Not a bridge, but folk in Galashiels tell me that the train line, rather than rejuvenating the town, has raised house prices* (folk moving out of Edinburgh who work semi-remotely), but seen hospitality revenue plummet as locals go to Edinburgh for a night out rather than staying in town.
Interesting. Very similar scenario. I suppose the benefits of these kinds of infrastructure tend to happen sooner and be more quantifiable than the downsides, but the longer-term picture is rarely as rosy as it's supposed to be. It's difficult to know precisely what to moan about though.
I think I'm right in saying that the M25 (which was supposed to be the big, final multi-billion pound cure to London's congestion problem in the 1970s) struggled with massive under-capacity virtually immediately, and they've been trying to widen it ever since.
I know what you're saying, but out of context, moaning about not knowing what to moan about could well be lifted from a 80s BBC sketch show.
I think a lot of issues with many things are when effects don't all arrive at the same time, and whilst you're waiting for it to fully play out people suffer. I'm sure thousands of ferriers complained about the automobile, and millions of clerks complained about spreadsheets, but society benefited in the end. (Not saying all change is good, though.)
Not a bridge, but folk in Galashiels tell me that the train line, rather than rejuvenating the town, has raised house prices* (folk moving out of Edinburgh who work semi-remotely), but seen hospitality revenue plummet as locals go to Edinburgh for a night out rather than staying in town.
*another double-edged sword.
Interesting. Very similar scenario. I suppose the benefits of these kinds of infrastructure tend to happen sooner and be more quantifiable than the downsides, but the longer-term picture is rarely as rosy as it's supposed to be. It's difficult to know precisely what to moan about though.
I think I'm right in saying that the M25 (which was supposed to be the big, final multi-billion pound cure to London's congestion problem in the 1970s) struggled with massive under-capacity virtually immediately, and they've been trying to widen it ever since.
I know what you're saying, but out of context, moaning about not knowing what to moan about could well be lifted from a 80s BBC sketch show.
I think a lot of issues with many things are when effects don't all arrive at the same time, and whilst you're waiting for it to fully play out people suffer. I'm sure thousands of ferriers complained about the automobile, and millions of clerks complained about spreadsheets, but society benefited in the end. (Not saying all change is good, though.)
😆 I'd be much happier if I knew what I was trying to moan about... or summet.
Yes, that's a fair point. Time horizon matters.