Archive for the 'Miami 21' Category

The State of Miami Transit

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on May 22, 2008
in MDTA, MetroCard, Metromover, Metrorail, Miami 21, Miami Commission, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit, Mobility, Uncategorized and metrobus
. 9 Comments

The County Commission decided to delay its vote Tuesday on the proposed transit hikes. I commend Carlos Jimenez and others for seeing that the issue had to be reconsidered. As Gabe mentioned earlier in the week, the monthly pass really needs to be consistent with the size/reach of our transit system (not higher than NYC). Not to mention that the last thing you want to do when ridership is up is to increase fares, but the fact is that the system needs to be funded. Unfortunately I think that this discussion is just the latest in a series of bad management and planning decisions that keep our holding our transit back.

It has been a tumultuous time for Miami-Dade transit recently. The result of poor vision, bad management, and professional incompitance, the transit system is currently on life support. (This all with record high transit ridership on Tri-Rail reported today!).

The recent allocation of PTP tax dollars for the refurbishment of existing cars (and purchase of new ones) is indicative of the state of our transit. If the Trust hadn’t stepped in and bailed out MDT there would not have been anywhere to get the money from. In other words once the metro cars reached their lifespan they would have been tossed and we would have a really expensive piece of civic art. By not rehab-ing the cars some time back (as Baltimore did with its metro cars) the Commission basically put itself in a position where they had to buy new cars or close up shop. Not to mention the message it sends to Washington: that we aren’t serious about competing for transit dollars.  As if the Orange Line didn’t have enough funding problems, this just adds to how disorganized the MDT is. When the feds look at our existing system and see that it is mismanaged, what incentive do they have to give us money when there are plenty of other cities out there that are serious about mass transit.

The Orange Line debacle is yet another indication of how flawed our system is. We are eligible for lots of free money to help build this line, and we are at risk of losing it because we don’t know if we can maintain the line for the next 30 years? Really?? Lets not even mention that the Feds are already miffed that we are going to downgrade our Tri-Rail service after giving us nearly half a billion dollars for track upgrades.

Whew. Where does that leave us with oil closing in on $150/barrel (and soon thereafter $200, and $250. and $300…)? We need our transit system more than ever. We need a successful transit system now, not under the 50 year plan, but the five year plan.

Truth is if our planners and elected officials were as serious about transit as they were about highway and road building we would already have a really great transit system. I think it would be a surprise to many here in our car-centered culture that plenty of other post-war suburban cities have developed amazing transit systems over the past fifteen years.

Incidentally, I had lunch with a buddy of mine named Dave who happily takes the bus everyday from his house in Kendall to work in Coral Gables. He tried to explain to me why transit works for him but not for his dad (who won’t take the bus to save his life). “Its really easy for me. It’s mostly a straight shot with one transfer. But my dad works five minutes away from his house. It’s easier for him to just get in the car and go. Transit can’t take us everywhere.” Now Dave is my friend so I didn’t reach over the table and smack him around, but that’s exactly the attitude that pervades our culture and is bred from policy decisions made at the top.

Our elected officials need to understand:

We NEED transit alternatives to the car.

We DESERVE multiple forms of transit that are safe, frequent, and far reaching without having to get into the car.

We need transit NOW.

Metro Monday: Melbourne

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on May 12, 2008
in Metro Monday and Miami 21
. 2 Comments

For today’s Metro Monday, we once again direct you over to our friends at Streetsfilms to view an exceptional piece on Melbourne’s pedestrian facilities. It is simply amazing to see how quickly a city can change with the right policy, perhaps Miami 21 will serve as our saving grace.

There is an invaluable lesson here. In the early 90s, Melbourne was hardly a haven for pedestrian life until Jan Gehl was invited there to undertake a study and publish recommendations on street improvements and public space. Ten years after the survey’s findings, Melbourne was a remarkably different place thanks to sidewalk widenings, copious tree plantings, a burgeoning cafe culture, and various types of car restrictions on some streets. Public space and art abound. And all of this is an economic boom for business.

