Making constructive points about how each of the proposed projects would function the best (e.g. route alignment, station location, urban design, funding strategies, etc) is something I’d rather focus on at this juncture.

I just feel strongly that, with the very limited resources available for new transit projects in Miami Dade, we need the projects that will move the most people, the quickest from point A to point B. And, I strongly believe that the Miami streetcar and Baylink would be a poor substitutes for Metrorail, and would represent only marginal improvements over the bus service in place today.

It’s about setting prioities, and the leadership of MD county has a dismal track record where transit is concerned. That should be the focus, getting our political leaders to MAKE building a world-class metro system a top priority. Then, and only then, will we start to see progress. The first step is a 30 year plan to build a county wide metrorail system, with the Orange line being first priority, with the next project (say the south corridor) in the planning pipeline should there be any delays in building the Orange line.

Looking ahead for a moment,surely the rising cost of fuel will create some action from the federal government to increase Federal funding for mass transit, just as happended in the 1970’s.

The question is, will Miami-Dade be positioned to take advantage of this opportunity, or will we have no coherent plan to build our metro system? Other cities surely will be ready to take the funding we lose out on, which is why there needs to be a plan in place.

With regard to Baylink, the idea is that the system would operate within traffic through downtown Miami and through South Beach, but would have its own right-of-way for the trip between the two locations. A metrorail extension to Miami Beach is not only impractical (making a 90-degree turn for example would take up almost half the width of South Beach) but overly expensive. Not only does Baylink scale down a lot of the property demands, it offers a greater chance for expandability in the future, both because of the relatively inexpensive nature and because of the flexibility the platform offers.

Just so this is not a completely negative post directed towards Eliot, I do agree that this site could be a unifying force in the fight against not only poorly run transit agencies, but poor planning as well. I also agree that the problem is awareness in Miami. Of all the people I have spoken with, 99% want metrorail to go down Kendall drive, but only a handfull of those people could actually make it to any of the meetings to voice their concerns. The end result of that was a league of homeowners associations shut down the idea because it didn’t mesh with the ideas of a handful of people. I do feel that Miamians can see the 1-2 inches ahead of them, I just feel that the county commission gets distracted by the developers dangling the money off to the side.

I also agree with Dave’s point of view on this issue. I never liked the idea of the Bay Link street cars. I feel as if though it is more of an artistic choice than an efficient transit choice. Riding from downtown miami to miami beach on metro rail seems more efficient (as dave has pointed out) than riding in some crappy historic looking art deco bus decorated with possible wire hangers.

Even if they argued that the bay link would have it’s own empty separate lane to use i would still be against it.

as for Miamian’s not thinking 1 - 2 inches ahead of themselves… I disagree with the idea that Miamian’s are so blind that they can’t see 1-2 inches of foresight in front of themselves. Instead, I blame the lack of overall awareness that people have about mass transit in general, and the mass transit problems in Miami. I continue to believe that this site has so much potential power in creating awareness, and action towards the metrorails of tomorrow. I am always spreading the link out to people that I come across, maybe targeting the people who stand on the metro-rail station platforms would help unify a community of people who want to see mass transit flourish in Miami.

Create awareness, unite, and make those in charge listen to us seems like a better plan for Miami than watching it slowly rot in a poorly run mass transit system.