When I arrived in SF in early 1966 I right away met a lot of fans who were excited about BART but vexed about the broad gauge spec. Believe me it was highly controversial from the get-go.

I missed the 1962 election which approved BART but what I heard from those who were around was that the BART propaganda promised something much more futuristic than an electric railway or a New York style subway. Something on the order of a pneumatic tube or a monorail. I don't know if BART knew that this was preposterous or found it out later. If they were so stupid to actually believe in Buck Rogers technology the decision to go to broad gauge should come as no surprise. I know they were so ashamed to be building a railroad they called it a "duorail"! Too bad they didn't have mag-lev as yet - they could have blown a fortune on a flop and the highway lobby and the SP would have been ecstatic.

Personally I think the Bay Area's problem is that it has too much money. Or just way too many rich people, who insist on running everything and are prone to eccentricity. I think LA is doing better relatively, even tho I know it is the sacred homeland of the freeway. I realize this is heresy and that the old joke was that in school in San Francisco you are taught to love God and hate LA. I think LA has less money overall and more poor people in general and is accordingly being forced to plan practically. They are building electric light rail(no doodlebugs to my knowledge)and their subway is standard gauge. And they voted for HSR. So hats off to Smogburg.