Miami 21 Update: On Thursday the City of Miami commission approved the continuation of the Miami 21 project with the mapping of the quadrants. Interestingly, the only mention of this in the Herald was a recent editorial two days before the actual vote by Daniella Levine… Perhaps this is a contributing factor for much of the confusion regarding Miami 21…

A Dubious Distinction

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on April 30, 2008
in Bicycles, Bikes, Boston, Climate Change, Miami, Miami 21, Transportation, biking and transportation sustainability
. 3 Comments

Miami may be one of “America’s cleanest cities,” but it certainly is not one of the most bicycle-friendly. This fact was recently recognized in the June 2008 issue of Bicycle Magazine, which bestowed Miami with the dubious distinction of joining Dallas and Memphis as one of the three worst cities in America for bicycling. The excerpt, linked above states the following:

In Miami, the terrain lies pancake-flat and the sun shines bright nearly every day–perfect conditions for cycling. But Miami-Dade County has done little to foster safer streets for bikes, despite the fact that Florida ranks second in the nation in bicycle fatalities and that much of Miami’s poorer population relies on bikes for transportation. The county enacted the Bicycle Facilities Plan in 2001, but it failed to state any specific goals. The city of Miami has no finished lanes, and the only one under construction is less than a mile long. The rest of the county’s lanes are just as short, appearing randomly and disappearing a few blocks later. “We’re so far behind and in the dark with bikes it’s absurd,” bike-shop owner Chris Marshall told the Miami New Times in January. “I’d say we’re stuck in the ’60s, but it’s worse than the ’60s. In the ’60s you could still get around by bike.”

I agree that we are far behind, but the article fails to mention Mayor Diaz’s new Bicycle Advisory Committee, which is working under the umbrella of the Office of Sustainable Initiatives to create a bicycle master plan that dovetails with Miami 21. It’s an uphill battle, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Interestingly, the City of Boston, another cycling-poor city in which I have lived, repeatedly received similar honors from Bicycling Magazine. However, thanks to an aggressive agenda to improve cycling conditions the city is quickly altering its reputation. Let’s hope Miami is not too far behind.

Miami Needs Your Help!

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on April 11, 2008
in City Commission, FDOT, Miami 21, Miami Commission, Save My Train and Tri-Rail
. 1 Comment
Transit Miami is asking all readers to please actively participate in saving Miami 21 and Tri-Rail funding.

Miami 21: Our sources over in city hall have informed us that Miami 21 is literally on life support. The city commissioners are completely oblivious to the true benefits this new zoning policy will bring to the city, helping to create a sustainable, walkable, and accessible community. Miami 21 will create a cohesive and well organized map for future growth in the city, bringing density to the corridors and areas which would benefit from it most while preserving the qualities of every neighborhood.

We urge all of our readers to email/call the city commissioners to voice your support for Miami 21.

Commissioner Angel Gonzalez: agonzalez@ci.miami.fl.us (305) 250-5430
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff: msarnoff@miamigov.com (305) 250-5333
Commissioner Joe Sanchez: jsanchez@ci.miami.fl.us (305) 250-5380
Commissioner Thomas Regalado: tregalado@ci.miami.fl.us (305) 250-5420
Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones: MSpence@ci.miami.fl.us (305) 250-5390

Tri-Rail: In the wake of rising oil prices, our logical friends over in the FDOT are looking to strip Tri-Rail funding for a handful of road expansion projects in the tri-county area. Tri-Rail has launched the save my train initiative to prevent the budget cutbacks which would essentially cripple the agency. We should add that last year Tri-Rail was the second fastest growing transit agency in the country and the fastest growing agency in 2006.

If you have any further questions feel free to contact us (movemiami@gmail.com)

Tuesday News

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on April 7, 2008
in Bicycles, CITT, Coconut Grove, Cycling, FDOT, Metro Zoo, Metrorail, Miami 21, News, Transit and bike lanes
. 3 Comments
  • CITT will reconsider whether to vote for new Metrorail cars (Miami Today News)
  • Anti-Miami 21 Commissioner Regalado announces candidacy for Mayor (Miami Sunpost)
  • Metrorail controversy over “ghost posts” (Miami Herald)
  • Cyclist win the right to sue FDOT for failing to implement bike lanes (Bike Blog)

Urban Spotlight: Montreal Pt. Deux

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on April 4, 2008
in Affordable Housing, Canada, Density, Miami 21, Montreal, Quebec and Urban Design
. 4 Comments
Walking around in the Stade Olympique neighborhood of Montreal’s outskirts, I saw the perfect opportunity to illustrate how seamlessly medium density buildings can be integrated with classic single family homes (sans the hideous car ports). This picture above shows a row of multi-family buildings abutting one story and short two-story houses that are not unlike the ubiquitous kind of single family housing found throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

This is the kind of infill that Miami 21 would make possible, in turn creating denser communities in an unobtrusive manner. This also makes it easier to build affordable housing that makes for diverse socioeconomic communities.

