Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

House Passes Bailout Bill, Incentivizes Bicycle Commuting

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on October 3, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 7 Comments

Regardless of weather or not you were in favor of the “bailout bill” or not, enough of our representatives were. While the short term and long term effects of this monumental piece of legislation will play out in the coming weeks, months and years, one thing is for sure: riding a bicycle to work just became even more legitimate in the eyes of our nation’s leaders.

Indeed, the bicycle blogs have been abuzz over the past few days with the potential for Earl Blumenauer’s(D-Oregon) $20 per month bicycle commuter tax credit to finally see the light of day.

Our friends over at Streetsblog had this to say:

“Section 211 of the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008″ allows for a ‘qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ for ‘reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.’

Other transpo-related items in the bill include credits for biofuels and other “alternative” mixtures, plug-in electric vehicles, and what looks like a few goodies for oil and natural gas producers. Another section includes incentives for green construction and renewable energy production.”

$20 dollars a month is not a hug sum, but I look forward to putting it towards the upkeep of my trusty two-wheeler.

Links

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 28, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

The Congress For The New Urbanism listed their ten most endangered freeways. Too bad none are in Miami.

Skoda tests new streetcars in Prague.

Should the two Presidential candidates debate the future of our cities?

I’m currently in Washington D.C. Too bad I didn’t have my wheels yesterday…

Recycling may get easier, more predominant on the Beach. Finally. Now it’s Miami’s turn.

Bike Miami Route and Website

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 25, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

The City has unveiled the proposed, and still somewhat tentative route and time for Bike Miami. It is as follows:

- Flagler Street from the Courthouse to Bayfront Park will closed from 10am-3pm, with a main event scheduled for 11am in front of the courthouse.

- SE 2nd Avenue from Flagler (by the Gusman) south (over the bridge) to 10th Street (by Mary Brickell Village) will also be closed but through traffic will be allowed at intersections.

A quick go at it in Google Earth tells me that is approximately 1.2 miles worth of street closure. This is not a huge number, but remember that if we flood this event with people, it will show the City that it can be expanded further in the near future.

To keep yourself informed of all the latest happenings , visit the City’s Bike Miami blog, or of course, check back with us regularly.

SAVE THE DATE - BIKEMIAMI - November 9th

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 13 Comments

What do New York City, San Francisco, Portland have in common with Miami? Ah…not much you would say. The first three are revered as some of our country’s most progressive, sustainable and livable cities. But Miami? Well, the times they are ‘a changin’.

Enter BikeMiami.

Last December I wrote an op-ed to the Miami Herald urging city officials to make a Miami more bicycle-friendly. I wrote because the pure lack of attention being paid to bicyclists represented a larger issue. Miami was choosing not to compete as a 21st century city. Although bicycle-friendliness does not encompass all things livable in a city, those cities who have pursued such a noble goal are those that tend to be the most livable. As a result, they are capable of outperforming others in the pursuit of new talent, investment and sustainability — a buzzword if I have ever heard one.

One of the items that I mentioned in said op-ed was Bogota’s Ciclovia, an event that closes 70km of city streets and hands them over to what makes a city work, it’s people. The shear success of Ciclovia — with thousands of bicyclists, pedestrians, joggers etc. participating every Sunday — has had a catalytic effect on how North American cities are starting to view their own streets. In many respects, Bogota has become what Jane Jacobs calls a ‘pattern city.’ That is, a city that inspires other cities to emulate its success.

Well, mark your calendar Miamians, because the City of Miami is closing several downtown streets for what is now being dubbed BIKEMIAMI. Sources close to Transit Miami confirm this landmark event will take place on Sunday, November 9th. The exact times have not been scheduled, but know that it will likely run from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Bicyclists, skaters, pedestrians, joggers, roller bladers, yoga fanatics and everyone else and their mother will be invited to come downtown and enjoy their city — without cars.

Ah, now maybe this will foster some civitas.

Keep in mind that all the details are still being worked out, but TM will be there every step of the way to report on updates and concurrent events as they become available.

A big thank you has to be bestowed upon the Bicycle Action Committee and those within the Mayor’s office who have made this little seed I planted grow into a reality. Also, please know the cooperation across City departments and with groups like the Miami DDA and the folks who run the ING Miami Marathon has been instrumental.

More to come…

In the meantime, check out StreetFilms‘ work documenting Ciclovia type events in the aforementioned cities. I think you will like what you see.

Spread the word.

Maybe we’ll put some magic back in this city yet.

