent, and the only answer I could come to was "jobs". That is, given the networks of underground infrastructure that already exist, it seems like this would be totally plausible for pretty much any midsize+ city to build this out to replace all conventional mail delivery (that is, basically anything that can fit in a standard size mailbox). But that would resul…

> Long term it seems like it would be much cheaper than current last mile delivery yes, long term it might be cheaper, but to get to that long term you need to fund the huge upfront cost. Why as a consumer would you want a pipe to your door, as you are now reliant on a single company for all deliveries. if they suddenly turn shit, thats it, you're stuck with them. Its only really makes sense as a way for an uber dens…

> Why as a consumer would you want a pipe to your door, as you are now reliant on a single company for all deliveries. if they suddenly turn shit, thats it, you're stuck with them.

How is this any different from phone lines, or cable, or water, or sewage, or electric? You can point out "yeah, and look at all the problems with those local-monopoly services!" but I think generally we've figured out how to provide those services at a good value, and even how to support/encourage competition over the same pipes/lines.

Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#149

Post by hydrok9 »

74tirdjjforiti wrote: post #146
pavel_lishin wrote: post #101

> The pipe is 18 inches wide — large enough to fit 40 banana Americans will use literally anything except the metric system. And bicycles, I guess.

[flagged]

bicycles are great, as long as no one steals them once you get to your destination

Re: An underground delivery train comes to the Atlanta suburbs

#150

Post by [deleted] »

adrianmonk wrote: post #11

I was curious how the package is loaded and unloaded, given that it's underground, but they seem to have some kind of crane, and at the destinations they have basically a package locker. At least, that's what the video seems to show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STZJyfAl5bU Putting a package locker at every location seems kind of expensive. Maybe it works if you're delivering to bigger buildings like offices or ap…

[deleted]
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