Miami 21: Is it really that hard to understand?

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on March 26, 2008
in DPZ, Density, Miami, Miami 21, Miami Herald, NIMBY, Pedestrians, Project for Public Spaces, Quality of Life, Sustainability, Urban Design and Zoning
. 4 Comments
I know we have already mentioned this topic this week, but considering the Herald continues its negative spin campaign against the zoning rewrite I thought a healthy counterpoint was in order. Herald columnist Ana Mendez writes in her column today that she thinks that the code is a little too complicated for a layperson to understand.

She writes, “Its true zoning codes are difficult to write. And no one wants to minimize the important role that government plays in assessing the public’s needs and translating them into hopelessly complicated, impenetrable legal gobbledygook. But there has to be a better way.”

Now, as an urban planner and architect I agree that the language can be difficult at times, but the fact is that anyone with a high school education can figure it out (not to mention that all of the terms used are defined in the first chapter). Part of the problem is that we have to translate good urban design (which is a field that lends itself to drawing more than writing) into legal ‘gobbledygook’ so that land-use attorneys and developers don’t find loopholes in otherwise straightforward regulations.

Codes (Miami 21 or any other land use code) have to be written in language that is not simplistic, and that will hold up to scrutiny in court. Menendez quotes from the code:


Lots facing streets on more than one (1) side shall have designated Principal Frontage(s) and may have Secondary Frontage(s). Unless otherwise designated by a Special Area Plan, a Principal Frontage shall be that facing the street of higher pedestrian importance or intensity (i.e., traffic volume, number of lanes, etc.)

Which is another way of saying that you define the front of a corner lot as the one that faces the busiest street, but you can’t say that in a legal document because if you did then you would have all sorts of follow-up questions like:

  • How do you define which street is most important?
  • What do you call the other less important front?

Unfortunately, I think that this criticism of Miami 21, along most others, is less about the code than about blaming it for things that are beyond its control.

Here are a few of the arguments against Miami 21 that I have read both on the Miami 21 website and in various articles over the past two years:
–> “Miami 21 is the first urban application of a smart code in the US. It is an experiment that has never been tested.”

Actually, Miami 21 is not the first form based code to be applied to a major urban center, Philadelphia is in the process of passing a form based code, and I think we would all agree that as far as successful urbanism is concerned Miami pales in comparison. Form based codes have actually been around for a long time. Think of any good city (Chicago, New York, Philly, Boston) and their downtowns were developed with codes that were form based (as opposed to use based).

–> “Miami 21 is hated by architects and urban planners.”

Actually, having been written by urban planners and architects this one is not really true. The Herald loves to point out that architects dislike the plan, but really only a vocal minority of self-crowned celebrity architects dislike the code as a matter of ego than of substance. One architect in particular (whose name will remain anonymous except to say that it begins with Z and ends with h) says that the code infringes on his creativity by imposing height restrictions. Without going into some lengthy discussion on aesthetics and philosophy, lets just say that where this designer is concerned, creativity is overrated. Miami 21 holds faithful to some pretty basic premises (active street fronts, eyes on the street, etc.) and allows a lot of latitude after that. If you need your building to stand out like a huge phallic symbol, go to Dubai. Never mind that the the latest draft of the code has all but relaxed the height restrictions in certain T-Zones to be what they are in the existing code.

–> “Miami 21 will not allow me to rebuild my house if it gets destroyed.”

First of all, as with any zoning rewrite there will be nonconformities. The whole point of the code is that the existing code is allowing some pretty awful stuff to get built, and the new code will make some of that illegal. That’s the nature of any zoning code. I live in a 1940’s med style house that is illegal by today’s code because its too close to the sidewalk. Go figure. At any rate, the new draft of the code explicitly states that nonconformities in R1 zones will be grandfathered in. Period.

–> “Developers hate Miami 21.”

This one is my favorite. Developers love Miami 21 because it gives them greater development rights than they had before. The code was drafted using the existing regulations as a base. That means that all of the development rights have been preserved or augmented. All the code does is say that you have to meet the street in a way that will promote healthy urbanism. It’s not complicated.

–> “Miami 21 will allow tall buildings next to single family residences along Biscayne in the NE part of town.”

This one is true much to the chagrin of community activists such as Elvis Cruz who have long protected the area. Unfortunately they aren’t entirely using their thinking caps as to what they get in return for this extra height. Along parts of Biscayne you can build a 3 story building that would reach a height of 50′+ that would be adjacent to 30′ homes.

