Bus Stop

2007-03-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

Around the Horn Transitwise

Build It & Will They Come?

I asked this of the TIP interactive meeting last night at County Commission Chambers via email:

As a Miami-Dade public transit user since 1995, I have 3 interconnected questions, please:

1. Mr Roosevelt Bradley, who maximized bus improvement, was, in essence, a “bus man.” Our growing gridlock problems demand including fixed guideway—lightrail and streetcar—modes of public transportation in our near-term transit planning. What’s being done to make sure the new transit chief understands this?;

2. Why is the County not 100% behind the City of Miami’s attempts to get a streetcar system up and running?; and

3. When the proposed North Corridor heavyrail extension collapses—the Federal government won’t be funding a system of such low ridership projections—what are the County’s plans for reviving BayLink, the needed system?

They were overly edited before being asked, and the interim director was able to answer, or, more to the point, grunt, yes or no answers. That’ll be the last time that I don’t appear to ask my own questions. Bureaucrats. In the event, the answers pretty much were “I don’t know”; “that’s a Miami project”; and, “BayLink would have to move up.” Part of the leaning curve, I guess. Still, it confirms my suspicion that MPO members, like commissioners, will hide one behind the other rather than take meaningful action. And that’s why it’s up to us citizens.

Gabrielle Redfern did an outstanding job of chairing this televised event.

Changing of the Transit Guard

I watched Roosevelt Bradley’s late night impromptu “name clearing” speech at County Commission Chambers March 22. Fascinating stuff. The transit system’s former director was angry, betrayed, he felt, by strong mayor Alvarez. Now, I don’t know about those budgets he kept or the charges of nepotism—grounds for dismissal—but I bet they were small potatoes compared to regular Miami-Dade business as usual. And it really was farcical watching the worked-up commissioners turn the proceedings into theatre of the absurd. Tears, teeth gnashing, dais pounding—a real commissioner tour-de-force. Do watch if you get the chance; it’ll explain that whiff of ridiculousness that clings about these elected officials.

Back to Bradley. I’ve worked, talked, and observed the man for a number of years, and he’s been accessible, open, forthcoming. He genuinely seemed to have the interests of transit riders at heart. Having ridden the system for over 10 years, I can personally attest to his great accomplishment of bringing what were essentially leaking, wheezing, rolling homeless shelters to their current state of respectability. Of course, driver etiquette training always seems lagging (they still take a fiendish delight in slamming the doors and pulling away), and the wait can still be abysmal, but hey, as far as buses go, he did great.

Therein lies the paradox. As the quintessential bus man, Bradley’s boast of adding x hundred of buses, and x million miles to bus routes, begs the question of spending our money most wisely. And whenever I brought up the subject of streetcars, he’d rejoin that the new hybrid buses (how expensive are they?) looked just like ‘em. But a streetcar’s a streetcar, and a bus ain’t.

I do wish Roosevelt well, and thank him, and I hope his successor is more of a rail person.

Bike Department: On Dooring

The Hampshire Street Bicycle Lane Study

In 2003, the City of Cambridge embarked on a major study to evaluate the influence of bike lanes and other pavement markings on how motorists and bicyclists travel on the road (using Hampshire Street as the study site). The study was particularly focused on how far away bicyclists travel from parked cars, since the threat of being hit by a car door opening suddenly is a serious one. The study found that when bike lanes or other pavement markings were present, bicyclists traveled further away from parked cars than when no markings were present.

On-street surveys of bicyclists and motorists were also conducted. Bicyclists overwhelmingly favored bike lanes, with 90% of them preferring the lanes, and another 5% preferring a line marking. Motorists were highly likely to identify the bike lanes as a reason they noticed bicyclists.

See http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/et/bike/bike_lanes.html#hamp for the story.

And you can reach David Henderson, the MPO go-to guy on bicycles, at davidh@miamidade.gov, with questions or comments.

(Submitted by Gabrielle)

As Promised—Pedicabs!

Felipe Azenha has been trying to interest Miami Beach city officials in pedicabs for over 6 years with little success. I’ve always liked this idea, because it represents a way of changing the unacceptable car-pandering that passes for transportation progress. See http://www.miamisunpost.com/archives/2007/03-01/murmur.htm.

Anyway, I sent this letter to the SunPost in support.

Re: Murmurs, Pedicab Rage/Miami SunPost, March 1, 2007

Now, that’s my kind of guy. Brings forward a feasible idea, gets shot down by a suddenly recalcitrant commission, then, boom!—pipes up, and says what he thinks. (I won’t repeat it, ‘cause I got friends in high places.)

I empathize, tho.’ Pedicabs may not be your cup of tea, but they’ll surely accomplish two needful goals: present an alternative to carbon-spewing, road-hogging SUVs, buses and taxis, and inhibit some on-street parking.

See, I would outlaw ALL on-street parking, or make it prohibitively expensive—say, there’s an idea: call it Quik Buck Park, and charge $10 an hour (vs cheap garage rates)—and, zoopty doopty, the Beach’ll make a killin.’

