Thank you Commissioner Levine Cava for hosting the County, Tri City Traffic Solutions Summit, on Saturday, February 3. This event brought together 4 Commissioners: Chair Esteban Bovo, Bruno Barreiro, Xavier Suarez, and Daniella Levine Cava, State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez and State Representative Kionne McGhee - to name a few. I joined with Mayor Peggy Bell of Cutler Bay and Mayor Joe Corradino of Pinecrest to co-host on behalf of the Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Pinecrest communities - along with surrounding residents to help determine the best solutions to traffic congestion in the Pinecrest through Palmetto Bay, and Cutler Bay to Palm Glades (248th Street) Transportation Corridor. The participants came up with long term and short term solutions which will be published in a report.
Suggested solutions include:
* Build a connected pedestrian and (protected) bike network
* Evolve neighborhoods to be more mixed use
* Adopt the walk/bike 1 mile challenge
* Build bridges to transit way
* Strengthen bike/walk/transit advocacy
* Encourage more biking/walking/transit/car sharing to school
* Have flex time at work/work from home
* Use transit more often
* Build at-grade Metrorail south
* Use Municipal circulators/bikes/Uber/Lyft as first/last mile to transit
* Develop apps that reward carpool, transit, rideshare, etc
Participants heard from traffic experts, examined transportation improvement plans that are underway - including multiple Palmetto Bay Pilot Programs as well as having the opportunity to offer input on future plans.
The goal is to produce a realistic action plan to reduce traffic and hold each other accountable for real results. This is another step in the process. (
CLICK HERE) to view some of the Palmetto Bay municipal traffic calming studies/master plans and materials.
The presentation by Victor Dover of Dover, Kohl & Associates included the two .pdf slides posted below showing, in large part, while single cars are the issue
Slide 7 (Above) - There’s a basic geometry problem to depending on cars for everything. They take too much space. In the picture on the left, you can see how much space it takes for a busload of
40 or 60 to occupy a bus or trolley. In the center picture, you can see how much space it
takes for the same number of us on bikes; slightly more. In the photo at right, you see what
happens when each person has a car. There will never be enough room.
Looking at slide 8 (above) - Here’s another way to visualize the same thing: 400 cars, versus 400 bus passengers, versus 400 people on a train.
I wholeheartedly agree with Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava about this event: "Community at its best: gathering to create #TrafficSolutions in #SouthDade "
We must envision for the future and not settle for anything but the best. We cannot be complacent with what others think we need. The community knows best what it needs and their voice should be taken in consideration. We need to take advantage that the President said in his S.O.T.U that he was going to make sure money went to infrastructure and transportation, so let's grab that while it's there, it's also and investment that the County needs to make within the County. We want elevated rail and should not accept anything other than that.
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