Transit Miami

In dire need of some simple groceries, I decided today was a good day to begin my quest to minimize my daily impact on the local environment by biking around to accomplish my errands. Biking through my neighborhood, thankfully, is quite a breeze if you stay on the sidewalk. I ventured out into the street every so often only to be corralled back by a lumbering Escalade or whatnot. Crossing the new roundabouts recently installed by the city of Coral Gables as a pedestrian was interesting. They are fairly well designed, however, I think the signs which warn oncoming cars about the pedestrians should include a sign reading “Yield Here for Pedestrians” rather than just to watch out for us. I’ve realized Miami drivers fail to yield to anything unless specifically told to do so and even then you still see flagrant road sign abuse.

The ride was fairly smooth until I arrived at my local Publix. The bike rack was nowhere to be found. An employee informed me that there wasn’t enough space in the cramped parking lot to fit a bicycle rack.

I figured it was probably a waste of their money to try and accommodate other forms of transportation when visiting the store, even though it is less than half a mile from a transit station and I was likely going to be the only idiot who would bike over 2 miles to get some milk. I nonetheless left my bike attached to a railing, knowing full well that whoever wanted to steal my bike had to be pretty desperate considering the conditions and its’ appearance.

I made my way through the park with the greatest potential for urban greatness in the Coral Gables/South Miami area, which also happens to be across the parking lot from Publix and on my way to my next destination. With plenty of green space, on street parking, benches, and room to run around, Riviera Park is clamoring for some proper attention and better development to neighbor it.

Aside from me, there was one elderly and homeless looking lady enjoying the tranquility of our surroundings. I took a quick break to survey the surroundings which noticeably lack any uniform interaction with the park. The park could sorely benefit from denser residential development and more inviting facades of buildings other than the parking structures which currently front the west side.

I crossed several waterways along the way where I stopped to admire the ultimate private boat parking spaces. As you can see by the photograph below, pedestrian activity along the bridge was clearly an afterthought to the automotive needs, barely leaving me enough room to cross as cars zipped through.

Close encounters with cars: 1

Random pedestrians who said hello: 3

Errands Accomplished: 2

Total Distance: 4+ miles

Time: 45 minutes