Comment by freyr
6 years ago
Is he claiming that the people involved weren't experts? It doesn't seem that way to me.
I think it's just the opposite – he's demonstrating how much rapid progress can be made when you cut the red tape and get the right people working at full capacity.
He then contrasts this with the municipal government of San Francisco, which operates under a different set of principles. Namely: maximize red tape, use unqualified people, and exert minimal effort, all while lighting money on fire because you have an enormous annual budget and no accountability.
I agree that's the point, but for all we know there could be years of education, planning, failed trials, preparation, and/or red tape omitted from these timelines.
No doubt they put in a lot of work.
But also, it's very unlikely that any of them would have taken 20 years and $310 million dollars to create a bus lane.