Seems Felipe’s on to something. Like myself, he envisions streets as traffic movers, not as horizontal parking lots. We’re trying to discourage cars, not crowd ‘em in even thicker. It’s that vision thing again, and I’m surprised to see the commission has lost it, since we elected them to make the Beach a friendlier place to live, not drive. But I guess the squeaky steering wheel still gets the oil.

Here’s the vista we’d like to see: Well-terraced medians holding stately palm or canopy trees, like on Washington, south of 5^th; open plazas of brickwork mosaics; sidewalks wide enough to actually walk on, with pedestrian-friendly crossways; streetcar circulators to eliminate hundreds of smelly bus trips a day; bicycle lanes crisscrossing our neighborhoods—and, yes, pedicabs to move tourists and residents quickly and safely.

While we’re at it, why not put tolls on the causeways, and add vehicle collection points for visitors entering the Beach? (they can take the circulators from there). And lastly, slap a moratorium on any more hideous parking garages that only gobble up real estate, and create eyesores.

Hey, I’m on a roll. Let’s ban cars altogether on Ocean Drive and turn it into a walkway. Then, we’ll connect it to Lincoln Road, maybe along about-to-be refurbished 16^th Street.

See, these changes won’t add to the congestion clogging our lifestyle because they mean shifting away from the current mess of speeding, parking, noise and confusion, let alone the dependence on an archaic technology (yes, the internal combustion engine was invented in 1866, and has only gotten better at spewing pollution).

Note to commission/candidates: Sounds like this upcoming election will have to be about the problems of gridlock, and solutions to it. Please, have your answers ready.

And about Felipe? Give the man a chance. Show us you’re willing to seize opportunities.

JHB

2006-11-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

CCTMP Update: October 26

(Coastal Communities comprise the cities of Miami Beach, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, North Bay Village, and the towns of Bay Harbor Islands, Bal Harbour, Surfside, and Golden Beach. The Coastal Communities Transportation Master Plan (CCTMP) Technical Steering Committee is a group of city officials, planners, and residents working with the Corradino Consulting Group to study ways of addressing the area’s growing vehicular problems. I sit on the steering committee.)

The CCTMP is beginning to prove its worth. At last Wednesday’s meeting we started moving away from defining transportation problems to outlining solutions.

Preliminary findings indicate:

· Local, not subregional, or “pass through” traffic is the primary cause of congestion

· Most traffic flows east/west along the causeways, not north/south on the major corridors

· Where “pass through” and local traffic mix is the locus of most problems

· Major corridors must be made more user-friendly than neighborhood side streets

The Committee is currently outlining a three-part solutional approach: First, to immediately employ the means available under local, County and FDOT auspices to relieve traffic pressure points, including tweaking vehicular flow patterns, using traffic calming measures, running express buses between parking/employment hubs; second, to concentrate on solving pressing rapid transportation issues of realigning existing bus routes, and implementing neighborhood circulators; and third, to identify the best ways of tying together the various regional rapid transit modes.

An important part of this study examines the bus route alignments, and recognizes that a viable rapid transit alternative to the single-occupancy car must be implemented as soon as possible. Of the 10 bus lines that now serve Miami Beach, for instance, only two do not also provide inland service over the causeways. This results in a redundancy that helps neither the traffic flow nor the transit riders, who continue to experience unacceptably long waiting times.

Possible solutions:

· Two A1A “superlines” one local, one express, traveling north and south. Causeway buses will continue running east/west only, while their passengers heading north/south will transfer at convenient “nodes” (commuter gathering points). This will reduce the number of bus trips and expedite service.

· ‘Spoke & Hub’ feeder systems, where park & rides, neighborhood circulators, and causeway and “superline” buses efficiently converge at regularly set schedules.

· Streetcars replacing buses as buses suffer from a negative image, which translates into lower ridership because premium riders won’t use them. The study, in fact, found buses “not positive”, creating “friction hotspots” and “blockage.” (I can personally attest as to how grueling using this system is, as buses do not get you to your destination so much as acquaint you with what it means to wait for a bus). Findings indicate that while bus technology may continue to improve, streetcars are the best proven method of moving the most people rapidly and efficiently, a position I strongly endorse.

Nascent transportation nodes are already emerging: 72^nd Street & Collins, and Lincoln Road & Washington Avenue on Miami Beach (others may possibly include Surfside City Hall, Mt Sinai, and 5^th & Alton), and on the mainland, 36^th Street, the terminus of the soon-extent Miami Streetcar—there’s talk already of extending it up Biscayne Boulevard to 79^th Street—will probably rapidly evolve into a Miami/Miami Beach commuter node.

Our Coastal Communities’ mature, dense and mixed-use urban environment is well-suited for public rapid transit, which Miami Beach is only belatedly realizing. Essentially, Miami Beach is becoming a gigantic pedestrian-use area, and maximizing this growing urban environment’s potential will mean creatively combining the best technology that streetcars, buses, and bikeways have to offer—and making them convenient for people to use.

