Friend of TransitMiami.com and the Purple Line | U+Transit pop-up installation, Leah Weston, put together a fantastic map that puts Miami’s rail transit into national and international perspective. Have a look!
As Weston says, “the image speaks for itself”.
Go ahead and click on it. The enlarged version is much better.
TransitMiami can’t help but give a great neighborhood bar, The DRB, some unsolicited praise for its ingenious selection of an otherwise neglected downtown office building for its new location.
By choosing to site its new bar in the part of downtown dominated by boring institutional land-uses, The DRB chose to bring some vibrancy and character to an otherwise lifeless part of downtown. The very phrase itself — “lifeless part of downtown” — is an unfortunate contradiction, an oxymoron of a poorly planned urban milieu.
The building in question — situated on NE 5th Street and 1st Ave. — is surrounded almost exclusively by institutional land-uses (occupied by, e.g., federal courthouses, a community college, a church, etc.) and lots of shamefully vacant and/or completely undeveloped, prime-for-mixed-use-development downtown parcels.
When New Urbanists and other community design-oriented folks refer to the evils of homogeneous land-use configurations, the image most typically invoked is that of miles upon miles of single-family residential land-use. Indeed, monolithic residential land-use embodies the notion of ‘urban sprawl’.
Elected officials, planners, and developers must also recognize, though, that large areas of homogeneous institutional land-use in the downtown core is at least as toxic (if not more so) for our city as sprawling single-family cookie-cutter houses along the periphery.
We need more transit-oriented development (TOD) in Miami’s de facto government-institution district. That area already has a great combination of Metrorail, Metromover, and Metrobus access. We must augment this healthy transportation configuration with a healthier land-use configuration.
And we must certainly continue to push our elected officials to expand the public transit network. However, we must also push them to better incentivize more commercial in-fill near the highly viable sections of public transit we already have, especially in downtown. It’s the hustle and bustle of downtown that build’s a city’s personality.
Kudos to you, Democratic Republic of Beer, for selecting a site so wonderfully accessible by transit, foot, and bicycle. Now all those bureaucrats and college students have a nice neighborhood spot in which to enjoy one of your exotic specialty brews from one of the corners of the globe.
(This author recommends the Sri Lankan Lion Stout.)
While many paid money to be stuck in motor traffic in smelly, vomit-ridden taxis, this handsome chap chose to cruise to his New Year’s celebration with the fresh ocean breeze blowing in his perfectly groomed hair.
He chose to travel the smart way: by riding a bicycle . . . all while oozing style, no less.
The spiffiest man in the city on New Years? . . . absolutely.
We know nothing more about him . . . All we know is that he was the classiest New Year’s reveler on Miami Beach . . .
Ride on, my friend . . . ride on . . .
Are you a beginning cyclist and think Critical Mass is only for hard-core riders?
If so, you’re absolutely wrong. Critical Mass is for riders of all skill-levels and all ages. There is no club or organization that runs the show. There are no membership fees or special invitations required. In fact, if you’re looking for an invitation, here it is: You are invited!
We meet the last Friday of every month at Government Center Metrorail station — you won’t miss us. Arrive between 6:45 and 7:00pm. We leave at 7:15pm. Check out The Miami Bike Scene for details on the monthly ride.
There is, however, one group who we strongly advise NOT to attend Critical Mass: super villains and bad guys!
That’s right, you read it correctly, all you crime-seeking punks! Want to test your luck? Ha! Well, I’d give it a second thought if I were you.
‘Why’, you ask? I’ll tell you why! As a matter of fact, I’ll show you why!
Spider-Man shows love to Critical Mass riders and protects us from bad guys! Thank you City of Miami firefighters for showing solidarity with Critical Mass!
A firefighter from the City of Miami suited up and gave the December 2012 Critical Massers a fun show to keep the crowd lively! All of this while the fire truck in the station blared its siren and flashed its lights. Public safety officials (cops and firefighters) show their solidarity with the burgeoning Miami Critical Mass movement.
