Moving Together, Faster
Fidel Castro Relinquished power temporarily…yada yada yada, he’s getting old and senile; what else could we expect?
Here’s a fun video, how would you react if you saw a car come barreling through the subway station? Quite entertaining, however, considering this was done in Germany in a highly monitored subway; I can only assume that this prankster was surely reprimanded severely…
Technorati Tags: Omni, Performing Arts Center, Miami, Urban Planning
1. Being polite and courteous to a motorcycle cop will never get you out of the citation, but, can get you a price break if you pull over promptly and show utmost respect.
2. The “Driving-Improvement” courses we are all required to take, don’t improve diddly squat and are likely the cause of so many careless drivers to begin with.
I enlisted in one of the on-line courses to avoid getting points on my license (Oh, yeah and to avoid further financial ravaging by Geico.) I thought the four hours was bad enough; the sheer stupidity of the whole course was worse than a kick to the groin. I survived the course by watching the timer on the webpage unremittingly tick away four wasted hours of my life. Then came the “final exam” which boasted some fantastic questions which I guarantee will make most of us better drivers. Here are the highlights:
How many licensed drivers are there in Florida? (I fail to see how this will make anyone a better driver.)
Until what age should a child use in a car seat? (The options for the answers to this one were: 3 years, 5 years, 60 lbs)
How many points can you receive in a 12 month period before your license is suspended? (Um, if you are worried about the maximum number of points, I don’t think you should be driving in the first place.)
What sign is shaped like an octagon? (A Stoptional! Or a S.T.O.P. sign – Slow To Observe Police…Duh!)
The obvious challenge continued throughout the rest of the 40 questions. Needless to say, I passed. Printing out my certificate of completion made me think about how backwards the licensing and driving education requirements really are. I will no longer wonder why area drivers stink- the rules to become licensed are terrible…
Technorati Tags: Miami, Tickets, Traffic, Enforcement, Police
Technorati Tags: Miami, Transit, Model Airplane, Museum Park,
Technorati Tags: Miami, Planning, Corruption, Politics, Developers, Affordable Housing
“…I want our money back, I want our land back…If we have to go to court, I want it back…”
-Mayor Carlos Alvarez
“Problems in the agency started at the top…”
-Mayor Carlos Alvarez
“We Put Band-Aids where we need to amputate…”
-Carlos Alvarez
“We keep doing business with the same people over and over again, there are only so many times you can get hit over the head with a baseball bat…”“This stinks…”
Technorati Tags: Miami, Carlos Alvarez, Corruption, Housing, Scandal
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We need to look to keep the expenses of the terminal project down,” Mr. Gimenez said after the meeting.
Well, I said it too, but that was before you guys had the opportunity to screw up. I think we should require our commissioners to take some time and money management classes along with the ethics classes I recommended a while ago before they are eligible for election. One would think that these important management decisions would be left up to a qualified erudite professional with a proficiency in Construction Engineering or Urban Planning, rather than Gimenez’s unsuitable BA in Public Administration. Yes, I know he was consulted by professionals on his decisions, but, the elected officials have the final word, so… this mess ultimately falls on their shoulders. Re-election anyone?
You can read all about Gimenez’s Extensive list of Transportation related experience here, on the county commission website. Look at all those committees…Whoa…
Technorati Tags: Miami, Transit, Transportation, Carnival Center, Parking, Airport
First off, I am not a development happy, x-box playing, geek, who prances around gleefully whenever a new shiny glass skyscraper is unveiled in Miami. I do not own or wish to own an X-box, sorry Microsoft. Furthermore, I cringe when I see most of the planned buildings and developments slated to rise in Miami because I know full well that the current infrastructure (Transit, Electrical, Water, Educational, etc.) is not equipped to handle such growth. I cringe because I know that most of the developers are taking advantage of Miami in order to earn quick buck and in the end do not care about the impact their buildings will have on the community or the residents who purchase them. The politics behind much of this growth sickens me and is definitely not anything I stand for. The archaic development codes in this county and city are not suitable for such expansion and our public works sector is not familiar with the concept of sustainable growth. We lack the vision and foresight across all levels of government to plan anything properly and accordingly and in a timely fashion.
