County doesn’t really care about transportation in South Dade

To the Editor:

Traffic congestion and lack of mobility (the ability to get to our jobs) may be the greatest challenge and the biggest obstacle to future quality of life and economic growth here in South Dade.

And we can expect no help from Miami-Dade County. After denying elevated Metrorail expansion for South Dade because the county “doesn’t have the money” they are now moving toward approval of 13 miles of elevated Metrorail for the north corridor that will cost half a billion dollars more than the 20 miles that we were promised.

In an angry open letter County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava protests that those actions may “undermine the public’s confidence in county government.” This is a gross understatement. I have concluded that the county doesn’t give a damn about South Dade and will continue to defraud us and deny us fair treatment. To the downtown elites, we are just a place to put sewage treatment plants, landfills, nuclear power plants, and Section 8 housing.

Meanwhile the county is still approving massive over development in South Dade based on that failed promise and facilitated by inaccurate and dishonest traffic impact studies using flawed count-based methodologies. These fraudulent studies also relieve the developers of their obligation to mitigate and pay for stopgap improvements to the traffic infrastructure that they, by law, are required to provide.

So our tax dollars are being wasted to subsidize the developers by funding their infrastructure improvements instead of funding real solutions to the traffic problem — solutions that we desperately need.

It appears to me that this will not change. Even if it did, the damage is already done. Traffic is already unacceptable in South Dade, and it will not get better. But we must not despair.

Having been denied mobility, we must focus on accessibility, that is bringing jobs to our community. This is our challenge. To hell with the county. Our future depends on our ability to do this by ourselves.

Our local South Dade municipalities, community councils, Economic Development Council, chambers of commerce, HOAs, Community churches, social clubs and organizations, civic activists, and other local stakeholders must unite to form and support an empowered coalition dedicated to South Dade and its future prosperity and quality of life by bringing jobs to our community.

And, we need citizens who care enough about their community to get involved.

If we don’t do this, no one else will.

Stephen Zarzecki

Cutler Bay

P.S. Commissioners Cava and Moss are true champions of South Dade, and their efforts are greatly appreciated. But, they are outnumbered by the 11 other commissioners.

Stephen Zarzecki is a retired professional engineer. He is a third generation, lifelong resident of South Dade County, president of the Concerned Citizens of Cutler Bay, and a past member of the county’s South Corridor People’s Advisory Group.


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9 COMMENTS

  1. Mr.Wheeler,you are spot on with all of your points! I have come to the same conclusions after close observation of South Miami government for years. Mayor Stoddard and pals want to foist high density on us and he as well as every Commissioner in South Miami live in a single family home within a single family residential zoning district. So do all the rest of the high density promoters. Come to City Hall Thursday night at 7 and listen to my public remarks. You may also want to get up and speak.Agenda is posted on the city website and public remarks takes place at approximately 7:15.

  2. Sounds very much like the baseless, fake news studies South Miami uses to allow developers greater densities. The term “urbanization” to justify greater densities in order to somehow “prevent urban sprawl” is a false premise typically used by those who benefit monetarily directly or indirectly. As long as there are new families wanting affordable housing with a yard for their kids, there will be a market to create urban sprawl. Has anyone ever seen a developer, architect, contractor or their lobbyists ever sell their spacious houses with yards (many don’t even have kids) and move into an apartment or condo? So yes, resolving the dismal state of our transportation, as well as, lack of concurrency should be the number one priority of our county and municipalities.

  3. Mr. Zarzecki, I am thoroughly disgusted that none of your like-minded fellow residents and Coalition members have made comments in support of your concerns. When their neighborhoods are under attack by developers they will be looking to you for your great leadership and organizational skills, yet when you write a letter on their behalf they cannot be bothered to take 10 minutes out of their day to write a letter of thanks and support. Same thing for the great work of Commissioner Cava. As for Commissioner Moss, he has a reputation as a proponent of high density, which is a malignant cancer that has metastasized and will strangle and be the downfall of the entire county. County will never be able to keep up with the infrastructure needs of the never-ending, vast influx of people who move here, that Commissioner Moss has helped to facilitate. We will soon run out of potable water with the huge increase in population. Furthermore, there is no updated sewage treatment plant for the entire county and sewage wastewater is still being pumped into the ocean. That is supposed to be ended by 2025, and still no progress has been made, yet the County continues to approve of increased density. Commissioner Moss wants rail for his constituents, but doesn’t seem to care not one iota about the environmental problems caused by the overpopulation that he facilitates.

