I think the thing that really helped shape my idea of Miami was from our initial

experience on the metro when we met the man who has been riding since it opened in
1984. Being from New York I thought it was very strange that metropolitan Miami didnt
have a rapid transit train until 1984. This is vastly different from New York, which has
had a rapid transit system since the late 1860s. I think this refers back to what we
discussed in class that Miami wasnt city that was built for intimacy and navigability by
foot. Miami was and still is a car city. Having lived in Miami for almost three years now
it is certainly apparent. I dont have a car down here and whenever I try to go out to do
something whether its from getting groceries at Publix to going out to Mansion, the
necessity of a car is always apparent. But back to the Metro, its a two-line system that
connects 23 stations. Its daily ridership is about 113,000 passengers, which to me isnt
quite a lot; however, when speaking to the man who also depends on public
transportation, he said that ridership in the morning during the week days is near
impossible because there are just so many people who are trying to ride the train. We
were speaking in class about different ways in which we would try to change Miami so
that it can operate better and I think the Metro is definitely something that needs to be
improved. A ridership of 113,000 passengers a day and yet the metro is extremely
crowded making it uncomfortable to use the travel. So one thing I would propose is to
add other public transit option such as buses. I know from experience that buses in Miami
arent exactly reliable. Commuting from my house to the Coral Gables campus was
always a daunting task because it would take an hour and a half to travel just four miles.
It was faster to ride my bike to campus than it was to take public transit to and from
school. Now, if we go further into the possibility of enacting a biker system in Miami we
would have to change some of the infrastructures in the area. One of the problems that I
ran into in Miami was the lack of bike lanes. On some of the major roads that I would
take there wouldnt be a bike lane and I would have to either ride on the shoulder or to
the side of the lane, with Miami traffic passing me by my side. The problem with having
bikes is that Miami is very friendly to cyclists. Also the weather would be hard to work
around, since showers tend to roll through the area throughout the day, unlike northern
temperate areas where weather is more predictable. Another option would be to add more
stations to the metro; however, the problem with adding onto the metro system would be
space. If we continue to have the metro system as an elevated rapid transit system we
would need a lot of space to build the platforms and tracks. So we can do how the T is
constructed in Boston and have part of the system above ground and another part of the
system below ground. But alas, we run into another problem with the geography of
Miami. Miami as a thin layer of soil, a layer of Miami limestone and then an aquifer,
which will not allow there to be construction of an underground rapid transit system. One
could also expand the fleet of buses and change the routes of the buses to be able to
connect the suburbs to the metro rail. Not only would this increase the ease of being to
move around it will be able to add more revenue into the public transit system because
riders will be charged not only for riding the bus but also to ride the metro. By having
buses connect to the pre-existing metro stations in the outer suburbs (ie. South Miami,
Coral Gables, Opa Locka, Hialeah) it will connect downtown Miami to the rest of the
metropolitan area. This will increase the amount of available workers to go to work in the
city. This is much like the New York Metropolitan Area where other modes of public
transportation are all connected to a central area, Manhattan. Another option to help with
idea of public transportation is a little more creative. I would propose to create a canal
system and add water taxis to the public transit system. This can also address the issue of
rising sea levels. With the sea levels risings we can create a system of levees, which will
allow us to control the amount of water that is in the canal systems. This will also help
free up the roads, which will help ease traffic that seems to plague the city during rush
hour. Coral Gables already has a few canals that can be the basis for the canal system in
south and then working off of the Miami River in the north and the Atlantic Ocean from
the east. This will also continue the city beautiful movement by integrating water and
movement into the city. Also contributing to the citys long history of European
influence. Miami can become a modern day Venice, where water is seamlessly integrated
into the city, in congruence with the complex road system. By adding canals it will also
allow for public transit dependent people to be able to be connected to the rest of Miami.
One final way that can help the city develop a better public transit system is to build upon
the already existent trolley system in place. Presently the trolley serves Coral Way and
the Downtown area. By expanding that trolley system it can help with public
transportation. Although, to encourage ridership one of the lanes on the highways should
be designated for public transportation, which will allow, for public transportation, to be
able to navigate the city outside of the realm of the rest of the motor traffic. We have
learned in class that a lot of Miamis development was to the spending of private
investors and there hasnt been a lot of investment through public funds, which I believe
is a large reason why the system of public transportation hasnt been a grave issue in the
city. The city is also a prime example of infrastructure built around the utility of the car;
large highways, along with the emphasis on the roadway as being a place of attraction, all
add to the resistance of expanding a rapid transit system because it simply is not Miami
culture.