There are two parts to this that people need to understand.

1) We are trying to encourage pedestrian friendly development along in this part of Biscayne and part of that involves defining the street as a public space. With a street as large as Biscayne is, you need something more than two stories to make that happen. I don’t think that 50′ is all that egregious a transition to a single family neighborhood (especially in comparison to what is allowed now).
2) We need to start thinking of our eastern edge as the place where more intense development needs to happen. We cannnot hold the UDB line and be NIMBY’s at the same time. Saving the Everglades means that growth has to be in someone’s backyard. Biscayne Boulevard deserves buildings that are more than 3 stories.

Remember this: Miami 21 is a lot better than the existing code, and if we let this opportunity pass we are the ones who suffer. This is not some abstract concept in a book, this is about the kind of city in which we want to live and raise our families. I for one will not give up.

Miami 21: On Hold Again

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on March 24, 2008
in Commission, DPZ, Mayor Diaz, Miami and Miami 21
. 8 Comments
Miami 21 is in the Herald today with news that is not very uplifting. Commissioner Regalado, a longtime critic of the plan, has decided that the residents of his district do not yet fully understand the code and that he will not let the plan move forward until they do. Judging from turnout at meetings in his district, it’s no wonder that people still don’t understand the plan, but whose fault is that? (Maybe they should show up, or at least read through the code once). Are we going to continue to stall this plan and delay its implementation because of his own political agenda against Mayor Diaz and Commish Joe Sanchez. All too often lately, it seems that his decisions are based on where ideas came from rather than what is best for his constituents or the city. Think about the Ballpark deal: if that had come solely from Mayor Diaz’s office he would surely have tried to kill it.

Lets not even mention the fact that he expects DPZ to do any work from this point on for FREE!! What boggles my mind is that he originally suggested the quadrant system, only to change his mind later to city-wide implementation. In my business that’s called a change order, and there is no reason that DPZ should not be compensated for it. It all boils down to a cheap political trick: rather than force a vote against the plan (which he would be responsible for) he is going to try to force them to stop working on the plan (by not paying them), and later blaming the administration and DPZ for not following through.

The fact is that this plan works, and it works a lot better than what we have now. Period. Any other arguments he or any other commissioner makes is small potatoes. It serves the public good, will create a walkable city, and provides for the transitions from high density areas to low density areas that are non-existent in the current code.

Miami 21 Update

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on March 17, 2008
in DPZ, Miami, Miami 21 and Zoning
. 0 Comments


There’s movement on the horizon for Miami 21. You’ll remember that the last we heard about Miami 21 (way back in June of last summer) the City Commissioners sent DPZ back to do more work refining the code, & holding more public meetings. Among some of the criticisms the Commissioners had was that the plan was divided into quadrants (a request they made when DPZ first started the project) and would required concurrent zoning codes, and that there were several parts of the code that were not very clear (ironically the parts that came from the existing code regarding non-conformities).

DPZ spent the remainder of last summer holding 14 public meetings in the remaining 3 quadrants to educate the rest of the city on what Miami 21 is and what it is trying to accomplish (as if they didn’t already know). They reissued a new and improved code (addressing some of the concerns regarding height and development rights) and revamped the Miami 21 website. The City of Miami seemed to be ready once again to move forward with with the code by scheduling an April 8th special City Commission meeting. Unfortunately, that meeting was postponed so that DPZ could finish the atlas of the entire city.

The new website is helpful and will hopefully do away with the notion that the city and DPZ have tried coming up with this code in a smoke filled room with no public involvement. They have published several previous versions of the code as requested in the Question/Answer section of the website, and have provided readers with a thorough education on the idea of the form-based code. I would urge any interested party (developer, lawyer and citizen alike) to read through the code to really understand it. It is user friendly and streamlines the zoning process.

We urge the City Commission to recognize Miami 21 as the visionary code that it is, and hope that the work can move forward as quickly as possible so that new development can start to shape the city in a positive way.

Miami 21 to be Unveiled for Whole City

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on February 21, 2008
in DPZ, Miami, Miami 21 and Zoning
. 2 Comments
After more than two years of work, it seemed that Miami 21 was finally set to arrive late last year. However, some officials and many residents were upset and confused by the way Miami 21 was to be implemented, one quadrant at a time instead of the entire city at once. According to the Miami Today News, though, Miami 21 authors Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) have now decided to unveil the zoning code for the entire city at once.