With regards to the people of Miami, I believe we all need to become more involved in what is going on in our community. I implore my readers to get involved in community meetings or even by leaving comments on my blog so that we can address issues together. We must hold ourselves as well as our elected officials accountable for the policies which govern us. Republican or Democrat? I say, who cares, we must all be concerned with how our tax money is being misappropriated and we need to first make sure that elected officials are designating our interests as their priorities. We need to enhance our educational system and improve our graduation rates from high schools and universities. We must build stronger communities to come together better in times of need and keep an eye out to lower crime and vandalism.
This is how I truly feel about development and life in Miami. I write my blog with passion daily to try and instill some of that heart into all of my readers. I genuinely care about Miami, not some other country, like many of our residents seem to do. I try to call things the way I see them and avoid sugarcoating topics so that my readers may come to their own conclusions. I believe growth is important for this community to continue to be a player in the global market, however, we must first learn how to grow in a method which will benefit future generations to come.
This is a glimpse of what I stand for and what my site is all about…
The second set of pictures reminds me of the wonderful plan ole Jebby Bush had us repeal to outfit our state with a High-Speed Train network. This is the
Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train, capable of speeds of up to 275 MPH on conventional (Well built, Not our worn down system) rails. This is the Taiwan High speed rail, which will link many of Taiwan’s major cities along a 360 KM path. The benefit of this train speaks for itself. Floridians really dropped the ball (well twice, we elected him in the first place) when we repealed the Florida High Speed rail act due to a “Lack of Funding.” What a load. Billions are spent in this state alone to continue to enhance and expand the existing highways, why not institute a better measure of budget appropriation, Jeb? Perhaps we wouldn’t have a lack of funding if we hadn’t instituted so many useless tax cuts or decided to invade…You get the point. Our cities have fallen behind technologically and our urban planning is beyond deplorable…
Pictures Credited to the forumers who posted them here.
(Pictures Removed from post…April 09, 2007)
Technorati Tags: Miami, High Speed Rail, Train, HSR, Porto, Portugal, Bilbao, Transit, Transportation, Bullet Train, Taiwan
I love how everyone suddenly becomes an expert on the subject, knowing what’s best for the area and its’ future. I thought we hired city planners and engineering professionals for a reason. I mean after all they are professionals who have studied the subject for at least four or five years and have had to pass various certification exams. How is it that Joe Blow Flagami resident, can whine for a little while and have the whole future of Miami Public Transportation in the area changed just because he doesn’t like the idea? What happened to being progressive and doing what is best for our community’s future? Now, don’t get me wrong, I do believe the people should have a say in the projects in their backyard, but when is it the right time to trump their ideas and do whatever is best for the future of the community. I believe it is up to planners to a certain extent to guide and steer growth appropriately through intelligent systems. Baylink is great example of a project that should have occurred, with or without the local community support, because of the long-term benefit it would have provided to all citizens.
The following is a guest article written by Ryan. This article was written before the Herald’s article yesterday regarding the potentially impending office boom we could soon be witnessing and therefore bears little reference to it. Enjoy.
Greetings and Salutations. I’m Ryan, The Sprawl Hater, and I’ll be dropping by Transit Miami once a week or so to offer my perspective on the oft-frustrating, always complex, but never dull journey that is Miami’s growth and development.
Has anyone noticed something conspicuously missing from the explosive high-rise boom in and around downtown? If you guessed low vacancy rates, you’re probably right. If you guessed a legitimate, centrally located transit hub, you’d probably be right, too. Nevertheless, I’m talking about office buildings, people.
Last I checked South Florida had the worst office sprawl in the country. That’s right folks, worse than sultans of sprawl Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas. A Brookings Institute study in 2003 found that of the 13 largest metropolitan regions, South Florida’s major downtown (MIAMI!) had a mere 13% of the metro’s office space. Even worse, virtually ALL office growth in Miami-Dade since 1987 has occurred out of downtown. HOW COULD THIS BE? Or, more importantly, what is being done about it?
Unfortunately, not enough is being done. With nearly 100 new high-rise or mid-rise buildings finished, approved, or planned between Wynwood and Brickell, you can pretty much count the number of new office buildings on one hand. It’s possible we could have 70,000 more condo units here in only a few more years, so where are the new office buildings to compliment 100,000+
aristocratsprofessionals living in our city’s elongated, coast-hugging core?The building on the right in the picture above is Met II, the largest and most noteworthy office building currently approved for construction. It will be between 31-46 floors and is set for completion by 2009 (I’d be willing to take bets on that.) A couple others have been proposed in the Brickell area, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be built – and it still isn’t nearly enough.