Two Kids Struck on Bicycle in Broward Hit and Run

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 5 Comments

In yet another South Florida hit and run, two children age 10 and 13, were struck yesterday in Broward County while bicycling down their neighborhood street. The heartless driver took it upon themselves to leave the scene of the accident. Police have asked citizens to keep a look out for the car in question, which the Miami Herald reports is a “gold, older-model, four-door Honda with tinted windows. The car should have damage and might be missing a front headlight cover and the left front tire is either missing a hubcap or was a spare tire.” Geez, come to think of it, that could be half the cars in Miami.

According to one of the comments on the Miami Herald website, the neighborhood street is often used as a cut-through by speeding motorists.

I would like to say that I am shocked by this incident, but unfortunately cannot bring myself to such an emotion. Since moving to South Florida a year and a half ago I have repeatedly witnessed behavior akin to this dastardly act of selfishness, on the road and otherwise. Although explaining why this behavior persists in South Florida may be complicated, I reduce it to a lack of civitas. That is to say, the disconnected lives that people tend to lead down here — in their gated suburb, gated high-rise, or personal automobile — prevents a feeling of a collective citizenship or a sense of pride in place. It’s everyone for themselves down here, and this incident is no different.

Photo: MIKE JACHLES / BROWARD SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Carfree Day!

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on September 22, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

From the World Carfree network:

Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighbourhood blocks to remind the world that we don’t have to accept our car-dominated society.

But we do not want just one day of celebration and then a return to “normal” life. When people get out of their cars, they should stay out of their cars. It is up to us, it is up to our cities, and our governments to help create permanent change to benefit pedestrians, cyclists, and other people who do not drive cars.

Let World Carfree Day be a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars…365 days a year.

As the climate heats up, World Carfree Day is the perfect time to take the heat off the planet, and put it on city planners and politicians to give priority to cycling, walking and public transport, instead of to the automobile.

What Kind of Mobility Do We Want? Green Mobility!

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 20, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

The Green Mobility Network is a growing force in Miami-Dade bicycle and pedestrian advocacy.
The nascent organization was founded in July of 2007 by a few like-minded people, including founding member John Hopkins, who runs the most excellent Spokes ‘n Folks blog.

John says:

“Now’s the time, bicycle riders, to write a check or pledge some of your time to help Green Mobility Network improve South Florida riding conditions. We’ve done a lot on a shoestring over the past year — but to complete the job we need money for printing, phone bills and all the other expenses that even a volunteer group will incur on the way to success. Green Mobility’s treasurer is Tom Blazejack at 5890 SW 100th Terrace, Pinecrest, FL 33156.“

Because Green Mobility recently received their 501(c)3 designation, Tom is now accepting basic level memberships starting at $35. If you don’t have the cash on hand, let John or Tom know that you want to volunteer at an upcoming event, or start attending meetings. If you have more than $35, then go ahead and consider making a Founding Members gift. Your time and generosity will be appreciated by all Miami-Dade bicyclists and pedestrians. Having worked at a Bicycle not-for-profit in Boston, I know every little bit helps.

TM readers should know that Green Mobility Network has provided instrumental guidance on the City of Miami Bicycle Action Committee and the soon to be release Bicycle Action Plan, is helping to produce a new Bicycle-Friendly map, provides bicycle parking at major area and events, and are refurbishing their website to help better communicate their mission. Your support will help them further increase their advocacy and programs.

Please Join them, and us here at TM, in growing Miami’s bicycle movement. I’m writing my check this afternoon and so should you.

Energy Improvement and Extension Act

Published
by
JM Palacios
on September 18, 2008
in Bicycles and Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Have you heard about this act that is about to get voted on in the Senate this Thursday or Friday? It seems like a good thing for those of us using alternative transportation. There’s a tax credit for plug-in “electric drive” vehicles, among other energy related rebates. My favorite is the bicycle commuter tax benefit that gives benefits for those who commute by bicycle.

For more information and to contact your Senator with a simple form, head over to the League of American Bicyclists’ Advocacy Center. You can also read the seven page PDF summary of the bill at the Senate’s website. If you want to see a small step to encourage more to commute by bicycle, then I suggest you contact your Senator now. I just did.

Pic’O the Day

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 18, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

While searching for an image to depict ‘The Missing American Railway’ I found this map from the University of Texas collection. From1900, the map displays America’s Principal Railways along with the country’s major population centers (in brown).

An updated map would surely show a massive smear of brown in the Sunbelt, particularly the Southwest and California, both relative backwaters at the time. Our own Miami, doesn’t even register as a color. We all know that has changed, along with not having anything that resembles a reliable, national network of trains.

