In lugnet.org.us, Larry Pieniazek writes:
> Funny, in the US anyway, it seems that the public transit that works the best
> was built a long time ago by private companies, and the public transit built
> recently in cities that didn't have any doesn't usually work at all.
I should correct myself. I personally don't consider Miami's MetroRail a waste
of money. I'm actually a semi-fan of mass rail transit (subways, etc.).
However, I'm not surprised that only 45,000 to 50,000 people ride this system
in the largest city in the South (culture-wise, Miami and the rest of Florida
really act like the California of the east coast, though geographically it is
the South). By the year 2025, there will be 6.6 million people living in the
Miami area, compared to 6.2 in Houston, and 5.4 million in Atlanta, and
currently there is about 4.4 million. As Miami grows, so must are mass
transit. Voters turned down a penny tax last year that would have expanded the
Metro all the way into Broward, lowered the bus fare, and would have gotten
rid of tolls. Since it was turned town, the metro will be expanded at a much
smaller scale. The expansion involves a route from the FIU campus with two
more stops above street level at the Miami Intermodel Centre/Airport, Orange
Bowl, and then three stops underground at Goverment Centre (the current mass
transit hub which includes MetroMover, MetroRail, and MetroBus transfers),
American Airlines Arena/Maritime Park/Bayside Marketplace/future home of the
replacements for current childrens museum, science museum, planeterium, art
museum, and the port/future home of Parrot Jungle. Eventually, as more money
comes in, more expansions, including one under the bay to Miami Beach, would
be constructed. Traffic is a major problem in Miami, we have too much of it
and are only second to LA in auto sales. Metrorail, with one route down the
centre of Miami-Dade, doesn't help that much. MetroMover, with 22 stops
throughout downtown Miami, helps, but only with downtown. The subway expansion
would allow MetroRail to stop at Miami's number one tourist stop, Bayside
Marketplace/Amercan Airlines Arena and the future trio of museums, Miami's
number two tourist stop, Parrot Jungle, and which will no doubt become one of
Miami's hottest new destinations, the Dolphin Mall and Theme Park next to the
Intermodel centre. People will use this system, and not just residents, but
tourist too. Another advantage is that the current MetroRail has a stop at
Miami University. The expansion will have stations at the Orange Bowl, which
means all of those MU students can just leave thier cars in the parking lot,
and take the metro to the stadium, and, seeing how lazy people are these days,
they will do it. The Intermodel Centre will be place for MetroBus, MetroRail,
Amtrak, cars, pedistrians, and the future Florida bullet train, the Florida
Overland Xpress, to all meet and connect. There will also be a peoplemover to
connect the centre to the airport, which will be the fourth largest in the
country by 2010 (currently 9th largest in America) with a current $5.4 billion
expansion including a complete overhaul of the American Airlines Hub doubling
the number of gates. Currently, MIA is too small for what it handles. Number
one in international cargo in the country and number two in international
passengers. It is also a major hub for American Airlines, SwissAir, British
Airways, BahamasAir, American Eagle, Iberia, and LanChilie, and, soon, United.
Okay, I think this post is long enough already. I'll stop rambling now...
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