Is The Mayor Purposely Slowing Down Transit Study? By Geniusofdespair

My theory is, that Mayor Gimenez is intentionally slowing down transit studies through his Transit Guru (cough) Alice Bravo.  Now she said they need another year to get studies done. Commission Chairman Bovo believes transit has been studied to death but still the County Commission granted a 12 month extension on the Study that was due. County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava said "we are obviously doing a disservice to the public."

You can't file for federal funds without the study. This applying for federal funds for transit has been going on since Alex Penelas was Mayor (1996-2004). Never happened. It has always been a sweetener to all the deals for transit bonds pitches: "Federal Funds" can be had. However, I called the Federal Funding Agency long ago and they said that all the States were competing for the same funds so just because you APPLY doesn't mean you will get them. And, if we had been applying every year  for the past 15 years, since Alex Penelas was Mayor, we would probably be more likely to be in line for them by now. Although our miraculous president of the US said: "Trump says he'll get federal permits for Miami transit so fast your head will spin" Right. Permits maybe - he didn't say funds or even matching funds.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article204659064.html#storylink=cpy

Meanwhile according to the Miami Herald:

Eight months after he shook up Miami-Dade’s transit debate by proposing a high-tech “virtual train” bus as an alternative to expanding Metrorail, Mayor Carlos Gimenez is leading a delegation to visit the Chinese company that hopes to start selling the vehicles. and:

Gimenez first floated the idea of using vehicles from the government-owned Chinese company during the summer of 2017, when he proposed a $534 million plan to create rapid-transit bus systems to connect Metrorail with commuters in Miami’s northern and southern suburbs. He pitched the idea as far more realistic than expanding Metrorail along the same routes, a project his administration said would cost at least $1.5 billion to build. and:

Along with cost, Gimenez pointed to a coming revolution from autonomous vehicles in arguing against saddling Miami-Dade with rail debt that would take at least a generation to pay back as trains become obsolete.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article204659064.html#storylink=cpy

How does that grab you for a reason for slowing down an addition to metrorail? He just doesn't want it because he just doesn't believe in it. It is apparently anything but Metrorail as far as he is concerned. So much for the will of the people and the County Commission who suffer in traffic every single day now. You can't even be on 95 after 3 pm anymore.



We would have to redesign all our roads to accommodate these trackless rapid transit cars and I think traffic would be worse at cross streets. Forget about pedestrians.