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Actually when I lived in SF, it took me over an hour to get to work in SOMA. We joke and call the outer Richmond the SF suburbs, because it takes as long to get to downtown from there as from the actual suburbs of most cities.
It's time to start acknowledging that this is never going to be fixed. SB 827 died when homeowners protested fiercely, and it doesn't look like any proposed replacements are going to get traction either. People just have too much of their equity tied up in their homes. I hate it, but I can also see where they're coming from: if you had a savings account that accounted for most of your net wealth and was appreciating…
FWIW, this is also true in Boston. I commute from southern NH to Harvard Sq. every day. Unless you have two substantial incomes, or are ok with sub-par schools and a tiny space, it's hard to live close to most economically dynamic cities.
I realise new buildings are carbon intensive, but does anyone have the knowledge to do a back-of-the-envelope comparison of carbon emissions if these super-commuters were to move in to high-density housing that enabled them to walk or cycle to their jobs.
We can dream.
a few years back, when i was working in palo alto and living in SJ/milpitas it regularly took me 90 minutes to make the 20 mile commute home.
needless to say, i quit that job, moved to the alameda county and found a job a mile from my house. now i actually have a SUPER commute, which means i can take the bus, ride my bike or walk depending on my mood. :)