The primary reason I'm bringing this article to your attention today is because these upcoming
SFECC Workshops throughout South Florida represent a second opportunity for South Florida's elected officials and community leaders, corporate and non-profit, to actually do the right thing, rather than simply talk about it after-the-fact.
SFECC Workshops throughout South Florida represent a second opportunity for South Florida's elected officials and community leaders, corporate and non-profit, to actually do the right thing, rather than simply talk about it after-the-fact.
An opportunity for them to do exactly what most didn't do during the previous workshops two years ago: actually show-up in person and listen.
And, if possible, for elected officials to actually go to a neighboring community hosting a meeting as well, if possible, so that talk of regional cooperation can actually be shown in a tangible, visible way rather than lip-service.
I also wanted to bring to your attention today a very troubling issue affecting the SFECC Workshops that has gotten neither the level of media attention it deserves, or the wide-spread criticism it's justly earned.
Once again, the Village of Miami Shores is hosting an FDOT public meeting, this time,
on February 12th as part of the second round of SFECC workshops.
on February 12th as part of the second round of SFECC workshops.
Where does the Village of Miami Shores get the nerve to host an FDOT-sponsored SFECC
Workshop, when two years ago, it sent a city hall representative to the meeting I attended in Aventura on Oct. 11, 2006 to say that Miami Shores did NOT want a station.
Period!
Workshop, when two years ago, it sent a city hall representative to the meeting I attended in Aventura on Oct. 11, 2006 to say that Miami Shores did NOT want a station.
Period!
In fact, I was less than a foot away from the man who said it, Tom Benton, the Miami Shores village manager.
Months earlier, he'd earlier written SFECC on March 2, 2006 with his comments recorded thusly in the public records:
Mr. Benton expresses demands quiet zone for all 5 crossings, and is opposed to any type of
elevated train service or metro-rail type service since it would impact quality of life, esthetics,
and property value. Whatever the choice serious environmental mitigation should be implemented.
The community will fight vigorously to protect current quality of life.
elevated train service or metro-rail type service since it would impact quality of life, esthetics,
and property value. Whatever the choice serious environmental mitigation should be implemented.
The community will fight vigorously to protect current quality of life.
Prior to that Aventura meeting in the Fall of 2006, nor at any time since, The Village of Miami
Shores has NEVER held a public referendum where its citizens could directly show their level of support for access to a commuter rail that would conveniently connect them to points north and south.
Shores has NEVER held a public referendum where its citizens could directly show their level of support for access to a commuter rail that would conveniently connect them to points north and south.
Never.
The self-important poo-bahs in Miami Shores decided that issue themselves!
In the process, because Miami Shores is both small and located right on the FEC tracks, from N.E. 87 Street to 105th, Miami Shores officials effectively get a veto over tens of thousands
of South Florida taxpayers who live near there, but not in the village itself, thereby
disenfranchising those South Floridians who'd likely enjoy being able to take advantage of something common sense that should've existed here over thirty-five years ago: a commuter train.
of South Florida taxpayers who live near there, but not in the village itself, thereby
disenfranchising those South Floridians who'd likely enjoy being able to take advantage of something common sense that should've existed here over thirty-five years ago: a commuter train.
That pocket veto of theirs means that the closest prospective stations to those citizens are
near N.E. 79th Street or N.E. 125th Street. Miami Shores thus creates the largest gap anywhere along the heavily-populated route in Miami-Dade or Broward County.
near N.E. 79th Street or N.E. 125th Street. Miami Shores thus creates the largest gap anywhere along the heavily-populated route in Miami-Dade or Broward County.
Now that's regional planning South Florida-style!
If any citizens, community activists or reporters actually go that meeting in Miami Shores on Feb. 12th, how about asking someone from that community to publicly explain why that little village
gets a veto over tens of thousands of South Florida citizens and taxpayers.
"On the record."
gets a veto over tens of thousands of South Florida citizens and taxpayers.
"On the record."
