“ let’s say we build 30 miles of subway, about what Manhattan has in that area.”
Public transportation that connects to nothing is not useful. The NY metro area has a massive public transit set of systems that extend out for a hundred miles in every direction. That’s why you can support such density.
edit: It's 665 miles of MTA track, 14 miles for PATH, 700 miles of LIRR train tracks, and 385 for Metro North tracks. Plus Amtrak and the regional buses (the new depot alone for those will cost $10 billion).
On the other hand, the fact that the Bay Area has a bunch of chronically congested freeways due to everyone driving to work is a clear symptom that we need better transportation such as rail transport or buses. For example CA 85 is clearly congested in the direction of driving towards Apple in the morning and away from Apple in the evening.
Sure but if housing density also increases then you'll just keep the existing equilibrium. NYC has the best public transit in the US with less than half the households even owning a car. Yes car traffic is famously bad.
Public transportation that connects to nothing is not useful. The NY metro area has a massive public transit set of systems that extend out for a hundred miles in every direction. That’s why you can support such density.
edit: It's 665 miles of MTA track, 14 miles for PATH, 700 miles of LIRR train tracks, and 385 for Metro North tracks. Plus Amtrak and the regional buses (the new depot alone for those will cost $10 billion).