Dude, Where’s My City Car?

Published
by
Malik Benjamin
on September 18, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

A few months ago we realized Miami was missing out on the benefits of car sharing and asked, “Dude where’s my Zipcar?” As proponents of this easy car sharing program we were disappointed to see that it wasn’t more widely used in our region, although Miami Beach and the University of Miami recently became proponents of this useful transit tool. Students are a great place to start introducing the benefits of car sharing, as Zipcar is inexpensive and accessible to people on limited budgets. I wonder when our other local universities, self-proclaimed centers of research and academic excellence, will adopt similar programs.

Zipcar, and other similar car sharing programs are seeking to expand their efficiency in urban settings with a new wave of vehicles called the CityCar. A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab has recently experimented with small electric motors located in the wheels of this tiny, nimble and practically silent vehicle. The CityCar has wheels that turn 360 degrees, enabling it to slip neatly into tight urban parking spaces. A Smartcar that is designed to stack like a supermarket cart when not in use, the CityCar is aptly named because its unique maneuvering ability will allow parking in front of subway stations and office buildings, where people could squeeze in as needed for short-term use.

So, dude where’s my CityCar?

Join Mayor Diaz at the Green Mobility Network Meeting, Tonight!

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 16, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

Apologies for the late notice, but TM has just learned that Mayor Manny Diaz plans to attend tonight’s Green Mobility Network meeting. The meeting will be held at the Simpson Park Garden Center, 55 SW 17th Road, at 7:30 p.m. On the agenda is a preview of the City’s Bicycle Action Plan, which both Gabriel and myself have helped put together though the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC).

So please come out tonight to show Mayor Diaz and the Green Mobility Network, which recently was awarded non-profit 501(c)3 status, how much you appreciate their work in making Miami a more sustainable and livable city. I’ll be there, will you?

Miami’s Newest Urban Square, Part 2

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on September 10, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 7 Comments

Miami lacks a center.  We have no urban square in which to assemble, no central oasis within our concrete jungle.  Our coastal parks lack focus, continuity, or the social elements which make them function.  By looking into the success of Urban Squares across the country, we’ll gain a better understanding of the attributes which make these squares function as centers for civic pride.  The features which make these urban parks succeed is what we as a community pour into them.  By contrast, our closest example of an Urban Square, Bayfront Park, is a disjointed, uncohesive mess, littered with commercial enterprises.  As we’ve discussed before, our closest community assembly point may just be a parking lot…

As you glance through these select few parks, notice the emphasis on community events.  You will find successful squares exist centered among the crossroads of business, theater, retail, and artistic centers while serving as the focal points for our densest urban communities. Don’t neglect the transit infrastructure.

Without reiterating many of the points made by my colleagues, I’ll turn our attention to the most successful urban squares across the United States, addressing why they work.

Union Square (San Francisco)

The 2.6 acre Union Square is located in the heart of San Francisco’s shopping, entertainment, and theater district.  A plethora of boutiques, department stores (6 to be exact), hotels, and theaters surround the square, making it one of the largest tourist attractions and shopping districts in the Bay Area.  The square is serviced by 2 cable car lines (Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason), the F Market Heritage Streetcar line, Muni Metro, and BART Subway systems (3rd busiest station along the system.)  Click here to go on a 3D Tour of Union Square.

Madison Square (New York)

The 6.8 acre Madison Square Park first opened in 1847, almost immediately served as a catalyst for the surrounding area, attracting hotels and theaters to the district (yes, this is where Madison Square Garden gets its name from.)  The park experienced a renewal in 1870 which bought a new design and sculptures to the park, among other items.  In 1912, America’s first public Christmas tree was erected in the park.  Today, the park plays host to abundant community and civic events (like the meatscursion.)  A new park favorite, the Shake Shack, garners hundreds of hungry patrons daily with lines snaking throughout the park.  Six lines of the MTA Subway service the region.

Union Square (New York)

Speaking more from personal experience, New York’s Union Square is a hub for local activity surrounded by an abundant mix of retail, residences, and commercial property.  The square is surrounded and influenced by the surrounding flatiron, Chelsea, Greenwich, and NYU neighborhoods.  Originally founded in 1815 as a public commons, the square began to take its more modern shape later into the mid 1800’s.  One of the square’s most prominent local features, the GreenMarket, began in 1976, providing regional small family farmers with opportunities to sell their fruits, vegetables and other farm products in the city.  The Union Square Hub is serviced by eight MTA subway lines.

