Miami-Dade County District 8 Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava was the guest speaker at the meeting of the Cutler Bay Business Association (CBBA), which took place Oct. 8 on the fifth floor of the town’s Municipal Center.
Commissioner Levine Cava brought those attending up to date on things she has been working on, including ways to help local businesses. She talked about special grants that are available and county efforts to achieve pay equity for women. She also mentioned that wineries are coming to South Dade.
But transportation was the topic that drew the most interest from the audience and prompted questions from the audience about the South Dade Busway.
“What is the No. 1 issue in Miami- Dade County?” Commissioner Levine Cava asked, rhetorically. “Traffic. We have a number of things coming along that will take awhile, but the busway is underutilized. We’ve bought some reticulated buses that have more seats, so people won’t be left standing and waiting for the next bus.”
She explained that she and other commissioners are working on having the traffic lights along the busway timed better to reduce delays for bus passengers, in addition to establishing more express buses.
“We’re determined to create real rapid transit for the busway, so people have more of a choice for travel,” Levine Cava said.
When asked about Metrorail trains running all the way down to Homestead, Commissioner Levine Cava was not optimistic about the chances.
“I don’t think we’re going to see Metrorail extended farther south,” she said. “It’s too expensive and we don’t have the public funding we used to have.”
Commissioner Levine Cava’s district office is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. To contact the office, call 305-378-6677, 305-375-5218 or send an email to district8@miamidade.gov.