This could be a big problem, people. The building boom in and around downtown has been mostly good (sans affordable housing, BayLink, and a delayed Streetcar), but without the offices it runs the risk of becoming a high-density bedroom community. This ultimately defeats the purpose of living downtown: easy pedestrian, taxi, and/or transit access to work and home. An office shortage means demand for parking downtown will remain high (stay tuned for a later post on this quagmire). The last thing we need is people living on Miami Ave. and commuting to
Doraloffice park cities out in suburbia.
Technorati Tags: Miami, Office Buildings, Skyscrapers, Construction, Development
It was nice to see Roger Clemens pitch and lose a game to the Marlins. I can’t speak favorably of the guy, though I respect his abundant accomplishments. Last night though, he was more of a firecracker than that “Rocket” they speak of. It was entertaining to watch the Astro fan in front of me walk out of the stadium like a coward in the eighth inning after spending the night making up various excuses about the fact that his team was facing a no-hitter going into the top of the sixth.
Oh, by the way, the new HD Screens Huizenga had installed for the upcoming superbowl are beautiful. Amazing quality and clarity…
Technorati Tags: Miami, Roger Clemens, Marlins
The Transit Miami Summer Transit Challenge continues with the story of G. Williams of Miami Beach:
…I’ve been living on South Beach and working downtown for the last 13 years or so and have not owned a car in all that time. The A bus is a delight (and stops 2 blocks from my apartment). Our household (my partner and I) earns 6 figures, so it’s not like we’re poor. I have not the least interest in owning an automobile in South Florida. I have arranged my life so that I don’t need one. And I have saved A LOT OF MONEY over the course of that time that would otherwise have gone towards the “joy of automobile ownership.” No thanks. Keep up the good work.
Excellent story and true example of just how vital a rail link such as baylink could be to both cities. G. Williams is incredibly lucky that his office has remained in downtown for the past 13 years and hasn’t up and left for blue lagoon or doral (A popular trend among major employers.)
Keep the stories coming…Lets also discuss what you Transit users see wrong with the current system (Particulary Buses)…I’ll be doing a little bit of my own investigating the next time I ride a bus (Next week, or this weekend) when I plan on interviewing some of the fellow riders and transit officials…
Photo From: This Site
I’m going to take some time to address some “fan mail” I have received via e-mail, forum commentary, or blog comments. Here is one from a forum friend of mine Paul:
Sorry, Gabe. This one is going to hurt. The vote to prioritize the South Link Metrorail extension (Alternative 5) over the Bus Rapid Transit System (Alternative 6) for Kendall failed by one vote on June 22nd! The Miami Planning Organization voted 8-8 for Commissioner Katy Sorenson’s motion to prioritize Metrorail expansion over the other alternatives. The board then voted for the Bus Rapid Transit System which won by a popular vote of 8-5. This system will provide an extension of the current Metorail track to US-1 and 104th. From this stop an elevated busway will take passengers from the 104th station to 312th street, over the existing busway, which will be turned into an express toll lane. We can all thank Coral Gables Councilman William Kerdyk for leaving the country without making his opinion known or making a proxy vote cast (Mari… Monday Candidate?). His vote, which would have been in favor of the extension according to Robert MacDougall, would have been enough to approve the metrorail extension plan. Instead we will get a raised busway and two more lanes for US-1. We can also thank Commissioner Jimenez, who represents Pinecrest, for leading the front against the metrorail. Find out more about MPO’s decision in The Kendall Gazette or the United Citizens for South Link website.
Ouch, yeah that did hurt. Thanks Paul. I actually wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, after I attended the UCSL meeting. The MPO is really in the wrong hands. Jimenez (like all our commission members) is completely oblivious to what the constituents really want and is basically doing what he pleases. Extending metrorail to 104th is meaningless and will do nothing to improve our local traffic issues, enhance our public transportation, or increase ridership. Honestly, it should extend south to The Falls mall at least in order to make some sort of positive impact.
The elevated busway you speak of is actually just a bunch bridges placed at key intersections. This appears to be some sort of a ploy to help traffic flow on US-1 so that cars may turn westward unimpeded. This will however allow the busway to serve as a genuine BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) Line. This is crucial for the 10,000-15,000 daily busway users and has proven to be a success in other cities with dedicated ROW’s for buses…
Technorati Tags: Miami, Busway, Development, Planning
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