Transportation leaders from around the County and nation coalesced around Miami-Dade’s bold plans to advance public transportation at the inaugural Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) 2018 General Assembly on March 22.
County Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo, Jr. who opened the TPO summit, was joined by fellow TPO Governing Board members and County Commissioners Javier Souto, Dennis Moss, Rebeca Sosa and Daniella Levine Cava, as well as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and other members of the TPO and agencies from cities across the nation including Atlanta and New York.
Topics covered included the SMART Plan, innovative policy options, private sector collaboration, and innovative new funding sources such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and value-captured financing. Commissioner Moss, Chairman of the TPO Fiscal Policies Committee, moderated the panel on transit and funding policies. The plenary session was closed by Commissioner Sosa, Chairwoman of the TPO Executive Policy Committee.
“Miami-Dade County’s future economic growth is directly related to the transportation investments envisioned in the Miami SMART Plan,” Chairman Bovo said. “The time is now to start making that vision a reality and I’m very excited to see all the pieces begin falling into place.”
The challenge is NOT Chairman Bovo. Commissioner Bovo in a public hearing last year stated the following: 1 > we will never get an extension of Metrorail from Dadeland to Florida City with the current slate of politicians at all levels 2 > do NOT re-elect anyone 3 > petition to rescind the half cent sales tax which has collected $2 billion since 2001, the majority of which has been squandered and not utilized for what it was originally voted in to accomplish. Mr. Bovo reminds us we will NOT get any relief until there is a new cast of characters.
Stop taking the short way of doing the RIGHT THING WITH TAX PAYER MONEY FIX TPO.
The TPO IS NOT BEING RAN RIGHT BY COMMISSIONER IN BOVO THE TRAINS ARE FILTHY SLOW TOO, CROWDED DIFFERENT CULTURES DON’T OBEY THE HANDICAPPED SEATS, ITS SO MANY ISSUES WITH THE TPO,IT TAKES A WHILE ON SUNDAY MORNING TO CATCH FOR CHURCH I CATCH THE EVERYDAY, I FEEL SORRY FOR PEOPLE’S WITH JOBS CATCHING THE METRORAIL.
Have to commend Commissioner Bovo for his bravery but the effort is two or three generations too late. But perhaps this time we can hope the politicians will have the epiphany they will not be re-elected if they keep listening to the NIMBY’s and ignore the will of their constituents.