In the aftermath of the meeting I attended in Aventura, and the accurate reporting of the Miami
Shores' position the following morning by Carli Teproff in the Miami Herald -whom I'd written in advance of the meeting- I wondered why the South Florida news media allowed the Village of Miami Shores to get away with this parochial (and frankly, racist) attitude
that goes directly against regionalism in planning, theory and practice.
Shores' position the following morning by Carli Teproff in the Miami Herald -whom I'd written in advance of the meeting- I wondered why the South Florida news media allowed the Village of Miami Shores to get away with this parochial (and frankly, racist) attitude
that goes directly against regionalism in planning, theory and practice.
(Yes, racist, just like Georgetown NOT wanting the Washington Metro -WMATA- to have a station located there when they were first considering locations in the late '60's & early '70's. Why do you suppose that is?
Now, having lived up there for 15 years, and having my African-American friends who were born/grew-up there explain it all to me, I can tell you that everyone up there now sees the folly of that bad decision, and wishes they could undo it.)
Where were the newspaper editorials or the stories on TV or radio asking for a reasonable explanation?
Where exactly was the South Florida Regional Planning Council then?
Where was the FDOT Secretary, Stephanie Kopelouos?
Where was the Beacon Council or the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce?
They were all missing-in-action!
Sadly for South Florida taxpayers, transit enthusiasts and people in general who just want to be able to get around more quickly, that is seemingly the default position for Sec. Stephanie Kopelousos, whom I personally find unsuitable for her current position, based on what we've already seen so far.
For more on that, see this Transit Miami post of August 1st, http://www.transitmiami.com/
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-do-you-solve-problem-named.html
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-do-you-solve-problem-named.html
To me and many other citizens around the state, Kopelousos is part of the problem, NOT part of any solution.
That sentiment was echoed by other citizens I spoke to at the SFECC Workshops I attended in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Aventura in 2006.
Ppeople who actually took the time to show up, become educated about the particulars of the plan, and ask questions and share their thoughts and criticisms.
They also largely thought the South Florida media did their usual piss-poor job of publicizing the
meetings in advance.
meetings in advance.
This was matched by a commensurate piss-poor job of the media of actually attending them.
That's not unlike the poor turnout among citizens for the Broward County Transit Forum at the Convention Center in late 2006, which suffered greatly from having FAR TOO MANY city, county and state employees there as shock troops, and not nearly enough citizens taxpayers,
(The Miami Herald didn't mention the Forum until the Saturday before, on the third page of the State/Local section, two days before the event, and the Sun-Sentinel waited until the day of the event, albeit, on the front page. Too late!)
And who exactly was planning these SFECC meetings two years ago for FDOT?
You have a meeting planned in Aventura, one of the most intensively built-up areas in all of South Florida, a city that has busy Biscayne Blvd. as its very backbone, and yet you put up ZERO signs about the meeting at large intersections on Biscayne in advance of the meeting?
Don't put them up 7-10 days in advance so that more people actually know about it and can make plans to attend?
Trust me, I looked for those signs in advance and the day of the event as well.
They didn't exist.
Sorry, that's not on me, that's on you, FDOT.
Are these the same marketing geniuses who are responsible for my not receiving a single email about SFECC
for over a year, despite my being on their mailing list since 2006?
The same ones responsible for there being no original content of any kind on the SFECC website for almost a year, as many transit enthusiasts in South Florida would remind me when they saw me.
That's embarrassing and incompetent all at the same time!
So, given what I've written here, can anyone tell me why FDOT continues to hold so many meetings in Miami Shores at the Miami Shores Country Club, if the town DOESN'T want to be part of the larger community, and openly says so?
For instance, the Workshops last year for the awful 95 Express experiment?
When I saw the ads FDOT paid for in the Herald advertising the Workshop there, I foolishly assumed some reporter attending the workshop would actually ask someone from FDOT for an explanation.
What was I thinking?
Assuming a reporter would ask a good question?
Had I forgotten where I was?