Community meetings for gathering input from Coastal Community residents will commence shortly.

Next: Pedicabs—Right For Miami Beach?

Bring Back Streetcars! LA Style

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-trolley5sep05,0,4031073.story?track=tothtml

Salient Points:

A new study that will probably reinvigorate a decades-old debate about mass transit in Los Angeles concludes that bringing back streetcars to downtown would spur more development and attract riders. It also contends that trolleys could peaceably share the road with cars.

"This isn't just a cute little tourist attraction," said Carol Schatz, president and chief executive of the influential Central City Assn., which represents downtown businesses. "We need a sophisticated and fun circulator that ties together all the vibrant districts that are spread around downtown."

Streetcar advocates argue that people who don't like riding buses are more willing to ride aesthetically pleasing streetcars, which are usually quieter and don't weave in and out of traffic. They also believe that streetcars, like other fixed-route lines, lure development.

Of course, unlike LA, we’re not looking to “spur development”—just tie together everything we’ve already got in a “sophisticated and fun” way… like LA!

SunPost Goin’ Postal?

The SunPost, usually not a half-bad paper, on public rapid transit issues sure ain’t “fair and balanced.” They consistently take the parochial view that buses are better than streetcars because they’re cheaper. A little study would reveal that streetcars are only more expensive initially—over the long haul, the internal combustion engine is finicky and needs a lot more maintenance (read: expensive fine-tuning) than any electric motor.

Anyway, it never ceases to amaze me how non-bus riders have no trouble endorsing them as a panacea. I do ride them, and I can tell you, they’re not.

To this, http://www.miamisunpost.com/archives/2006/09-07-06/editorial.htm, I replied this:

Trainspotting: Oh, No—Buses Again!

(Re: County Must Pursue Real Plans to Alleviate Traffic Before It’s Too Late

Editorial 9/7/6)

Ah, the SunPost—gets the facts straight, while drawing the wrong conclusions. We appreciate the forum, tho,’ for prizing the lid off the bubbling stewpot of hideous vehicular gridlock that’s about to envelope us. Correctly fingering poor planning, overdevelopment and competing political fiefdoms as the main culprits, the SunPost then veers off the rails by advocating an oxymoronic Bus ‘Rapid’ Transportation system as a fixative. Say, you haven’t been getting your advice from one of those snarky “activist” lawyers again have you? Don’t trust ‘em; when they’re not off ambulance-chasing they’re up to some other headline-grabbing hijinks. You know the type—never dreaming of riding a bus themselves, they have no trouble in doling out smarmy advice to those of us who use public transit.

A bus is a bus, and no exotic electric-gas “hybridization”, or tricking them up to look like cutesy-poo trolleys, or any such flummery can disguise the fact that people ride them because they have to, not because they want to. Think not? Try using them to get around town yourself for a week, then see if you don’t agree that buses can’t alleviate the problem because they are the problem. Anybody tells you different is just blowing you blue diesel fumes.

Neighborhood streetcar circulators, on the other hand, run on frequent-interval schedules. They eliminate hundreds of stinky bus trips a day. They’re clean, quiet, quick, and comply with concurrency. And, they raise property values wherever they go. Now, when was the last time someone you know was advocating putting a bus line through the neighborhood?

So don’t listen to those hot-dogging hotshots, who anyway seem only bent on reaction; educate yourselves instead on the streetcar’s utility by visiting www.protransit.org.

Listen, SunPost. We like you. We need you. But give us the facts, ma’am; just the facts.

Wasn’t published… big surprise.

And to this, “For Miami District 2 the SunPost recommends Frank Rollason” because he “opposes frivolous, expensive projects like a $200 million light rail system”, namely, the Miami Streetcar project, all you can really say, is, bunk. Reason enough to vote for Linda Haskins, if you ask me.

I do agree, tho,’ with their endorsement of Deede Weithorn. See, I told you they weren’t half bad!

(See: http://www.miamisunpost.com/editorial.htm)

Upcoming Transit Events

1. Reminder: Public Hearing Notice - SFECC STUDY (http://www.sfeccstudy.com)

Come Participate In A Public Hearing

All public hearings begin at 5:30 PM with a presentation on the project by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) followed by a public testimony period. Before and after the hearings, FDOT representatives will be available to answer questions.

Choose the location best for you:

Palm Beach County Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ Cohen Pavilion at Kravis Center 701 Okeechobee Boulevard West Palm Beach

Miami-Dade County Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ Gwen Margolis Community Center 1590 NE 123 St

North Miami

Broward County Wednesday, November 15, 2006 @ Broward County Main Library 100 South Andrews Avenue, 6th Floor Fort Lauderdale, and

2. Metropolitan Planning Organization Governing Board Meeting

Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 2:00pm

Stephen P. Clark Center 111 NW First Street Miami, Florida 33128

County Commission Chambers