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
Thanks to a tip from one of our dedicated readers, David, it has come to my attention that US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters will be speaking at the Downtown Miami Hilton Today. The event, A New Transportation Approach For America, is sponsored by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and will begin at 12:30 (Click here to register, $75 fee for non-members.) I’m going to try my best to make it there and hope that despite the short notice some of you all can attend. You can find some of the emails SBH has shared with me concerning the subject here.
Like our friend over at Hallandale Beach Blog has noted, we too find it interesting that Mary Peters can make some time out of her busy schedule to speak about transportation in Miami, while FDOT director Stephanie Kopelousos remains MIA in the South Florda region. Kopelousos recently held a transportation summit in Destin Florida to discuss the congestion issues of North Florida. I guess a drive down to Miami would have been to difficult.
Here is what the Halladale Beach Blog has to say:
When federal public transit policy meets South Florida’s notoriously fickle apathy, who wins?
Oh, right.
Everyone loses!
I recently had the chance to spend a whole day riding Tri-Rail (Fully Work Related) and finally got a good glimpse at the quantity of commuters who depend on this rather primitive commuter rail system daily. Last week, Tri-Rail averted a major financial crisis that would have slashed daily service from 50 to 20 trains and completely eliminated weekend service, thanks to only a 10% budget reduction by Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Another year of near optimal operation should allow the former fastest growing transit agency in the nation (2006) to continue to attract riders, in a time when public transit infrastructure is of paramount importance.
Ridership is up already 45% over June 2007. May saw a 25% increase, April 28% and March 22%. More than 157 companies signed up for the authority’s employer discount program in May — about 881 riders.
While travelining along the line, I noticed a few key areas where tri-rail could drastically improve its bottom line and service:
TOD: Currently Inexistent. This is my major focus in Regional Planning studies. Often times, I find that our problems are not necessarily the fault of poor transit policy but rather what we choose to do with the land around our transit centers. In Miami, this usually equates to fences, poor access, and inappropriate uses.
Parking: Currently free and very limited. Potential revenue source? There are several reasons why free parking poses many problems, even at transit stations.
Employee Parking: Seriously? This parking is largely unused and unnecessary.
Tri-Rail has received a year reprieve in which it must continue to attract a larger share of riders while working to better integrate itself with the South Florida Landscape. Most of the land use issues are largely out of the control of the agency but must still be addressed regionaly if we ever hope to make a sliver of change in our very autocentric lifestyles.
Recent Comments