Complain, for the right reasons…

Will the Grove NIMBY’s please stop whining? No, I’m not talking about their latest efforts to continue to balk at whatever proposal is presented to them by The Home Depot (Although, I must say that the latest renderings presented by the company are absolutely stunning for a big-box retailer and the restrictions placed on deliveries and parking facility use are fairly reasonable.) I too understand the atrocities committed by big-box companies like The Home Depot and would also seek such restrictions if they were moving into community. I commend the people for fighting the Atlanta based company (whose persistence is really starting to amaze me now; they must have calculated some ridiculously huge profits for this location in order to still have the motivation to challenge the Grove residents.)

Now, that I have digressed enough from my initial statement and have proven that I truly have nothing against Grove residents, I can continue with the reason why some local NIMBY arguments are weak. Reference this Article in today’s Miami Sunpost.

The plan for the Miami-Dade Transit agency is to build Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) along nearly every stop of the Metrorail (Ex: Datran Towers in Dadeland, Transit Village in Overtown, Allapatah Apartments in Allapatah, etc.) Next stop, Coconut Grove, well maybe not, if Grove NIMBY’s have their way.

The project calls for a 1+ million square foot mixed-use development with retail, office, hotel, and condominium space all leased on County owned land adjacent to the metrorail (like Datran only slightly smaller.) A great idea to boost system ridership and charge rent on the use of the land for decades to come.

Grove NIMBY’s (like the Pincrest one’s down south) argue that the development will have an adverse effect on the current traffic issues in the area. Ok, point taken. But what development won’t have an adverse effect and how do we begin to solve the problem if such TODs aren’t built to get people (like the Grove, Pinecrest, Coral Gables, South Miami and Kendall residents) onto Public Transportation to begin with? It’s a vicious cycle that has cast Miami traffic into a downward spiral.

The real question here, which all residents should ask when a TOD or any high density building such as this is rising, is: What is being done to force residents, visitors, and tenants alike to use public transportation to access this new building? Will there still be enough parking for all employees or is it being designed properly to incorporate metrorail and bus use? (Note, even the Datran complex was poorly designed with each building resting on a parking garage “pedestal” with surely enough parking for office employees, hotel guests, and visitors.)

We can’t change our way of life overnight, but we must begin to implement progressive changes quickly, especially on projects situated on major corridors (Like US-1 and 27th Ave, where this project is slated to rise.) By asking the right questions first, all residents will benefit from the changes that can be forced to occur in the design of local developments without reducing density or profitability. The transit agency has taken a step in the right direction to create the TOD, residents and politicians alike now need to guide developers into creating projects which improve and promote the ever growing public transit infrastructure in our community…

Transit Miami