LeBron James bikes to work: what do Heat fans think about the traffic on game nights? by gimleteye

This morning I read in the Herald that LeBron James bikes to the Miami Heat arena in downtown Miami to avoid the ferocious traffic -- the result of horrendous decisions on developments downtown by elected officials. No one in their right mind would put an arena, a performing arts center, a museum, and thousands of condo units all served by 1950's era transit. Oh, I forgot Cirque du Soleil.

You have to wonder if the officials Miami and Miami-Dade voters return to office year after year aren't thoroughly contaminated by mercury pollution or some other neuro-toxin that turns common sense to mush.

I am not surprised that LeBron bikes to work. The frustration of trying to get downtown on game day could seriously affect anyone's concentration.

Last night I braved a drive to the beach for dinner at the same time as fans were trying to reach the Miami Heat arena. As I squeezed through in the left lane, I watched with awe the backup in the other lanes. From 95 north and 95 south and 826 eastbound: the traffic was mind-boggling. It took twenty minutes to drive from Coral Gables to the downtown exits, less than ten miles away. I'm guessing it would have taken another forty minutes to drive from where traffic backed up to a parking lot; less than a mile.

This, by the way, is the same area to be served by the largest casino in the continental United States if the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Jorge Perez, Arquitectonica, The Miami Herald, and the GOP-led Florida legislature get their way. There is only one word to describe the traffic pattern in Miami: insane. (Today the board of the MDX -- the expressway authority-- is poised to approve another insanity, stretching SR 836 into farmland edging the Everglades.) Land of the brave, home of the free.