Any questions?!
Dear City of Coral Gables,
I love you. You truly are the City Beautiful, a title and reputation well deserved and well maintained. (Well, at least when you’re not knocking out your own teeth by forfeiting precious building space for a parking lot).
Despite my deep affection for you, you lovely gem of a greater Miami municipality, you disappointed me today.
I love riding along your M-Path curves, but I will not tolerate one of your very own Public Works Department employees coming between us like this.
On my bicycle sprint along the M-Path, the last thing I expect or want to encounter is a City vehicle blocking the multi-use (bicycle/pedestrian/etc.) path.
If this is going to work out, you’ll have to promise that you’ll never again allow one of your city employees to violate our relationship. I better not encounter a motor vehicle on the M-Path ever again, especially not one bearing your city seal and colors.
I strongly doubt you’d allow one of these guys to block one of your motor vehicle lanes. Who do you think you are allowing them to block a multi-use path?!
Sincerely,
Broken-Hearted Biker
As we prepare to commence a new year, let us never forget, friends: our city is the Magic City.
Let us always remember to treat it as such.
A Transit Miami tipster sent us these photos of Miami Police officers parking in the bicycle lane and sidewalk on South Miami Avenue in Brickell for an urgent emergency – a break at Smoothie King. Our source tells us that the cruisers even had their flashing lights on. This was taken at 5:30 pm on October 3rd, just as rush-hour reaches full swing and the motorists in Brickell are aggressive as ever, bullying their way through pedestrians in crosswalks on their march to I-95. Maybe they could be handing out some tickets and warnings instead?
At least they could keep one of Brickell’s only bicycle lanes clear while they enjoy their break.
2 police cruisers blocking the bike lane with lights on? Must be an emergency unfolding nearby!
Nope. Just a smoothie break across the street.
Tell Miami Police Cheif Manuel Orosa (manuel.orosa@miami-police.org) that this behavior is unacceptable, especially given the tragically high level of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities in Miami.
In the blinding brightness of the east-facing morning, trapped in our metallic boxes of rage, impatience, and anxiety, the truth called out to us . . .
It called, not as an answer, but as a question . . . a question whose simplicity made a mockery of all those willing to confront it . . .
Out of the blinding light, for that fleeting moment of honesty concealed by the shadows, the truth taunted all those brave enough to accept it . . .
From the blinding light, the truth dared us to regain our vision . . .
WHY DRIVE?
RIDE . . . METRORAIL
Miami-Dade’s Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to vote on legislative item 121569 this Thursday. (The meeting was postponed from September 4 to September 6.)
Four specific bike lanes come under attack in this legislative item. They’re meant to demonstrate examples of “state roads in Miami-Dade County that may not be particularly suitable for bicycle lanes”.
One of those four lanes is that located on the MacArthur Causeway. Its supposed lack of suitability is due to the fact that, on this particular state road, “the speed limit is 50 mph”.
The lane on the MacArthur Causeway can indeed be a dicey one to traverse, especially with all of the on-going Port of Miami Tunnel construction, the South Beach partiers driving back from their nights of inebriation, and the overall speeding automobile traffic.
Nevertheless, even at 50mph, the bike lane on the MacArthur functions.
Even at 50mph, people use the bike lanes on the MacArthur Causeway. Make them better, and even more will ride over this critical connection between the mainland and the islands. Photo: 09/03/2012
Of course, it could function better — by making it wider, buffering it from automobiles, and some other possible retrofits — but it functions, nonetheless.
The people are hungry — not only for more bicycle facilities, but better bicycle facilities too. Please . . . feed us!
You can get with THIS, or you can get with THAT . . .
You can get with THIS, or you can get with THAT . . .
I think you’ll get with THIS, for THIS is where it’s at.
Thanks to Ruben van Hooidonk who sent us this picture of epic bicycle lane blockage during his bike commute on the Rickenbacker Causeway this morning. This picture was taken on Virginia Key in front of Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, just after the Miami Seaquarium.
