SiMiami (Miami Beach: low income, apartment, to rent)

[crystalblue]

OK, Say by some legislative decree, you were given power to fix S Florida (or just Dade) as if it were a Sim City

What would you do?

[Chelito23]

Stabalize rents in what should be affordable housing....

Resolve tax crisis in county

Attract high paying jobs

Diversify economy

Convert run down riverfront areas to a thriving park/bike/walking areas

Tree brigades to beautify all swales and parks

Massive tax increases for people who pave over their proerty

Expansive Metrorail that would go from the beach, to the port, then downtown, to the orange bowl, MIA and west to the malls and FIU, in addition to numerous other lines. Next, mandatory dense housing within 1/4 miles of all of the stations.

Put a moratorium on luxery housing until the market abosrbs what is already here and provide incentives for new affordable housing options

Fire the majority of the city and county employees, especially the ones on the commision dais...and start from scratch.

Close the cheap no-tell motels up and down 8th St and Flagler St and turn them into multi-use developments with affordable housing and shops for police officers, fire department employees, school district teachers etc.

End the gravy train for developers in the county

Plan for a future in more than just lip service but in a meaningful way-while taking current residents into account

Dismantle NET and Team Metro offices and start from scratch with new, hard-working employees

Set standards and expectations for all government employees and hold them accountable for corruption, indifference and rudeness

Now let me go get my magic wand and we can get started....

[MiamiRob]

chelito some good ideas there and I have to say I am optimistic about Miami's future even though there are many nay sayers on this forum. If people think Miami is bad now they should have expirienced it during the early 80s with the riots & the Mariel boatlift and the Cocaine cowboys!

[rogerbacon]

1 Enforce the immigration laws that the feds won’t enforce.
2 Require proof of legal residency before being able to rent an apartment or buy a house.
3 Enforce an English Only policy after giving everyone five years to learn it.
4 Emphasize a sense of community rather than extolling the greatness of ‘diversity’. When people think that the guy down the street or in the next lane of traffic is just like they are then they are less likely to want to screw him over. Japan is a perfect example of this. Right now there is a ‘me first’ attitude in Miami and an ‘us vs. them’ feeling to daily life.
5 Slash taxes and make sure that the remaining taxes are only used to fund things that government should actually be funding.
6 End all subsidies to mass transit; it just doesn’t work in Miami. Admit Metrorail was a mistake and privatize it by selling it to the highest bidder.
7 Allow principles to hire and fire teachers directly without any strings attached. Break up the system where all teachers’ pay is based on years of experience. Allow principles to pay good teachers more and poor-performing teachers less. Not all engineers or doctors with X years of experience make the same money. Why should teachers be any different?
8 Give school vouchers to every parent and allow them to place their kid in any school they want. Let schools compete for good students like they would have to compete for good teachers. Aren’t our kids at least as important as the teacher’s union?

[tallrick]

1) Eliminate the school board. Allow each school principal to spend the budget allocated to them, each student would get a set amount of money no matter what school they are in. Parents could use the money in their local public school or in a private school willing to educate them. Parents would be able to control the direction of their school.

2) Fire all the county comissioners. Replace them with concerned citizens. Put all summaries of issues on the internet. Make County television available to all, not just just paid subscribers.

3) Kick out the new "strong mayor" for the county.

4) Cut county budget by 50%. No more "traffic circles" or other special wasteful projects. Remove all 4 way stop signs installed in the last 5 years.

5) No more transit subsidies. Make a one-time investment from the money saved from waste to extend metro-rail to the airport, Miami Beach and the port of Miami. Rebuild the RR tracks stupidly removed this year and start a commuter rail. Allow private bus service to use the "busway" if they choose to do so.

6) Create a special set of property tax exemptions for historic properties and natural areas. Also create a new low income tax exemption.

7) Definately eliminate Team Metro. Eliminate their kangaroo Court as well.

[crystalblue]

it seems like, for the most part, the single family home is dead in s floriduh.

too expensive and an in-efficient use of land.

how will s floriduh continue to grow?

if more towers are built, is there room?

what do u see happening?

[Wild Style]

Make every major non residential street have elevated trains moving in both directions. Make residential and smaller streets have buses. Give incredible tax incentives to HUGE corporations. Improve all roads. Increase cultural events around town

Make sure all new construction is in-fill, no more urban sprawl.

Originally Posted by crystalblue

OK, Say by some legislative decree, you were given power to fix S Florida (or just Dade) as if it were a Sim City

What would you do?