Archive for the 'Lejeune' Category

Roll Again…

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 6, 2006
in Congestion, Construction, Douglas, FDOT, Google Analytics, Lejeune, Miami-Dade County and Traffic
. 0 Comments

I would like to officially apologize to all my regulars who came back to work on Wednesday in full force and checked out the site for updates (Yeah, Google Analytics lets me see you too.) Posting has been a little schizophrenic lately due to the Cancun Schedule of beer by the pool at 10 am; but, I promise we will be back to normal by the weekend.

It’s nice to be back in Miami (not really) facing the traffic and construction on my regular route to work in the mornings. So, I decided to choose an alternate route, which much to my dismay also had construction on it. I then realized that my third and fourth alternate routes were also torn apart sending cars haphazardly merging into one mess (Or in my case, through the residential neighborhoods surrounding the area.) Fantastic, whose bright idea was it to tear up 37th avenue, LeJeune Rd, Ponce De Leon Blvd, and 27th avenue simultaneously? This person is up for a Maricon Monday award. The second and fourth projects I listed are so adamantly named projects 15 and 17 on the FDOT site. Four major arterials simultaneously rendered useless by State planners. Complete lack of communication by the DOT within the agency, as well as with Coral Gables city planners which I believe are handling the Ponce streetscape disaster. Do not pass go. Do not get to work on time. Do not collect $200. Literally…

My Chronicles of Transit (Part II)

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on June 9, 2006
in Lejeune, Miami, Public Transit, Transit and bus
. 0 Comments

3 minutes. That is how little I had to wait yesterday for the J route bus to arrive. The ride home was flawless, quick, and just as efficient as if I had driven myself. The bus flowed as quickly as the traffic on LeJeune during the 5 pm crunch. The effectiveness of the whole ride home was a surprise to me; I never thought it could rival driving.
The bus was nearly full to seated capacity. The assortment of people riding the bus home included a couple of flight attendants (Delta and American Airlines), old folks, kids attending summer school at Coral Gables Senior high, and people who looked like they were just running errands.

All of the buses and trains were very clean, well air-conditioned, and for all practical purposes comfortable. The metrorail stations themselves need some help in that department, but in all fairness, they do see a considerably more traffic.

I took the metrorail down to South Miami to run some errands (Post-office mainly) before heading to back home. Having to depend on public transit, required me to plan my day accordingly and made my day go by much more smoothly. I felt better and more energized because of the added walking and saved time and money by planning my day ahead of time.

I now plan to make busses a part of my weekly routine in getting to and from work and other places (aside from my usual use of metrorail on weekends.) My next plan is to try a longer distance (maybe the beach on a Saturday.) I regret that Ryan had such a miserable experience in his attempt to get to FIU but I hope that doesn’t discourage some of you from taking the Transit Miami Summer Transit Challenge. I did and it worked…

Experiencing Public Transit (Part 1)

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on June 8, 2006
in Lejeune, Metrorail, Miami, UM, US-1 and bus
. 0 Comments
Well, having already used public transportation for pleasure and recreational purposes on various occasions, today is the first day I depended on the system for my daily mobility. I began my day, 40 minutes earlier than usual and arrived at the UM metrorail station by 7 am (on foot.) The stations and metrorail were busy with what appeared to be working class individuals; the business executives were only visible as I peered through the window of the train at the traffic down below on US-1. I rode the train North to Douglas Rd. (next stop) where I disembarked around 7:12. That’s where the efficiency level of the system suddenly took a sharp drop.

Now, I knew the J bus would take me to my destination, however, the trip planner recommended route 42. So, with that knowledge at hand, I proceeded to the route 42 bus stop. The station had a bit of activity but did not appear to be more or less than usual. Route 37 seems to be the popular route. I waited for 20 minutes, watching a couple of J routes come and go as well as a route 42 heading towards Coconut Grove, empty.

The arrival of the 42 could not have come at better time, as the sun was just beginning to peak over the trees and buildings which were shielding it from me and the heat was just starting to intensify. It appears many people are unaware of today’s free rides as the bus driver himself quizzically glanced at the ticket I just handed him and riders continued to pay or show their golden passports. The bus embarked immediately.

The ride was uneventful and much more serene than my new daily commute down the same thoroughfare in my car. Once on the bus, we flowed seamlessly until I disembarked at my location at 7:50, nearly 50 minutes after my public transit endeavor began. Next time, I’ll spring for the route J, and a shorter commute which could in fact rival driving which often takes me up to 20 minutes… I’ll be back later with the conclusion to my daily errands and a wrap-up on what I think could be improved.