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The next time you’re stuck in traffic, ask yourself why no one in county government leadership twenty or thirty years ago thought about planning. While Miami-Dade County is considered among the greatest metropolitan areas in the world, this lack of planning has brought us never-ending gridlock that threatens our continued growth and negatively affects the quality of our lives. The truth is that Miamians are sick and tired of being stuck in traffic. Worst of all, there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight.
In West Kendall, the area I represent, developers built plenty of homes in subdivisions without thinking about job centers, restaurants, parks, theaters, and everyday destinations close by. This makes no sense. If one side of the county is oversaturated with housing and the other side has most jobs and amenities, it creates a domino effect where a lack of connectivity forces people to travel long distances just to get anywhere. Some would continue this madness by building more single-family homes outside the Urban Development Boundary, condemning us to more sprawl, more gridlock, and more of the same lack of planning and vision for the future.
What if we planned ahead for once? It all starts with embracing a vision that alleviates constant traffic—a smarter future where “living” coexists with more options for “working, learning, and playing.”
No one has to tell us that traffic is terrible. In 2024, studies showed drivers in Miami spent an average of 86 hours stuck in traffic annually. Kendall Drive, the Turnpike, US-1, 836, the Palmetto—you name it—they’re all clogged because of a growing county that was never properly planned. West Kendall and South Dade residents face bumper-to-bumper traffic during commutes to places like Doral, Coral Gables, Brickell, and downtown Miami.
The solution begins with reversing this pattern by creating job and entertainment hubs in the west, south, and southwest sections of the county.
Other places have reversed traffic commutes by placing jobs and entertainment centers closer to where people live. In Hawaii, for example, Kapolei was planned as a “second city” in the west to relieve traffic east into downtown Honolulu. Neighborhoods like Logan Square and the West Loop in Chicago offer housing, small offices, public plazas, and cultural venues within walking distance. Arlington, Virginia, and Denver’s LoDo district are mixed-use urban hubs that turn congestion into opportunity. Celebration in Kissimmee, Glenwood Park in Atlanta, and The Domain in Austin also serve as inspirations. Locally, Downtown Doral, CityPlace Doral, Merrick Place, and Midtown Miami are places where people can dine, shop, stroll, and work without leaving their neighborhood.
West Kendall needs mixed-use centers that alleviate eastbound traffic congestion and set the standard for thoughtful suburban retrofitting. We don’t need single-family homes or high-rise towers and apartment buildings that bring urban congestion. Increasing sprawl and density for its own sake to appease developers and bureaucrat planners is not the answer.
Instead, we can create smart, scaled nodes of life, where someone can grab coffee just downstairs from their office, walk to lunch, pick up their child from school, and end the day with dinner and a show nearby. These centers would bring needed amenities to our community while respecting and preserving the unique character of West Kendall. It would also have the added benefit of giving people out west more options, with shortened commutes, reducing countywide traffic overall.
Additionally, by bringing these employment and entertainment hubs to West Kendall, we can also begin serious conversations about how mass transit solutions can increase our connectivity. Mass transit succeeds in cities like Washington, Chicago, Boston, and New York because it links various neighborhoods where you can live, work, learn, and play. We need to replicate this neighborhood connectivity here in Miami-Dade.
Now is exactly the right time to plan before the wrong type of development takes root. We can reclaim our time, elevate our quality of life, and unlock our full potential by choosing a smarter path and not repeating the mistakes of the past. West Kendall is already a great place to live. In making it a great place to work, learn, and play, all Miami-Dade County can benefit.
Roberto J. Gonzalez is the Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 11 and the Safety and Health Committee Chairman, representing the greater West Kendall area. He and his wife, Jessyca, are the proud parents of three daughters: Skye, Ava, and Leah.