Busses using the bicycle lane as parking on the dangerous Rickenbacker Causeway.
At the last Miami-Dade County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting, the police revealed that they have used helicopter surveillance to document the behavior of cyclists on the Rickenbacker. Perhaps they should keep their choppers on the ground and pay attention to the bike lane instead if they are seriously concerned about safety for all road users.
On a day where a person on a bicycle was struck and seriously injured on the Rickenbacker Causeway (again), this certainly isn’t what you want to see from the agency responsible for patrolling it – Miami-Dade County Police cruisers blocking the bicycle lane and the sidewalk. (South Miami Ave. and 11th st in Brickell)
Photo via @MiamiBikeReport
Today’s Pic o’ the Day is a cartoon by Andy Singer. A timely image given this month’s ongoing Tour de France and the surging movement to normalize bicycle riding in Miami and beyond – with a lot of work still to be done.
Bonus Trivia Question: In which Miami bar can you find this cartoon on the wall?
First correct answer to e-mail Craig@Transitmiami.com will receive a $10 gift certificate to a local bicycle shop.
Did you know Miami once had a streetcar trolley network that was one of the most efficient and extensive in the developed world at the time?
The map below shows where Miami’s trolley network went in 1925, back when the area population was around 200,000. Today’s Miami-Dade population is approximately 2.5 million. The green lines show our current Metrorail and MetroMover lines, which pale in comparison to the connectivity we enjoyed in the era of the Miami streetcar (1916-1940), indicated by the lines in other colors.
Miami's Historic Streetcar Lines
To attract people and business in the 21st century, the Miami of the future should look a lot like the Miami of the past.
Thanks to Rogelio Madan from the City of Miami for providing.
Miami Trolley #238
It’s always a fun experience to ride the Metrorail following a major community event, especially following the annual Corporate Run.
This year marked the run’s 27th anniversary. Apart from being a great community- and team-building event, the Corporate Run also never fails to highlight how convenient travelling via transit really is.
The picture below gives a glimpse of just how packed the train was following the 5-kilometer run.
It's always nice to see our Metrorail at maximum capacity. More rail please . . .
People realize that when roads are packed, the most viable and efficient way to move around the city is with trains and buses. And these days, it’s rare to find streets in our community that aren’t congested.
Let’s stop wasting our tax dollars on expanding highway and road systems that leave us trapped in metallic boxes on four wheels and start investing our tax dollars in rail and public transit systems.
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- Bloomingdale Trail Gets New Name and Final Plan June 19, 2013Final plans for what will become the longest elevated park in the world where unveiled this week in Chicago. The 2.7-mile rail-to-trail conversion has been branded as The 606, a nod to the zip code digits shared by the neighborhoods along its route. […]
- Astrodome Among National Trust's List of 11 Most Endangered Places June 19, 2013The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released its annual list of America's most endangered historic places, the preservation community's most effective tool for bringing awareness and assistance to the country's threatened resources. […]
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- Should Cities Eliminate Free Parking for the Disabled? June 19, 2013Ongoing research from the University of California Transportation Center documents the detrimental effects that free street parking for the disabled has on city coffers and performance pricing systems. Is it time to reconsider such laws. […]
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- University Housing: Bastion of Communal Learning or Luxury Resort? June 19, 2013John Eligon examines the private student housing building boom, and asks whether we are spoiling college students with luxurious off-campus amenities to the detriment of academic and social environments. […]
- How Parking Minimums Beget Ugly Urban Environments June 19, 2013In the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere, excessive parking requirements dictate the form and footprint of buildings, mostly to the detriment of urban environments. In a lavish photo essay, Alyse Nelson explores the damage inflicted by parking laws. […]
- Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Fees are Here to Stay, and Spreading June 19, 2013It may seem counter-intuitive to charge extra fees for the cleanest, most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road today - including those that qualify for a federal $7,500 credit. But ten states are doing just that to keep roads well-funded. […]
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