According to the Miami Today News piece,

City Manager Pete Hernandez told commissioners last week in their first public update since the summer that city staff and the consultants “have had an extensive number of meetings” and will be ready to post the latest draft of the code on the Web early next month.
This is good news overall, as I believe this makes Miami 21 even stronger while appeasing residents and officials concerned over the original quadrant-by-quadrant implementation plan. The downside? It looks like we’ll have to wait at least another eight months before the new code can be implemented. This will make Miami 21 a three-year process, but if that’s what it takes to get it implemented, and done right, then so be it; this is too critical for the city’s future to let another eight months get us down.

Metro Monday: Vienna’s Streetcars

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on December 24, 2007
in Austria, Braman, Miami 21, Strassenbahn, Streetcar, Tram, Urban Planning, Vienna and complete streets
. 5 Comments

Miami Streetcar vs. Monorail: A Brief Comparison

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on December 17, 2007
in Baylink, Design District, Metromover, Miami 21, Monorail, Parking Requirements, Pedestrians, Setbacks, Streetcar, Urban Design and complete streets
. 7 Comments
As our friend Verticus from MVB discussed in our recent post on the Miami streetcar, a monorail system would prove to be a slightly more efficient transit system than a streetcar- if you were comparing the modes strictly on that level. Looking at it strictly as a Transportation engineer, as Verticus has suggested, I can attest that any mode of transportation which travels along its own dedicated right-of-way will prove to be a more efficient form of moving passengers around. However, as I have come to realize throughout many years of studying and thought, looking at our environment strictly from a system optimization perspective, sacrifices an inclusion of other major contributing factors. I’ve outlined these factors below in a brief comparison between the Miami streetcar and any other form of transportation (such as Verticus’ Monorail concept) and analyzed them from the perspective of an urban planner and a transportation engineer.

Passenger Efficiency- As I stated above, this is the one major advantage a dedicated right-of-way will have over streetcar technology. However, even the efficiency of the system has its drawbacks when placed in the context of the urban environment we are studying: Miami’s Design District. Typically, passenger rail systems established on dedicated ROW’s feature stations located no less than a mile apart. The long distance between system stations makes these types of transit ideal for moving passengers from nearby townships and suburbs (or Sprawled areas where stations feature extensive parking,) rather than intracity connectivity. The purpose of the streetcar is to create an intricate web of urban transit and its closely placed stations (1/3 of a mile or so apart) permits more independent mobility on a fixed rail system (more on the benefits of this later.) Installing an advanced signalization system along the streetcar route ensures that the streetcars will always receive priority at intersections and will ensure the movement of the system along the route.

Street Interaction- The streetcar here has the clear advantage, located at the street level rather than a fixed guide way hovering above the city streets. I cannot stress enough how important tying in our transit systems to our streetscapes is when trying to establish vibrant urban neighborhoods. The streetcar invites street level activity on the sidewalk and ground level of adjoining buildings.

Economics- A rough comparison of recently completed modes of transit across the United States:

LRT/Streetcar:


Portland, Oregon- 4.6 mile loop- $12.4 million per mile
Tampa, Florida- 2.3 mile line- $13.7 million per mile
Charlotte, North Carolina- $31 million per mile
Denver, Colorado- $27.6 million per mile
Salt Lake City- $42.2 million per mile
National Average- Approx $40 million per mile

Monorail:

Las Vegas, Nevada- 4 mile line- $87 million per mile

Cost per passenger mile:

LRT:

San Diego- $0.17
Salt Lake City- $0.15
Dallas- $0.55
Portland- $0.29
Sacramento- $0.42
Denver- $0.40

Fixed automated guide way systems:

Jacksonville Skyway monorail $10.71
Detroit Peoplemover $5.80
Miami MetroMover $3.42

Plain and simple, the cost associated with acquiring the necessary land to create elevated stations and guide ways any dedicated ROW transit would require would make the project wholly financially infeasible. The clear advantage of the streetcar is that it will be built entirely on existing ROW’s and municipally owned land. For power source efficiency data, please click here.

Environmental Vitality- Hurricanes pose the obvious biggest threat to creating a permanent system of overhead wires to power a streetcar system. We have not yet identified a potential solution to this issue, however we know one exists given the ability of streetcars to survive the strongest winter winds and snow storms of Canada and Northern Europe.

