It is amazing to watch how Green Mobility and other cycling groups have made the City of Miami Move along with bike infrastructure. The upcoming Bike Miami could put old school transport back on the map . As we close the chapter of phenomenal growth in the County, I am disappointed as I gaze back on many great redevelopment achievements that did not include better-planned streets and sidewalks, crossings, and grades. The fact of the matter remains that too many public and private projects have gone forward with major underground retrofits and right-of way reconstruction – countless missed opportunities where five feet of clear, walkable sidewalk AND bike lanes could have easily been implemented:. A complete street of course. Biscayne Boulevard is a perfect example. Where is the bike lane? Where are the wide sidewalks? As construction comes to a grinding halt, Biscayne Boulevard will continue to look this way. It is the poster child of what we’ve done wrong (twice) within this last century.
If a few thousand people gather and populate along this downtown strip, go shopping, have lunch, make friends and go about their business without cars, the argument will be over, once and for all. Bikes and alternative forms of transportation matter and we, as the residents of Miami Dade County, must clamor for our civic leaders to push our city forward with clean, livable street infrastructure. After all, the sky will not fall; the river will not run dry if we have fewer cars on our roads as a normal course of affairs. The only way to achieve this is by making physical accommodations to the roadway for transport other than cars. The political chicken and egg story. Let’s crack it wide open and have it cook on the asphalt of old – politicians and bureaucrats all will take notice of that day of Bike Miami.
I look forward to seeing you and your friends at Bike Miami.
Upcoming Events:
We all know how I feel about Miami Beach. A great City to live or visit, but I wish you did not have to drive everywhere. And my wish could be granted, on such a small and perfectly laid out Island, if only we had the right mix of parking and public transit, complete streets and wide sidewalks. Getting my town closer to this tropical urban utopia will require your attendance at the following Public Meetings:
- Dade Blvd. Bike Path (for the proposed bike/pedestrian bridge) on Oct. 21st 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Botanical Gardens.
- And the ever-important Transportation Element Planning workshop tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27th, with a place yet to be determined.
The first meeting addresses upcoming projects that have the potential to include enhancements to non-motorized transportation. The second is a state requirement to conform to our wonkish Comprehensive Plan, an important technically we should utilize to realize global solutions to our constant state of gridlock and redundant bus routes. I would hope the TE update meeting could turn into a mini “Transit Summit” for the Beach that focuses on mobility for residents and guests. Only your attendance can make that happen.
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