Well, I no longer harbor assumptions that just because someone down here shows up
somewhere and calls themself a reporter, that they have actually done any kind of independent research prior to showing up -and neither should you.
somewhere and calls themself a reporter, that they have actually done any kind of independent research prior to showing up -and neither should you.
Please learn from my mistake, and ask lots of questions publicly at these Workshops , since you simply can't rely on reporters to do that in South Florida anymore.
Sad but true as I've lamented in this space many times before.
 BOCA RATON | |
| DATE: | Tuesday, January 27 |
| LOCATION: | Boca Raton Community Center Royal Palm Room |
| ADDRESS: | 150 Crawford Blvd. |
| TIME: | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. OR 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| WEST PALM BEACH | |
| DATE: | Wednesday, February 4 |
| LOCATION: | The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Cohen Pavilion |
| ADDRESS: | 701 Okeechobee Blvd. |
| TIME: | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. OR 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| RIVIERA BEACH | |
| DATE: | Thursday, February 5 |
| LOCATION: | Riviera Beach City Hall Council Chamber Room C202, Second Floor |
| ADDRESS: | 600 W. Blue Heron Blvd., #1 |
| TIME: | 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| MIAMI | |
| DATE: | Tuesday, February 10 |
| LOCATION: | Greater Bethel AME Church Lower Auditorium |
| ADDRESS: | 245 NW 8th St. |
| TIME: | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. OR 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| DELRAY BEACH | |
| DATE: | Wednesday, February 11 |
| LOCATION: | Delray Beach City Hall Council Commission Chamber |
| ADDRESS: | 100 NW 1st Ave. |
| TIME: | 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| MIAMI SHORES | |
| DATE: | Thursday, February 12 |
| LOCATION: | Miami Shores Country Club Ballroom |
| ADDRESS: | 10000 Biscayne Blvd. |
| TIME: | 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| HOLLYWOOD | |
| DATE: | Tuesday, February 17 |
| LOCATION: | Hollywood Central Performing Arts Center Auditorium & Café |
| ADDRESS: | 1770 Monroe St. |
| TIME: | 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| POMPANO BEACH | |
| DATE: | Wednesday, February 18 |
| LOCATION: | E. Pat Larkins Community Center Auditorium – West side |
| ADDRESS: | 520 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. |
| TIME: | 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| AVENTURA | |
| DATE: | Tuesday, February 24 |
| LOCATION: | Aventura Community Recreation Center Classrooms 1A, 1B and 2 |
| ADDRESS: | 3375 NE 188th St. |
| TIME: | 6 - 8 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
| FORT LAUDERDALE | |
| DATE: | Wednesday, February 25 |
| LOCATION: | African American Research Library & Cultural Center Auditorium & Michael Bienes Seminar Room #2 |
| ADDRESS: | 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. |
| TIME: | 5 - 7 p.m. |
| DIRECTIONS: | CLICK HERE |
Despite my speaking about SFECC with Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good in early 2008 at a public town hall meeting, about having to attend meetings in Aventura and Hollywood because Hallandale Beach was asleep at the wheel and didn't think to be included -despite the fact that a commuter train here could revitalize the city quicker than anything else could, and with more tangible results sooner than any other place in Broward -and my publicly requesting that the city contact FDOT so that future workshops include Hallandale Beach, guess which city along the FEC tracks once again doesn't have a workshop?
Yes, Hallandale Beach, the city made famous by the film "A Railroad Runs Thru It"
And 97 years ago today, the first train arrived in Key West, marking the completion of the Florida East Coast Railway.
*Reminder: South Florida Regional Transportation Summit is Saturday Feb. 21st in Fort Lauderdale.
______________________________
The Little Corridor That Could
Miami Commissioner Echoes Plea for Corridor Restoration
By Jackson Tonti
http://www.miamisunpost.com/
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Also see my July 31st, 2008 blog post titled DOT Sec. Mary Peters in Miami on Friday http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/dot-sec-mary-peters-in-miami-on-friday.html
Related: http://www.sfeccstudy.com/
Miami Shores Country Club, 10000 Biscayne Blvd., Miami Shores, FL 33138
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