Conclusion- What many people fail to realize is that the streetcar is a solution for the City of Miami’s transit needs. It provides a system of reliable urban transit which will make much of the city more accessible to all residents. The advantage of any fixed rail system over an advanced bus network is that rails bring about land use changes and buses do not. Establishing a fixed rail network allows the city of Miami to permanently alter parking requirements, building setbacks, and many of the other vital components which differentiate an urban setting from a suburban one. The streetcar isn’t designed as aide to the suburban Kendall, Homestead, or Pembroke Pines commuter, but rather the residents which will be infusing the downtown core. The streetcar provides the means for current and future city of Miami residents to easily enjoy urban mobility. Combined with the new regulations instilled in Miami 21, the Miami Streetcar will reduce the need for automobile use for those residents living within its’ sphere of pedestrian access.

For more information, please visit the City of Miami’s FAQ regarding the Miami Streetcar…

Transitography 42: Boston’s Back Bay

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on December 3, 2007
in Boston, Design District, Livable Neighborhoods, Miami 21, Pedestrians, Urban Design and Urban Planning
. 3 Comments
One of the best examples of how to create a vibrant, pedestrian accessible, and dense neighborhood is in Boston along the Back Bay. The dense row houses, some of which have been converted into mixed use structures (along Newbury street, Commonwealth Avenue, and Boylston) create a dense yet comfortable living environment. Public park space is amply provided along the Charles River Esplanade, Commonwealth Avenue, and the city’s central park (the Boston Common and Public Gardens) which anchors the eastern portion of this quaint neighborhood. Boston’s Back bay embodies many of the principles envisioned in Miami 21, including stepped structural height increases, reduced setbacks, on street parking, and canopy/park space requirements. Miami’s design district would be ideal for similar development and the Miami streetcar, like the green line which runs adjacent to the Back Bay, would only further bolster the livability of this neighborhood.

Miami 21 Update

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on September 26, 2007
in Bicycles, DPZ, Miami, Miami 21, New Urbanism, Planning, Transit, Urban Design and Zoning
. 2 Comments

Originally, Miami 21 was scheduled to go before the Commission tomorrow, September 27th, for its final hearing. However, due to a scheduling conflict on the Planning and Zoning agenda, this will no longer be the case. From the Miami21.org website:
The City of Miami City Manager is working on establishing a date in October, possibly for a special meeting to hear the item. The final date has not been established, but will be posted as soon as it is scheduled.

I’ve been looking for a mainstream media announcement of the date change, but I have yet to find anything. We’ll post any updates as we receive them.

In the meantime, if you haven’t seen DPZ’s latest Miami 21 presentation, I recommend checking it out here.

Apologies/News Briefs

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on August 8, 2007
in Arts, Bay Heights, Commission, Coral Springs, Downtown, Lifestyle, Max Tower, Media, Miami, Miami 21, Pedestrians, Port of Miami and US-1
. 2 Comments
We here at Transit Miami, would like to issue a heartfelt, sincere apology to our dedicated readers for our less than stellar content contribution lately. Each of us is currently wound up in our personal affairs and have naturally failed to allocate enough time to writing comprehensive, detailed articles on the latest transit/development issues. Fortunately for us, the past few weeks have been tame on the news fronts in these areas. Transit Miami readers, things will get better, I can attest to that. Our dedication is still as strong as the day we started this blog and our continued effort will be a testament to that. We have some exciting articles on the way and are working hard to instill the ideals of Transit Miami into the lives of every Miamian…

Some latest worthwhile stories:

  • City of Miami Commissioners foolishly rejected a plan to fund their $50 Million share of the port of Miami tunnel. A plan that would remove thousands of daily trucks, buses, and cars from the congested downtown streets somehow isn’t seen as a valuable enough asset worth of community development money. A word of advice to the commissioner who voted against the plan: try walking along these streets or open a sidewalk café at one of the new high-rises along Biscayne Boulevard and you’ll quickly see what kind of benefit the tunnel will provide the neighborhood…
  • Max Tower on the Way? We certainly hope so…The proposed 31 story tower rising in the media and arts district would provide just that; Media and Arts. The tower would become a hub for local production providing ample recording studio space and other media oriented amenities. It may be too late to save NBC, ABC, or CBS from abandoning the district but, hey who knows maybe we can begin to recentralize ourselves again?
  • Finally! The hideous pink wall along US-1 and the Bay Heights is set to receive a worthy makeover…
  • What’s life like in downtown? The Herald profiles some residents happy about their lifestyles changes…
  • Samuel Poole III shares his thoughts on Miami 21 and you know what? He’s right on the money…