The Unions Square Pillow Fight 2008:

Copley Square (Boston)

Boston’s Copley Square was founded in 1858.  Up until the early 1900’s, the square served as a cultural and educational center for Boston, bordered by the original Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Public Library, and original MIT Campus.  In 1983 with the formation of the Copley Square Committee, the park was revitalized improving green space, water features, and sightlines.  The Square is serviced by the four routes of the Green Line Light Rail system.

Miami’s Newest Urban Square?

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on September 9, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 9 Comments

If you are like some of us here at TM, then you have probably had your eye on a couple of very strategic vacant parcels in downtown Miami. Located between Southwest 8th Street and Southwest 7th Street, and bisected by South Miami Avenue, the two sites have sat fallow while high-rise condominiums sprouted like mushrooms. According to a recent Miami Today article the land was previously owned by Brickell CitiCentre, LLC (cute spelling, huh?), a developer with plans to build $2.2 billion worth of high-rise buildings, including the tallest building in downtown Miami. The sharp market downtown nixed those plans quickly, causing the BCC to sell the land to an undisclosed party, who paid an undisclosed price and who has undisclosed plans. So what will they think of next?!

The two parcels, comprising 5.65 acres, are outlined in orange.

Parcel 2, looking northeast

While high-rise, mixed-use development is surely warranted in downtown Miami, TM would like to disclose an alternate plan recommendation. Keep in mind we do not know what the new developer has planned, but we doubt it is a well-designed, well-programmed, well-framed usable urban square on at least one of the sites. Such a square could be simple in its layout, but flexible in its use–a farmer’s market, civic events, concerts, play structures, dog park and a nice water feature to help us all cool off. Such a program would be a nice place to start and invite people of all types to linger with family, eat lunch with colleagues, make-out with a loved one, skateboard with angsty friends, beg rich people for money and the myriad of other things people do in an almost messy, but truly successful public space.

Such a square would be well-connected to the existing bus lines and MetroMover, providing easy access to those living outside of downtown. It would also provide a much needed open space destination in the heart of our downtown, an area that has become increasingly privatized by individual condominium developers who provide all amenities internally. Such vertical cul-de-sacs surely allow great luxury for residents, but impoverish the public realm. A real shame, if you ask me. Miami deserves better. All great cities have a great park and a great civic square.

Whatever the next developer proposes, the City should consider the possibility of a public/private partnership. Such a deal could allow increased development capacity on the buildable site, a tax-break or other public incentives in exchange for one of the sites being turned over to the City for the development of civic space, like a square.

This would not only add tremendous value to those already existing nearby condos, but directly enrich the adjacent development parcel. If you have seen real estate prices next to other such sites in cities like Chicago, San Francisco or New York City, then you know the captured value is well-worth the land concession.

Unfortunately, with so much money exchanging hands, this is very unlikely to happen. I imagine the City of Miami could have at one point bought this land, reserving some for development and some for civic space. But they didn’t. And we understand we may be Johnny-come lately here, but later this week Gabriel will show us some good examples from other cities.

If you know of other great sites in the Miami for a square of similar type of public space, let’s hear about them!

Small victories…

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on September 8, 2008
in Everglades, Everglades National Park, UDB and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Amid all the talk about the County Commission’s massive transit failure, comes a little bit of happy news. Last week the Commission approved the purchase of approximately 100 acres of land beyond the UDB to be placed under the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. While 100 acres is not a lot, every little bit contributes to a green belt around the County that will perpetually hold development and buffer the Everglades from existing developed areas.

To date, the County in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District, the State of Florida, & other funding partners have aquired approximately 18,190 Acres of land throughout Dade County since the inception of the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.

Is this preservation?

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on September 8, 2008
in Historic Preservation and Uncategorized
. 5 Comments

The City of Miami City Commission is considering allowing the demolition of the East Coast Fisheries Building at Thursday’s meeting. The Historic and Environmental Preservation Review Board denied the application to demolish the derelict structure, but the Planning Department supports the appeal.  The structure was designated historic in 2003, but now is at risk of demolishion. What good are our preservation laws if they don’t save structures from being demolished. This is embarrassing for our city, and even more for the Planning Department.  Shame on you guys.

Here is a little more about the building from the Miami Histo-Presto website:

This Mediterranean Revival style building is one of the few remaining landmarks from the prosperous commercial fishing industry that was once centered along the Miami River. Advertisements described the building as the “South’s Most Beautiful Fish Market” when it opened as Miller’s Fish Market in 1926. East Coast Fisheries moved into the building in 1933 and continued its wholesale seafood operations and eatery until 2000.