Miami, our life is a carnival by gimleteye

On today's editorial page, the Miami Herald applauds efforts of a few brave South Dade farmers to promote agri-tourism. We note that on the flip side, the Herald has nothing to say.

That would be the ugly resistance of farmers and their developer/banker friends to any measures limiting their capacity to convert farmland to suburban sprawl. Think Urban Development Boundary or Everglades protection or South Dade Watershed Study.

It is the rapid conversion of farmland to production home building that is responsible for the traffic nightmares throughout the city, while infrastructure investments lag far behind.

This persistent irritation is the right lens through which to read today's report by Larry Lebowitz's "Trio takes on Miami-Dade's commuter conundrum".

The Chamber of Commerce is asking citizens to fork over $125 for the privilege of complaining to our eminence grises about traffic.

Sure the Chamber and Beacon Council should be worried. Traffic is ruining business in Miami-Dade. Duh.

Is the Herald willing to advocate a building moratorium until traffic solutions are funded and implemented?

Of course not. As noted in other posts below, its executives live in world sheltered by big law firm executives who represent the 'growth at any cost' mindset.

Like Greenberg Traurig and the developer monopoly that also foments criticism of the Herald for anything that smacks of weakness toward Castro.

As if the Herald isn't sensitive enough to anything that could undermine new tract housing that feeds its real estate section.

What we expect from the trio, that includes the grandfather of the Performing Arts Center, Parker Thomson, are little palliatives like re-timing traffic lights or those idiotic traffic calming measures that consulting engineers hold out to municipalities in return for zoning changes that allow ten thousand more traffic trips in areas already designated by FDOT as level of service "F". F, as in failure.

And speaking of Parker Thomson, every day we drive by the $500 million Performing Arts Center and read, "Carnival", plastered all over its sides, we are reminded any group of movers and shakers who votes to let the word "carnival" brand its signature for the performing arts deserves to be tarred and feathered in the public square-- were there one, in Miami.

Now, we'd pay $125 to see that.