Why are there no curbs in Miami / South Florida? (Orlando: new house, landscaping)

[tallrick]

You can always find curbs in the more African areas of dade county. The counties and cities seem to put them in for the convenience of the welfare recipients. Most people here are too lazy to cut grass or walk, so they park near the front door to save steps and hopefully keep the grass from growing. At my parents home I had problems with people parking there so i excavated the swale and filled it with soupy marl topped with mulch. After a few cars had to be towed out they stopped parking there.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by szyy

I've noticed the same thing some time ago. I though have no idea why. The car thing may have something to do with changing population in Miami. I guess those houses were designed for less people than they currently held but Latinos sometimes can't afford larger houses so they live with their parents or so (and that makes three or four cars per family instead of two).

It has absolutely nothing to do with that. I remember people parking on swales in my West Miami neighborhood when I was growing up back in the late 50s/early 60s when the area was pretty much totally Caucasian. The later influx of Cubans into the neighborhood just continued the practice. I never thought it was strange until much later in life when people would come to visit from up north and wonder why everyone in Miami parked on the grass.

[karl_hemingway]

It's definitely not walker friendly.

[hurricaneMan1992]

IMHO, having curbs in a suburban neighborhood doesn't look cheap. On the contrary, having the grass right up to the road and tire marks in the front lawn and people parking on the grass looks poorly designed and cheap!

My thinking is that houses in the older neighborhoods were designed for single car households mainly for retirees, with some driveway space for the occasional visitor or service van or housekeeper's car, and definitely not the kind of crowd that has house parties. However, nowadays many of these same houses have 3-4 cars and more than one generation living in the house, or house mates who all have cars, as well as illegal efficiencies in some cases. This is especially the case in the older neighborhoods that have been in decline over the past decades. You don't see it too much in the nicer parts of Pinecrest of Palmetto Bay.

[WINTERFRONT]

We have curbs in West kendall... maybe cuz it's rather new compared to inner Miami.

[TriCounty]

The truth is that no one is really concerned with whether a neighborhood has curbs or not (besides maybe a few posters here, which are irrelevant in a county/region of millions).

[doggiebus]

Aren't curbs meant for people to park next to? Typically you find curbs on streets you can park on. Streets you can't park on, will not have a curb, generally speaking. I can't stand it when my neighbors park in the swales, if they do it often enough you end up with dirt and no grass which isn't appealing.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Aren't curbs meant for people to park next to? Typically you find curbs on streets you can park on. Streets you can't park on, will not have a curb, generally speaking. I can't stand it when my neighbors park in the swales, if they do it often enough you end up with dirt and no grass which isn't appealing.

Since you know your neighbor will at some point have more guests over than can fit in his driveway, and since you will likely have the same issue at some point, doesn't it make sense to plan on having some legitimate street parking within walking distance (not necessarily on every block of every street)? I have also seen some newer communities that have small designated angle parking lots for guests, this can also work.

[hurricaneMan1992]

What I find completely unacceptable is neighborhoods that are mostly apartments and have zero street parking...now that is annoying, the plan was obviously to spend as little money as possible on infrastructure.

[doggiebus]

It makes sense to have over flow parking in these new communities, but I suspect to a developer this means giving away land space they can use to sell a few more homes.