"Demonstrated competence", the last refuge of scoundrels by gimleteye

There is a particularly awful letter in the LTE section of today's Miami Herald, from the PR flak Seth Gordon, business spin master and professional meddler. Mr. Gordon's letter represents the argument of last resort for special interests: "smart people are often wrong when they stray outside their areas of demonstrated competence."

This is the argument that the Associated Industries and Chamber of Commerce will wage against Florida Hometown Democracy: that land use planning requires special "competence" and that the public cannot make such difficult choices. The argument, which pushes common sense into the remainder bin, is the last refuge of scoundrels.

The immediate example of Gordon's letter is to attack Norman Braman, who is spending his own money to oppose the massive infrastructure plan, almost $3 billion, to expand the downtown CRA's in order to fund all manner of expensive infrastructure projects that could otherwise not be funded.

The letter points to the second article in a 4 part series (called "The Megaplan for Miami" that began Sunday) which can be found on A1 of the Miami Herald today "A Path to Possibilities", by Michael Vasquez. What is lacking in Miami's grand plan is common sense. Does Gordon really believe that it takes special competence to evaluate the idiocy that is about to unfold, again, in downtown Miami? It's pure BS.

The Vasquez piece is frustrating on a couple of key points, that don't take a Ph.D. to understand, or any other form of special competence.

Now that the widening of Biscayne Boulevard from downtown to the Performing Arts Center is almost complete, the answer to the question is becoming clear: what pedestrian is going to walk across the six or is it eight lanes from their 30 story condo tower, to the Museum or park? None.

And if you don't walk, how are you going to get there? Where are you going to park? And once you get there, what will the atmosphere be?

The problem with Bicentennial Park has always been access. The fact that city planners and decision makers failed to put access as the first priority instead of the last doesn't require special competence, as Gordon claims, to realize.

In the Herald series, a map of pedestrian flow for downtown and the billions of dollars of construction now in the ground and planned, would serve a public purpose (dontcha think, Miami Herald?).

It's too bad, also, that the article doesn't quote another critic of the plan who is putting his money where his mouth is: Marty Margulies, the developer and art collector.