HomeMy WebLinkAboutBack-Up Documents3/27/2015 Traffic's a mess — we reed leadership I Miami Herald MIamt Herald
Op -Ed
Traffic's a mew- we need leadership
BY JAMES E. MCDONA�L�D�- JMCDONALD@PINECREST-FL.GOVAND FRANCIS X. SUAREZ -
FSUAREZ@MIAMIGOVp IPEST
03/19/2015 6:18 PM I UpREDDIT/19/2015 8:18 PM
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Traffic is a mess and getting worse. Our population keeps growing, new high rises are popping up
(with garages) and our quality of life is going down because of gridlock. It's a topic that has
finally gotten everyone's attention, commuters, transit and bus riders, bicyclists and, importantly,
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our elected officials.
There is a growing realization in Miami -Dade County that, as a region, we have failed to meet our
current transportation needs and have not made much progress in the 30 years since Metrorail
was constructed.
The Miami -Dade County League of Cities formed a transportation committee several years ago
because it recognized something has to be done to address the growing strangulation and
gridlock in our community and the decreasing quality of life resulting from cars, traffic and
congestion.
After much work and investigation into the problems our communities face, the committee came
to the realization that the county's transportation -related issues lacked coordination and an
overall comprehensive plan.
Yes, individually the county mayor advocates a light rail to Miami Beach, the mayor of Miami
would like to see light rail from downtown to midtown, commuters in Kendall cry out for better
access to Metrorail, the communities along U.S. 1 in south Miami -Dade see a busway that is
underutilized and lacks adequate parking facilities, FIU and Doral would like to have bus rapid
transit (BRT) to downtown on Route 836, and the communities west of 1-95, from the Civic Center
to Miami Gardens, continue to seek better transit options.
What is missing, however, is leadership on the part of the Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO), the federally mandated, legislatively created organization that is supposed to provide
leadership and a comprehensive long-term plan to deal with our transportation needs.
Unfortunately, it has not done the job because of its structure.
The MPO is composed of 23 voting members including the entire 13-member County
Commission, representatives from six cities with a population of more than 50,000, two positions
for a municipal representative and a nonelected official, a representative each from MDX and the
Miami -Dade County School Board and, additionally, two nonvoting members from FDOT.
As can readily be seen, the MPO has a large and unwieldy governing board where it is frequently
difficult to reach a quorum so business can be conducted and direction given to professional
staff. Unfortunately, because of its organizational structure, the reputation of the MPO in
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transportation and transit circles locally and beyond is that of excessive parochialism in meeting
our transportation needs and a failure to provide a clear and coherent vision, both of which may
impede current efforts to hire a new executive director.
The MPO needs to be streamlined and reorganized to have fewer members. A restructured MPO
should include the county mayor, the chairman of the County Commission and chairman of the
commission's transportation committee, one municipal representative chosen by the governor
and one chosen by the Miami -Dade League of Cities, a representative from MDX, and one from
the School Board, and nonvoting representatives from CITT and DOT District 6.
While the final composition is negotiable, the important thing is to make the MPO more
manageable, similar to how Jackson Hospital recently restructured to be more nimble and
efficient in decision -making and long-term planning.
Not to reorganize the MPO would be a mistake of the highest magnitude. The good news is many
of those knowledgeable people involved with trying to solve our county's
transportation/transit/gridlock problems recognize that reorganizing the MPO is a critical and
necessary step. Our committee has spoken to mayors, county commissioners, elected municipal
officials, and others concerning our transportation future — and they recognize a vital and
dynamic reorganized MPO is critical to our future.
JAMES E. MCDONALD IS A MEMBER OF THE VILLAGE OF PINECREST COUNCIL AND CHAIRMAN, MIAMI-DADE LEAGUE OF CITIES
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE. FRANCIS X. SUAREZ IS CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 4 AND VICE-CHAIRMAN,
MIAMI-DADE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION.
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