Miami Transit Authority (sigh) (Miami Beach, South Beach: sales, real estate market, transfer)

[Wild Style]

What is with this place. Operating like a banana republic during the worlds worst economic depression is beyond stupid. We need to sort problems out in order to retain citzenary and grow into a REAL world class city. Not going to do that operating llike this is some 3rd world republic wehre everything operates on theft and baksheesh (kick back/tip).

Miami Herald did a piece highlghting the problems facing the Miami Transit Authority. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/25/1988687/trouble-at-transit-is-agency-in.html (broken link) Wish Miami herald would also write articles highlighting the issues with the real estate market and the lack of enforcement of Miami21 which all stake holders agreed to.

[CruisingUSA]

That explains why they stopped allowing transfers and day passes to be purchased on the bus like when I used to ride alot when I was attending college here in 2007. But now... I find it utterly ridiculous, I had to spend $10 to get from Gables to the Doplphin mall because I had to pay $2 everytime I got on the bus (a total of 3 buses to get there, 2 to get back).

This place here is just beyond words. I can't believe they are ripping people off like that...Anyone know if the Atlantic is going to be busy next year?

[Glasvegas]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

What is with this place. Operating like a banana republic during the worlds worst economic depression is beyond stupid. We need to sort problems out in order to retain citzenary and grow into a REAL world class city. Not going to do that operating llike this is some 3rd world republic wehre everything operates on theft and baksheesh (kick back/tip).

Miami Herald did a piece highlghting the problems facing the Miami Transit Authority. Trouble at Transit: Is agency in control? - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/25/1988687/trouble-at-transit-is-agency-in.html - broken link) Wish Miami herald would also write articles highlighting the issues with the real estate market and the lack of enforcement of Miami21 which all stake holders agreed to.

Miami badly needs a world class mass transit system. Personally, I would build it, no matter what the cost. The economic benefits from such an investment will be priceless. Miami's Metrorail is awesome, but it's screaming out for expansion. Raise the damn fares if necessary, but just make it happen already. Car dependency is not sustainable and is an ass-backward way of doing things in a largely provincial city trying to strive to be a big city and a true metropolis. Investment in mass transit is crucial in Miami.

[MiamiRob]

CruisingUSA I wasn't aware they had gotten rid of bus transfers or transfers of any kind. Did you think of getting a transit pass instead?
As for incompetence at MDTA the County fired Roosevelt Bradley who ran the transit agency at the time a few years back for the same problems & surprise nothing has changed!
GlasVegas well the half penny sales tax was supposed to be dedicated solely for the expansion of Metrorail when it passed in 2002. The county even with a citizen's oversight board shifted some of the money that was only to be for expanding Metrorail to normal operating costs which was severly in the red.
Realize also that the FEDS usually pay for 50% of the cost for any mass transit rail project in the US. The transit agency submitted the North Line extension twice & the FEDS rejected it. Metrorail can't be expanded without the money from the FEDS contributing. These are multi billion dollar projects. In fact I recall the total cost to expand Metrorail was around $17 Billion for all of the routes proposed.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Glasvegas

Miami badly needs a world class mass transit system. Personally, I would build it, no matter what the cost. The economic benefits from such an investment will be priceless. Miami's Metrorail is awesome, but it's screaming out for expansion. Raise the damn fares if necessary, but just make it happen already. Car dependency is not sustainable and is an ass-backward way of doing things in a largely provincial city trying to strive to be a big city and a true metropolis. Investment in mass transit is crucial in Miami.

Don't know if you noticed but gas is going up. This is in correlation with the U.S. dollar supply being at all time highs. This translates to the government printing money which in turn means sky rocketing inflation. Anyway, I think when things are said and done people will BEG the city to build a better system. i am betting on the govts. next bubble to tie into public/private mass transit systems across the U.S. coupled with green energy.

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

CruisingUSA I wasn't aware they had gotten rid of bus transfers or transfers of any kind. Did you think of getting a transit pass instead?
As for incompetence at MDTA the County fired Roosevelt Bradley who ran the transit agency at the time a few years back for the same problems & surprise nothing has changed!
GlasVegas well the half penny sales tax was supposed to be dedicated solely for the expansion of Metrorail when it passed in 2002. The county even with a citizen's oversight board shifted some of the money that was only to be for expanding Metrorail to normal operating costs which was severly in the red.
Realize also that the FEDS usually pay for 50% of the cost for any mass transit rail project in the US. The transit agency submitted the North Line extension twice & the FEDS rejected it. Metrorail can't be expanded without the money from the FEDS contributing. These are multi billion dollar projects. In fact I recall the total cost to expand Metrorail was around $17 Billion for all of the routes proposed.

