Is Kendall traffic only going to get worse? (Miami, Kendale Lakes: 2015, apartments)

[Wordsmith12]

What a scary thought!

My wife and I have lived in Kendale Lakes (on 137th Ave, between Miller and Sunset) for 4.5 years. I work near 67th Ave and Sunset.

I start work at 9 a.m. During the school year, assuming I leave around 7:30, it takes about an hour to drive to/from work -- a distance of about 8.2 miles. If there's an accident or inclement weather, I can tack on another 10-20 minutes. If I want to get to work in 40-45 minutes, I need to leave no later than 7 a.m. I always take Sunset Drive as it is a straight shot.

In the summer, when the kiddies are off from school, the commute is anywhere from 25-40 minutes.

When we first set out to buy a property, I was eyeing condos because (1) SFH were super expensive, and we were looking to save money (2) I'm not a handyman, and my wife doesn't care for gardening, and (3) We wanted to deal with less maintenance.

We tried looking in places like the Gables, South Miami, and East Kendall first, but no dice. The condos were either too old/small, too expensive, or they lacked amenities (e.g., no washer/dryer).

We got a sweet deal on a 2/2 1,050 square foot corner unit. The property is quiet and well-maintained, and it includes a pool and security.

We also love the fact that we're so close to myriad shops and restaurants (e.g., Barnes and Noble, Chili's, Flanigan's, Panera, LA Fitness, etc.).

Nearly five years later, though, the traffic problem hasn't gotten any better.

My wife says she loves our cozy condo and wants to stay there over the long haul, but two things may very well push me to begin looking for a home further east in the near future: (1) the lousy traffic (2) desiring more space because we wish to start a family.

We can make do with a 2/2 for a while since we only plan to have one child, but sooner or later I'm going to want my own home office again. At that point, I'd probably start looking at 3/2 condos, townhouses, and small homes -- and they'd have to be east of 117th Avenue.

Whether we'd rent out the condo or sell it is still a question mark, but I don't think I can take five more years of this nasty traffic. I have no plans to switch employers, at least not now.

Is the traffic only going to get worse? Given the area/traffic, do you think renting the condo is the wise thing to do, or does selling make more sense?

Thanks.

[arekusu]

I'll only respond to the question of traffic in Kendall as whether to sell or stay put is something you guys need to really think about.

I lived in Kendall for 6 years from 2009-2015. As much as I love Kendall and especially the Hammocks area, I would never move back unless I was retired or worked from home, and even if either of those cases were true, I'd likely still not move back.

The traffic is unbearable and yes, it is only going to get worse. The reason being that while nothing is being done to curve the nightmare of commuting in and out of Kendall towards the rest of Miami (East), more and more apartments are being built up. If you factor 2 cars per new apartment, well you can easily do the math on the added strain that puts on Kendall, and its main roads (Kendall drive especially).

On the off chance we visit Kendall now a days, the wife and I always look at all the traffic and go, "how the hell did we live out here for so long?"

I truly love Kendall though and hope one day some real serious steps are taken by the city to improve the traffic issues.

[pepsik]

My sister live in Kendall exactly on 137 Ave. Before i saw a traffic by personally she had complained to me on bad commute. I didn`t believe her always thinking that traffic in Miami couldn`t be compared with traffic in LA area (Corona etc) but...i did mistaken. Once i was willing to get to the beach (key biscayne) and it took me up to 1,5 h! I was 6 pm and most of people were outdoors. There were lots of insignificant accidents on road that i faced. I`d say it`s the major issue of traffic jams it big cities. Yet many roads under constructions is the secont major trouble. Last year i barely recognized the area close to MIA - new junction, everything was dug up.

[boxus]

It is going to get worse there and in the Miami metro as they have done zero to address it, but do all they can to build, build, build everything aside from anything addressing transportation issues.

The "planning" is so screwed up, not even know where to begin to address it. The school year is more than icing on the cake, it is the primary cause for a lot of traffic issues.

[pepsik]

Anyway you can`t compare traffic jams here in Miami with jams in many other cities on the world. After travelling over the world i`m sure on it. When i stay in traffic jam somethere in Dolphin expy stream of cars still moving a little bit althought Google maps shows me RED. When i twist in the wind in traffic jam somethere in East Europe and Goole shows me the same RED we just stay without any movement (at best stop & go).

[himain]

Yes

[Huasho]

The Hammocks area, for someone retired like the wife and I is Heaven.

I realize it was torture driving East to Coconut Grove for me when working and the Wife doinn the same To Doral by The Carnival Cruise HQ's.

But we survived and Far West Kendall has everything you can hope for, except Beaches. We love our Area...Back roads to the Keys and quick exit to other Parts of the State.