Transit Miami

After a long hiatus, Ryan, the Sprawl Hater is back to bust a popular myth here in South Florida that “the metrorail doesn’t go anywhere”. While it may be true that the Metrorail doesn’t go everywhere that it should, you can’t say that it doesn’t go anywhere, either. Yes, we absolutely should have metrorail, light rail, or similar form of mass transit going directly to the airport, FIU, Dolphins Stadium, Miami Beach, Little Havana, and Midtown, among other places. (Note: The two new extensions to be built within the next 5-10 years, however flawed, will finally service FIU, the airport, and Dolphins Stadium). Nonetheless, if you live within about a half a mile of a metrorail station from Allapattah south, you should be able to use metrorail for just about anything. Even if you live north of Allapattah, you could still use metrorail for all of the same reasons, it’s just going to take you a few extra minutes.

That’s right, I’m making the argument that if you live along the metrorail line from Allapattah station south (for convenience), you should be able to live relatively comfortably without a car.

So, here we go:

Since we all get hungry, and even need to eat on occasion, (or six times a day like me) groceries are a must. Good thing – Publix is located in Brickell and Dadeland; Milam’s is in the Grove; Winn Dixie is at Sunset Place. However, after a long day at work many of us wouldn’t mind going out to eat instead of chicken for the 27^th consecutive night; good news again – there’s hundreds of restaurants and take out joints scattered around most of the metrorail stations. Whether you’re jonesing for Cheesecake factory or The Big Cheese, you can get there via metrorail. Wanna catch a movie after dinner? We’ve got AMC Sunset at (you guessed it) Sunset Place or AMC Cocowalk if you’re closer to the Grove. Rather watch the movie in the comfort of your own home? Blockbuster is at Brickell (Brickell station) and the University of Miami (University station), and Super Star Video is right across the street from the Grove Station. Rather hit up the bar or the club instead of doing the movie? Sunset Place and Coconut Grove have plenty of bars plus some clubs, while Park West downtown has clubs like Metropolis, Pawn Shop, and Space – all easily accessible via metrorail or metromover.

Perhaps it’s the weekend now and you’re making plans. If the ‘Canes are in town, you can catch a game at the OB, courtesy of metrorail (Culmer station). You’ll be laughing all the way to the bank (which, by the way can be found near most stations) as you walk by disgruntled superfans caught in traffic jams (how on earth does the city allow the 12^th avenue drawbridge to go up three times in the hour before kickoff???) and about to pay through the nose for parking on some random guy’s property. If it’s basketball season, you can catch your NBA champion Heat at the AAA – again without the hassle of driving/parking. Perhaps you’re more of the cultured type; metrorail will take you to the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Space Transit Planetarium, and the Miami Museum of Science (has anyone seen the Titanic?) Why not a nightcap? Metromover (via metrorail) will drop you off right by our brand new Carnival Performing Arts Center, where you can catch a broadway show or an opera.

Now that it’s Sunday, you might want to relax and read a good book. Metrorail will wisk you to Barnes and Noble at Sunset Place if you’re looking to buy or to the Miami-Dade Public Library Main Branch Downtown if you’ve got a library card (damn those late fees, though). Of course, the wife or the girlfriend may have other plans in store for you. Fellas, as we know, this usually means some sort of shopping is involved. If she wants jewelry, you can take her downtown to the Miami Jewelry district (not Sunday, though – I think it’s closed). For pretty much anything else (clothes, shoes, electronics, sporting goods, home décor, or general goods) you should be able to find at either Dadeland Mall, Dadeland North Station (Target, Best Buy, Sports Authority, Bed Bath & Beyond), Macy’s or Ross’ (Downtown), Sunset Place, Cocowalk, or Mayfair in the Grove. If you’re the parsimonious type, you may want to check out the Northside Flea Market (Northside station).

Unfortunately, Sunday also means some of the more mundane chores. Chances are if you live near a metrorail station, a laundromat will be nearby if you’ve got dirty clothes. Time to renew medication? Walgreens and CVS can be found along the metrorail as well. Hair starting to look like Colin Farrell in Miami Vice? Get to a barbershop (or salon) fast – they’re located along the metrorail line, too.

On Monday, instead of waking up to face a dreaded commute you can get some extra sleep and read the newspaper on the train. After that long weekend of eating out, partying, and stadium food, you’ll probably want to hit up the gym after work – LA Fitness at Sunset Place, Shaq Fitness & Grove Fitness in Coconut Grove, among others.

Recent articles in the herald have covered the topic of new urbanism, a type of regional planning which I stand by, so long as it is done correctly. We all know that in the greater Miami area things are often not done this way, let alone actually planned properly, the new urbanism projects are no exception. Now, don’t get me wrong, they are much better than the sprawling strip shopping centers, single family home subdivisions, and everything else we tend to find rising in the western parts of the county, but, they still have a multitude of flaws.

