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Planners' vision
doesn't match reality
OUR OPINION: MIAMI MUST FORESTALL
GRIDLOCK, EVACUATION DISASTERS
When the subject of
approving a 1,020-foot
project called Empire
World Towers comes up
today, the Miami City Com-
mission should keep its
attention firmly fastened at
ground level. If approved,
the Empire would be the
second development to top
1,000 feet in downtown, the
1,010-foot One Bayfront
Plaza being the first.
More people, more cars
Both projects fit within
city rules for Developments
of Regional Impact in what
is called the Central Busi-
ness District, as do other
high-rises along Biscayne
Boulevard. The CDB is sup -
Iposed to have high density.
Once all those high-rises are
occupied, downtown will
teem with people and cars.
When the density mea-
sures for downtown were
3Hi oily JJJ, Ling flsaPPrOved agostate planners hadato
take into account growth
impacts such as increased
traffic and hurricane -evacu-
ation pressures. Some con-
gestion is expected in thriv-
ing downtown areas. But
what the planners back then
foresaw for Miami was a
rosy picture compared to
today's reality. Their vision
didn't include the double
whammy of human nature
and government inertia:
People in South Florida like
to drive cars everywhere —
and even if they wanted to
use mass transit, their
options are few thanks to
the county's transit limita-
tions. To discourage car use,
planners allowed develop-
ers to omit parking for pro-
jects near Metrorail sta-
tions. How unreal a rule is
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Pl7f I Via —
that for South Florida?
As Tuesday's power out-
age showed, it doesn't take
much to paralyze down-
town traffic now. Imagine
what it will be like when all
of those high-rises are fully
occupied.
As for evacuations, did
those planners take into
account the accumulated
effects of building booms in
both Miami and Miami
Beach? No, because one
city's comprehensive devel-
opment plan doesn't over-
lap with those of other cit-
ies. The county's comp plan
takes the broadest view, but
too often when a Develop-
ment of Regional Impact
project was scrutinized for
its effect on emergency
evacuation, planners at all
levels, in essence, said:
No problem.
Facing a hurricane
No problem, that is, until
a Category 4 storm bears
down on central Miami -
Dade County, and thou-
sands of new residents unfa-
miliar with hurricanes must
evacuate, all with too -little
advance notice. Think of
Houston during 2005's Hur-
ricane Rita.
Downtown Miami's
trend toward high density is
set. Although the current
market has slowed con-
struction and occupancy, it
is only a matter of time
before real estate here heats
up again. So now — before
downtown Miami faces
daily gridlock, before the
city fords itself in the eye of
a hurricane — is when the
city should act to prevent
the crippling effects of per-
petual traffic jams and mas-
sive evacuation snarls.