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Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,491 posts, read 15,062,209 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the resident09
Not just the people for Northern areas moving to Miami, but those international migrants, many come from large mega cities of their own with much greater transit systems than what is provided in much of the US. I guess Houston has this too though.
I don't understand what that has to do with anything? Both cities indeed have a large chunk of their populations from such places. Even those that aren't from there can at least conceptualize this as it's not exactly a secret why those other cities are the way they are and living in Florida or Texas doesn't give one more or less knowledge on those things.
The matter here is what is the priority for the local government. Do they see value in investing in transit AND do they have the money to do that. While certainly ones passion for the topic can sway things, that's all talk unless there are actual developments. Now, Miami has done well with what they've done but it's a far cry from a system where most Miamians could live car free.
Honestly, I think the perception that Miami is "better" at this than what the numbers show is that Miami is a massive tourist destination and Houston is not. Tourists are more likely to walk, use transit or ridesharing because {drum roll} they don't live there. Since Miami does a really good job concentrating the type of activities tourists would want to take part in (shopping, dining, everything is just a few minutes away from the beach) one could go there and assume that this is the lifestyle for everyone when it reality it's mostly people who don't live there.
You see this same sort of thing in Las Vegas, although worse because Miami is far more walkable than Las Vegas. With that said, I think Miami could get to this nirvana more easily because their metro population is hemmed in due to natural constraints (not altruism unlike what people like to say). This is a clear advantage over Houston since they have far fewer natural barriers to development and have spread out accordingly.
I don't understand what that has to do with anything? Both cities indeed have a large chunk of their populations from such places. Even those that aren't from there can at least conceptualize this as it's not exactly a secret why those other cities are the way they are and living in Florida or Texas doesn't give one more or less knowledge on those things.
The matter here is what is the priority for the local government. Do they see value in investing in transit AND do they have the money to do that. While certainly ones passion for the topic can sway things, that's all talk unless there are actual developments. Now, Miami has done well with what they've done but it's a far cry from a system where most Miamians could live car free.
Honestly, I think the perception that Miami is "better" at this than what the numbers show is that Miami is a massive tourist destination and Houston is not. Tourists are more likely to walk, use transit or ridesharing because {drum roll} they don't live there. Since Miami does a really good job concentrating the type of activities tourists would want to take part in (shopping, dining, everything is just a few minutes away from the beach) one could go there and assume that this is the lifestyle for everyone when it reality it's mostly people who don't live there.
You see this same sort of thing in Las Vegas, although worse because Miami is far more walkable than Las Vegas. With that said, I think Miami could get to this nirvana more easily because their metro population is hemmed in due to natural constraints (not altruism unlike what people like to say). This is a clear advantage over Houston since they have far fewer natural barriers to development and have spread out accordingly.
I disagree. It’s not about tourism. And not even really about demographics. Miami historically has done more for its transit infrastructure. The only reason I didn’t run away with it here is because it seems to be at a standstill for improvement (which is what OP asked)
Miami last November proposed two expansions to its current MetroRail & Metromover systems :
Metro Mover : Miami-Dade County announced plans to pursue a one-seat ride solution for the Miami Beach transit corridor known as Baylink – an alternative to the previous monorail plan. The community-preferred, one-seat option with an expansion of Metro Mover to connect downtown Miami to Miami Beach connecting Baylink to Metrorail and eliminating the need for riders to transfer.
The project is expected to have a capital cost of $1 billion, with 75% coming from Miami-Dade and the remaining 25% from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Miami-Dade county expects to begin construction on the Metromover expansion to South Beach in 2025, with operations beginning by 2029.
MetroRail :
Miami-Dade County votes to accelerate Metrorail's northern extension to the Hard Rock Stadium / Broward County line :
The first phase of development will be an 8-mile extension of the Metrorail to the Hard Rock Stadium at NW 199th Street and a station at Hard Rock Stadium, followed by the construction of additional stations throughout the corridor as well as “several new transit-oriented developments.
Miami-Dade County will not seek a private-public partnership to for the project, estimated to costs $1.9 billion. The County said funding will come in part from Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the County will aggressively look for federal funding opportunities.
If Miami gets serious about building the line to Miami Beach, this would be a game changer.
Now they just need a line connecting some of the Western Miami neighborhoods.
Other Metromover extensions planned are for the Design district & WynWood neighborhoods and possibly Little Havana with a stop at the Marlins Ballpark.
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,491 posts, read 15,062,209 times
Reputation: 7367
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag
I disagree. It’s not about tourism. And not even really about demographics. Miami historically has done more for its transit infrastructure. The only reason I didn’t run away with it here is because it seems to be at a standstill for improvement (which is what OP asked)
I was talking more about pedestrian activity than anywhere else. Miami has been ahead for a while because they made an investment in heavy rail instead. That's a much better base to build from than just surface light rail.
Miami. They have a mix of heavy, light, and commuter rail. Houston has a bunch as trams. They will likely have the first true high speed rail line to connect to Dallas, so that's something i suppose.
Any light rail system is a tram.
Also, ridership per capita for both systems is about on par with MARTA, so I"m not buying that Miami is any more of a transit city than Houston.
Interesting observation. The head of Central Houston, Inc. came from Los Angeles…
Hmmm.
I visited Houston in 2019, and as I drove around the area, my impression was, "This is Texas' answer to LA." Right down to the palm trees, a suburb named Pasadena and freeways full of Mario Andretti wannabes all doing 70 in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
I've also been to Miami, and it seemed to me that the city — or at least its core — was more adapted to rail transit. The Metromover actually took me from the hotel we stayed in at the north edge of downtown to Brickell and other interesting local destinations.
Not that inner Houston lacks them. And had I had time to learn the bus system, I might have learned how to navigate them on public transit.
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