Dadeland Station
Dadeland station was a prime example of the urbanization of our retail industry. It’s the first vertical big-box retail mall of its kind in our area and prime example of how we can use our land and resources much more effectively. Using just seven acres of land, we are able to easily vertically integrate five big-box stores along with smaller specialty shops, rental units, and parking garages. It’s built within a convenient distance from Metrorail too. However, here lies one of our main obstacles. The integration of Metrorail with the structure is haphazard and gives the appearance of an afterthought. It’s covered walkway, although protects pedestrians from the weather, is nothing more than a cheap tarp anchored by a couple of metal poles. The scene is just as uninviting for those visiting Dadeland mall, they are forced to cross the parking lot- a constant reminder that pedestrian needs are secondary to vehicular accommodations.

Midtown Miami
2,900 parking spaces. No public transit. Enough said. This complex thus far is looking like a nightmare for the area streets. The newly constructed sidewalks aren’t faring much better either seeing that they lack any cohesive covered portico which would make walking through the area feasible and pleasant in all types of weather (look at Miracle Mile in the Gables as a positive example.) The developer also neglected on street parking, a vital component to any real urban center.

Shops at Mayfair & Las Olas Riverfront
These are two are older attempts to create lifestyle centers in the community. We’ve seen how poorly they both have fared so far, facing a glut of retail space without sufficient amount of space allotted for residential or office components. “Parking issues” plague both complexes along with a serious need for public transit.

This article builds upon a term I have come to hate; Town Center. A town center has become in my mind a euphemism for a Nimby-like community which is giving a half-assed attempt to create an urban culture, with sufficient parking for all Mercedes Benzes of course. Town Centers build upon the urban concept without factoring in public transit, mobility, or any other neighborhood in the vicinity. They do have some advantages; making individual community centers easier to link by public transit if the funds ever become available. However, I still believe there wouldn’t be a use for the town center concept if we hadn’t abandoned our actual main cities and downtowns to begin with…

Ok, don’t listen to me. We’ve already proven that Marlins Management is fully capable of making horrendous decisions regarding baseball; why not let them decide how to plan our cities? I mean, after all, it’s not like I haven’t spent the better part of my life studying transportation engineering or urban planning. I even read traffic flow analysis reports and look over project plans with my spare time, there’s no way in heck that I, some random blogger would know why a stadium in Pembroke Park would be a complete catastrophe.

Some time ago, Marlins’ management decided through a very unscientific study that the main reason people were not attending their games was because of the lack of a dome on Joe Robbie Stadium Pro Player Park Dolphins Stadium Huizenga’s House of sports. Well, the findings were only partially correct. The other factors which they negated to analyze include: location and proximity of the stadium to the areas with the densest population, impact of the highly unpopular roster purging technique, availability of public transit, etc

I don’t know how many times I’d have to say it but hopefully this one will be the charm: Baseball is an urban game; it belongs in areas with dense populations surrounding it and within easy reach of multi-modes of transportation.

Now, a park in Pompano Park would be as big of a disaster as Hialeah keeping the Marlins in Huizenga’s House of sports and I’ll tell you why:

If you take a look at the recent trends in Major league baseball, all the new (and old stadiums for that matter) are located in the downtowns of their respective cities (St. Louis, San Francisco, Detroit, etc.) People in these cities typically attend games after work, saving them the hassle of a rush hour commute in the afternoon or a cross-town journey to watch a bunch of minor leaguers play.

The biggest argument I hear is “well, all the Marlins fans come from Broward anyways…” Yes, and look at how many of them have been showing up recently, about 12,000 per game despite the fact that the stadium is on the way home for many of them to begin with. Many Miami-Dade residents have ceased to support the team due to the ridiculous drive north we would have to endure. A stadium in downtown would capture the local population base (the densest base in the Greater Miami region) as well as all the Broward commuters who travel south daily to work. I’ve heard countless business professionals saying “I’d stay in the city to watch the game, just to avoid the dreaded commute every evening…” It would also be served by the Metrorail and Metro Mover, as well as any passenger trains which begin to travel on the FEC tracks…

Look, I propose we build the stadium somewhere where population is dense, transit is an option, and vehicles are not the priority (people are.) I think we should cut our costs too and build it initially without the retractable roof, to minimize the use of public money. Then, in a few years, once the fan base returns and the team has proven that it is profitable and committed to the greater Miami community, we can add the retractable roof. If the stadium is located somewhere near the coast, the afternoon showers which form over the everglades should hardly be much of a concern to begin with. Oh, and it should be a ballpark, not some casino sports megaplex, we should have retail, office, and residential space surrounding the stadium…

• Well you know there has to be some serious structural issues going on when one of the few Marlins’ fans gets nailed by a 4 inch chunk of concrete at a game recently. Heck, it’s not even like the stadium has been under some extenuating circumstances recently given the typical attendance of Marlins and Dolphins games.

• Jeffery Loria is out of his mind. You don’t get rid of the guy who is arguably the best manager in the league just because you can’t get past some of your own personal issues. If Girardi is fired today, it would be yet another stain in the clubs’ history and yet another reason why I will continue to not support the franchise. With such erratic decisions, it’s easy to see why the Marlins have yet to finalize plans to stay in Miami…