Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Traffic, traffic, traffic ... by gimleteye

An interesting Letter to the Editor in the Herald this morning on traffic related to the MEGA MALL planned in Northwest Dade made me do a U-turn on my morning rounds. It's worth a brief look at our archive on traffic. We sure spend enough time there.

Judging from the hard right turn of state and national politics, we are all about to spend ALOT more time in traffic, especially those who live in the western, southern, and less developed sections of the county.

Once upon a time, citizens had a platform to protest unreasonable development. It was called the Growth Management Act. I'm not even sure that voters are aware that Republicans in the state legislature, under Gov. Rick Scott, put Growth Management -- and hopes of citizens to protect their quality of life -- in a broom closet in the state capitol.

That happened. Fact, not fake.


Cautionary tale warns of mega mall traffic

The mega mall that is being considered by the Miami-Dade County Commission ignores residents’ quality of life. This fact is overshadowed by the dollar signs the county envisions.

I live off of Ives Dairy Road in North Dade. We are the pathway to Aventura Mall. From 7-10 a.m. and 1:45-8 p.m. or later, there is complete gridlock. You might think, “Big deal.” Well, it is when 4,000 cars enter our neighborhood to avoid Ives Dairy Road every day. Lucky for us that WAZE re-directs motorists that way.

These unwanted visitors speed through our streets, regardless of stop signs, pass other motorists on two-lane roads — even around curves — just to get to I-95 five seconds earlier. And we are not allowed to keep them out because these are public streets. Our desire for speed bumps or humps has been rejected several times because they would slow down emergency vehicles. Aventura Mall is in the midst of a major expansion. Yet, there is no plan to address the increased volume of traffic. When questioned, we are told there is no way to ease traffic.

The neighbors to be affected by the proposed mega mall will, for sure, have their quality of life severely compromised. Their concerns should supersede monetary greed.

As our neighborhood has learned, once the go-ahead is given, all promises by the builder are null and void. No one from the county ever checks up on promises made, and the residents suffer.

Regardless of how terrific a major attraction, hotel and a mall could be, they do not belong in a residential neighborhood. Comparison to Disney World does not work here. Disney was built in an uninhabited area.

I totally sympathize with our western neighbors. No one is listening to them because none of those who will benefit from this monstrosity live in their neighborhood.

TRUDY LECHNER, MIAMI

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article121884408.html#storylink=cpy

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The fix is. The Gimenez/Bovo train is running on steam engines. That Mega Mall will be the death of Miami Lakes and Palm Springs North. If you don't believe it get a load of Red Road, Ludlum Road, Nw 82 Ave and every other major artery on the north end on any given day.

Anonymous said...

This mall will be the dearth of our quality of life in Miami Lakes and Palm Springs North. When the mall is complete and values are slated to go up (bu all accounts) I plan on selling. Born and raised in the area, it will be a sad day.