The Palmetto Expressway....by Nothingman (Miami, Tampa: how much, vacation home, construction)

[nothingman]

I would like to take a few moments to talk about another of my pet peeves – the Palmetto Expressway (SR-826), or as I like to call it, the PalmGHETTO Expressway, because it passes through some of the worst ghetto s**tholes of Miami, namely west Hialeah and particularly the nasty area around 49th Street which is a true cesspool of so-called humanity.

I live in Pinecrest and unfortunately, I have to take the Palmetto Expressway to work every day. The Palmetto Expressway is a joke – an unfunny one, at that. It seems that they’re taking forever to upgrade this stupid a** piece of road and it’s a complete mess at the moment. The traffic is almost gridlocked every day, especially the 2 lane section between US-1 and Bird Road. Why they haven’t widened/upgraded the crappy 2 lane section FIRST is beyond me (same goes for the Don Shula Expressway). Unless you want to drive all the way west into the depths of bland suburban Kendall, the Turnpike is out of the question, meaning the the Palmetto is the only real north-south route to take.

Even worse than the ridiculously long construction are the users of the Palmetto – the maniac drivers. I feel like I’m literally taking my life into my own hands when I drive on the Palmetto. You have people changing lanes all over the place without signaling (like they don’t know what a signal even is). You have reggaeton loving Daddy Yankee wannabes driving pickup trucks like they’re much smaller cars, weaving in and out of traffic, speeding and cutting people off, causing them to swerve or hit the brakes hard.

I don’t know if any of you take the Palmetto north every day between Kendall Drive and the Dolphin, but if you do drive the same route, you’ll notice that there’s a dual use lane when you approach the Tamiami Trail exit. This dual use lane has been there for what….months, yet people STILL panic at the last minute and throw themselves into the other lane, thinking that the lane is just to exit. Funny that there’s a HUGE sign saying “Dual Use Lane” that you can’t really miss, unless you’re busy doing other things.

What pisses me off even more are people using CELL PHONES while driving on the expressway. Then again, most people in Miami drive with cell phones permanently attached to their ears while driving, so no surprise there. The worst culprits are those girls who wear those oversized sunglasses – the ones who drive VW Beetles (the new/ugly model) while on their way to the mall to spend their rich-ass sugar daddy’s money like the good gold diggers that they are.

Oh and why don’t people here know how to MERGE???? Merging really isn’t that hard….you approach the expressway carefully from the onramp, put your left signal on so that people know you’re merging, adjust your speed according to the traffic flow while checking your mirrors, then you (carefully) merge. People here (especially on the Palmetto) either just thrust their cars out at you with no warning, or they almost stop. What doesn’t help is that the temporary merge lanes on the Palmetto are way too short, way too narrow and downright dangerous.

A few months ago, someone literally tried to run me off the road when I was taking the Palmetto, just south of the Miller Drive exit. This was basically for no reason, other than the guy was a maniac in a hurry. He almost ran me off the road and I almost crashed. On top of all that, he threw a phone book at my car.

I’ve seen so many accidents on the Palmetto too. Last Thursday, I saw 2 accidents in the space of 3 hours. The first was an 18 wheeler that had rammed into the back of a Mercedes and the other accident involved a pickup truck that had somehow managed to crash into the central reservation (it looked pretty bad). No wonder really – the Palmetto is a death trap. South of the Dolphin (where most of the construction is), the lanes are way too narrow and they bend dangerously.

I don’t like the freeway system here much – not the Palmetto or I-95. I don’t like the way that the lanes are such a mess and that people never let you in as they’re rude, aggressive drivers. I don’t like how one minute, you have 6 lanes, then suddenly you’re left with 3 or 4, as is the case with I-95 or the Palmetto north of the Dolphin. Whoever designed the road system here must have been on crack!

The roads are only going to get worse here too with all the construction going on. It’s as if no one thinks about transport infrastructure in this city – it’s just build, build, build and worry about it later (or not at all).

[vpcats]

Oh dear, am I the only one reading your dissertations? They are just so much fun. It's just the type of reading I enjoy before going nighty-night. I think you must be related to some great philosopher because your insights into humanity and behavior are extraordinary.

Seems that like you, I have nothing better to do either right?

[CiXeL]

nothingman, youre right. the roads here are incredibly scary. i find myself ranting less and less about it though just because noone cares enough to do anything about it. you can only fight the madness for so long.

[striker]

Originally Posted by CiXeL

nothingman, youre right. the roads here are incredibly scary. i find myself ranting less and less about it though just because noone cares enough to do anything about it. you can only fight the madness for so long.

But yet you haven't moved back to LA!

[striker]

Originally Posted by nothingman

I would like to take a few moments to talk about another of my pet peeves – the Palmetto Expressway (SR-826), or as I like to call it, the PalmGHETTO Expressway, because it passes through some of the worst ghetto s**tholes of Miami, namely west Hialeah and particularly the nasty area around 49th Street which is a true cesspool of so-called humanity.