Rob, the Feds pulled the money because of all the corruption and lack of feasibility. Instead of building that silly line up 27th, it would have been smarter to focus on areas with high levels of density. i.e. the urban core/s. beach. Then go from there.

[MiamiRob]

What the FEDS pulled has nothing to do with expanding Metrorail. The reason the county pushed for the North Line extension is because the county already owns the right of way and all EIS or Environmental Impact studies have been done. It is a shovel ready project that would serve southern Broward commuters at the county line terminus, the Dolphins stadium, another Tri-Rail stop & lastly thousands of students at Miami Dade College's North Campus so I really don't see it as a "silly line.

Miami Beach's mayor blocked Baylink to South Beach for reason's unbeknownst to us so the county had to re arrange it plans to extend Metrorail there. That extension would have recieved FED approval & I do agree with you about extending it throughout the urban core but you have to realize the county first has to plan a route, then acquire the right of way, do Environmental Impact studies before they can even approach the FEDS for 50% share funding to begin with!

The latest extension to the MIC/Airport from the Earlington Heights station took years of planning and will have taken almost 3 years of construction when it opens in April of 2012. Ironically this extension was funded without Federal funding.

What is the most striking thing is that the people of Miami Dade county have been asked for years to provide a dedicated source of funding and have repeatedly turned it down at the ballot box until 2002 when they passed the 1/2 cent sales tax which should have been done while Metrorail constructed in the 1980s. It took 15 years to finally get that done so the citizens of Miami Dade have nobody to blame for themselves as to why we haven't had any meaningfull extensions of Metrorail.

[Wild Style]

MiamiRob:

What the FEDS pulled has nothing to do with expanding Metrorail.

Has everything to do with it. Without the money from the feds they can not do it read this -->link

The reason the county pushed for the North Line extension is because the county already owns the right of way and all EIS or Environmental Impact studies have been done. It is a shovel ready project that would serve southern Broward commuters at the county line terminus, the Dolphins stadium, another Tri-Rail stop & lastly thousands of students at Miami Dade College's North Campus so I really don't see it as a "silly line

This is a quote from the above mentioned article "Remember, this is the same set of federal analysts who called out last year's plan as utterly unrealistic and ridiculous."

Miami Beach's mayor blocked Baylink to South Beach for reason's unbeknownst to us so the county had to re arrange it plans to extend Metrorail there. That extension would have recieved FED approval & I do agree with you about extending it throughout the urban core but you have to realize the county first has to plan a route, then acquire the right of way, do Environmental Impact studies before they can even approach the FEDS for 50% share funding to begin with!

Yes, I know, im not arguing what things needs to be done before they can go to the feds. My argument is, they need to get it done and stop promoting silly lines.

The latest extension to the MIC/Airport from the Earlington Heights station took years of planning and will have taken almost 3 years of construction when it opens in April of 2012. Ironically this extension was funded without Federal funding.

To me the two best western lines that are in planning or under construction or planning is the FIU line and that one out to the airport. Those were/are smart, very smart.

What is the most striking thing is that the people of Miami Dade county have been asked for years to provide a dedicated source of funding and have repeatedly turned it down at the ballot box until 2002 when they passed the 1/2 cent sales tax which should have been done while Metrorail constructed in the 1980s. It took 15 years to finally get that done so the citizens of Miami Dade have nobody to blame for themselves as to why we haven't had any meaningfull extensions of Metrorail.

You get no argument from me on this one. I think they will start crying even more as gas prices start increasing.

[MiamiRob]

the FIU line is proposed only. They don't even have the land/ right of way yet unless you count the median down the middle of 836 as part of it but the rest of the Orange line is private property which the county has to buy.
Oh by the way Diaz Balart as Congressman has batted for transportation projects in Miami Dade? That fool spends his life worried more about Cuba than Miami! PS : I am of Cuban descent myself!

[Glasvegas]

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

the FIU line is proposed only. They don't even have the land/ right of way yet unless you count the median down the middle of 836 as part of it but the rest of the Orange line is private property which the county has to buy.
Oh by the way Diaz Balart as Congressman has batted for transportation projects in Miami Dade? That fool spends his life worried more about Cuba than Miami! PS : I am of Cuban descent myself!

Agreed on Diaz-Balart. He was a self-serving idiot. The bar needs to be raised drastically when it comes to who people vote for. You may flame me for this, but I at least respected Manny Diaz somewhat. He got a lot of flack, but his heart was most likely in the right place (I know I'm comparing a former Congressman to a former Mayor). I think Diaz did as good a job as he could and have no faith whatsoever in Regalado.

[MiamiRob]

^ off topic but I too liked Manny Diaz when he was Mayor for the city of Miami. He was a progressive forward thinking man. Regalado & his politics makes me want to heave into the porcealin God!