South Dade Busway update. Pinecrest and Cutler Bay are engaged in neighborhood protection. Palmetto Bay continues to ignore this important issue

Update from Pinecrest (taken from the Pinecrest e-news, April 2013 edition):

South Dade Busway Update

We continue to question and oppose the concept of building an above grade toll express lane over the Busway along US 1.  MDX continues to study this ill-conceived proposal, which will not be completed until 2015, and the opposition through out South Miami-Dade grows with each public presentation.  The Village has recently responded to a grant program, by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, and applied for a grant to undertake additional studies for enhanced transit as opposed to putting more cars on the road, all of which would dump back onto US 1 somewhere in Pinecrest. We are proposing the county study a light-rail alternative or enhanced bus transit as a parallel proposed study to the express lanes study. I have asked Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and our local county commissioners (Moss, Bell and Suarez) to support our proposal. Please read this article from the Miami Herald for more information.

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Thank you Mayor Lerner and Pinecrest council for continuing to step forward on this issue that will profoundly impact the quality of life for the US1 neighborhoods.

Cutler Bay has been engaged as well.  Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall appeared before the MDX board at the local meeting held on March 19.

See my prior post for more information: Update on the 3/19 MDX South Miami-Dade meeting.

Palmetto Bay held its council meeting on Monday, April 1.  Surprisingly, no action continues to be taken by Mayor Stanczyk or any other member of the Palmetto Bay Council. Not a peep or hint of interest in protecting the Palmetto Bay neighborhoods. Perhaps their lack of attendance at the March MDX meeting has left this political council ill-advised and unable to formulate a coherent transit policy. I can't point out often enough that for Palmetto Bay Mayor and Council to show up after others do the heavy lifting and then try to lead the parade is worse than never showing up at all.

Get involved. The future is being determined now.