I live in Pinecrest and unfortunately, I have to take the Palmetto Expressway to work every day. The Palmetto Expressway is a joke – an unfunny one, at that. It seems that they’re taking forever to upgrade this stupid a** piece of road and it’s a complete mess at the moment. The traffic is almost gridlocked every day, especially the 2 lane section between US-1 and Bird Road. Why they haven’t widened/upgraded the crappy 2 lane section FIRST is beyond me (same goes for the Don Shula Expressway). Unless you want to drive all the way west into the depths of bland suburban Kendall, the Turnpike is out of the question, meaning the the Palmetto is the only real north-south route to take.

Even worse than the ridiculously long construction are the users of the Palmetto – the maniac drivers. I feel like I’m literally taking my life into my own hands when I drive on the Palmetto. You have people changing lanes all over the place without signaling (like they don’t know what a signal even is). You have reggaeton loving Daddy Yankee wannabes driving pickup trucks like they’re much smaller cars, weaving in and out of traffic, speeding and cutting people off, causing them to swerve or hit the brakes hard.

I don’t know if any of you take the Palmetto north every day between Kendall Drive and the Dolphin, but if you do drive the same route, you’ll notice that there’s a dual use lane when you approach the Tamiami Trail exit. This dual use lane has been there for what….months, yet people STILL panic at the last minute and throw themselves into the other lane, thinking that the lane is just to exit. Funny that there’s a HUGE sign saying “Dual Use Lane” that you can’t really miss, unless you’re busy doing other things.

What pisses me off even more are people using CELL PHONES while driving on the expressway. Then again, most people in Miami drive with cell phones permanently attached to their ears while driving, so no surprise there. The worst culprits are those girls who wear those oversized sunglasses – the ones who drive VW Beetles (the new/ugly model) while on their way to the mall to spend their rich-ass sugar daddy’s money like the good gold diggers that they are.

Oh and why don’t people here know how to MERGE???? Merging really isn’t that hard….you approach the expressway carefully from the onramp, put your left signal on so that people know you’re merging, adjust your speed according to the traffic flow while checking your mirrors, then you (carefully) merge. People here (especially on the Palmetto) either just thrust their cars out at you with no warning, or they almost stop. What doesn’t help is that the temporary merge lanes on the Palmetto are way too short, way too narrow and downright dangerous.

A few months ago, someone literally tried to run me off the road when I was taking the Palmetto, just south of the Miller Drive exit. This was basically for no reason, other than the guy was a maniac in a hurry. He almost ran me off the road and I almost crashed. On top of all that, he threw a phone book at my car.

I’ve seen so many accidents on the Palmetto too. Last Thursday, I saw 2 accidents in the space of 3 hours. The first was an 18 wheeler that had rammed into the back of a Mercedes and the other accident involved a pickup truck that had somehow managed to crash into the central reservation (it looked pretty bad). No wonder really – the Palmetto is a death trap. South of the Dolphin (where most of the construction is), the lanes are way too narrow and they bend dangerously.

I don’t like the freeway system here much – not the Palmetto or I-95. I don’t like the way that the lanes are such a mess and that people never let you in as they’re rude, aggressive drivers. I don’t like how one minute, you have 6 lanes, then suddenly you’re left with 3 or 4, as is the case with I-95 or the Palmetto north of the Dolphin. Whoever designed the road system here must have been on crack!

The roads are only going to get worse here too with all the construction going on. It’s as if no one thinks about transport infrastructure in this city – it’s just build, build, build and worry about it later (or not at all).

OMG, Get a life!

Anyway, I actually like driving in Miami. I feel like at home (that country that looks like a boot that makes everybody jealous, especially British, you know?). I like it a lot!

[striker]

Originally Posted by nothingman

If this is so boring to you, why do you bother responding? I find you to be boring too....you are fake, shallow and ignorant (your posts reflect this).

I wonder why you *still* haven't answered my question. In case you forgot, I asked you how long you've actually spent in Miami, in total (since you seem to know so much about this city).

I used to live in Tampa and spend at least one weekend per month. My parents who live in Milan also own a vacation home in West Palm and when we are there we go to Miami every couple of days. They love it too!

[tallrick]

I think they should just convert the expressway to a demolition derby. The sad thing is that Dade County always does construction on multiple roads at one time. Oh and even the overpriced turnpike is a mess at peak hours. Yet even on the best road in south Florida (I-75) the idiot drivers find ways to kill themself and others.

[CiXeL]

striker, want to give me the 5k i need to leave? thats approximately how much it cost to move all of me and my girlfriend's earthly belongings 3000 miles cross country from los angeles and all the way down the florida peninsula. of course, i thought itd be a one way trip so i didnt have a backup plan if it didnt work. i was running from the tech outsourcing because it was known the east coast was stealing alot of our jobs since it was cheaper to do business there. and it worked... for awhile. the idea was that i could indulge in my hobbies out here and possibly turn them into a business (like start a nursery or coral farm) but i found i couldnt make friends with anyone in the industries because they were either more concerned with protecting their jobs or simply mean people. so its time to go home.

[lauralei2]

The Palmetto is a mess. I drive on it infrequently and did so last night. Lanes remarked and unleveled. I know its a disaster during the daytime because when I've traveled it before construction, it was horrible. Avoid the Palmetto, especially in Hialeah, well for the matter all the way to Dadeland, as well.

Come on guys, be nice to each other.

[Gross Rexman]

Heavy traffic in a big city with rude drivers to boot. What a news flash.