  4. Why did so many people move into a community which is so far flung from where they work, knowing full well that there is no up to par public transportation? Alice Bravo has publicly stated that we are light years away from an up to par public transportation system. By that time South Florida will be uninhabitable due to so much saltwater intrusion into our freshwater well fields. What were they thinking? And now to blame Daniella Levine Cava? Even to disrespect her for using her married surname of Cava? I have never before heard of a woman being disrespected for taking the surname of her husband when she gets married! Iliana Ros-Lehtinen is Hispanic and was never trashed for using her husband’s surname. Neither should Commissioner Levine Cava be trashed for using her husband’s surname! Furthermore, the county and South Dade municipalities are to blame for allowing too much residential development when there is no concurrency for that development. My city elected officials take a very irresponsible route bye not even putting adequate concurrency needs into ordinance. Instead they do the opposite so that Developers can make a quick buck without the impediment of concurrency needs, and no needs assessments or Neighborhood Impact studies! Nothing relevant! They are even lying in our new Comprehensive Master Plan by stating that locked up school yards that do not belong to the city and have no shared-use agreements are now to be considered park space for South Miami! How do your cities compare with the zero integrity government of South Miami which is joined at the hip with Developers, including the city manager, Steven Alexander, a name that you should know very well!

  5. I remember reading that Commissioner Cava was against the bridge because she thought that it would result in even more traffic problems. What was her rationale for that opinion? Does anyone understand the logistics of bridge versus no bridge? Mister Zarzecki, being a retired engineer, would you mind weighing in on this one? I doubt that the County would nix the idea of rail because of a rejection of the bridge project. I have also read that the County is looking at a plan to do ground level rail for the North end. Ground level rail is far less expensive than raised rail. Don’t blame Commissioner Cava for the failings of the County Commission as a whole.
    Many of us in South Miami were very angry when we found out that there will be no requirement for affordable housing within the new development which is planned for the South Miami Metrorail station. We attended meetings at the Stephen P Clark government building to advocate for affordable housing and the truth came out that the County Commission had voted to abdicate their authority over the Metro Rail stations. I was there at that County Commission meeting and some of the commissioners were not even aware of that fact! They had to be informed by a
    County Atty.. I do not know what year that vote was taken, but I do believe that it was before Commissioner Cava was elected to serve. My own District Commissioner, Xavier Suarez, had forgotten about that vote, and so had the others. So this is what kind of Commission that governs the county.
    A gigantic 40 story project is now planned for the Metro rail area close by to the Douglas Road station. There were no public hearings for the project. All property that is a part of any Metro Rail station was purchased with our tax money, and therefore, we are stakeholders, and have been denied our legal right to have input into what goes in to every Metrorail station. Some County Commissioners realized that they had made a mistake when they abdicated their responsibility and authority and talked about revisiting the vote on that topic. I would like to know if any commissioner is working on an ordinance to reverse the vote that was taken years ago. The county is way too big to serve in the best interests of all of us. The County should be divided into four Counties in order to provide a higher level of accountability and service.

  6. WOW!!!!! > Madeline (above comment) is 100% right on with ALL her points > Commissioner Cava, combined with the Village of Palmetto Bay Council, effectively gut shot any chance of having Metrorail extended from Dadeland to the south when she shot down the fully funded County recommended bridging of 87th Avenue at 163rd/164th Streets > the County has no reason to reward naysayers and municipalities that fight them > especially because the Village embarrassed the County by requesting County approval to build the # 13 (by priority list) proposed roundabout at 168 St/82 Avenue UNDERSIZED roundabout in an effort to ameliorate the increased traffic from the “no bridge” decision > and then the Village had to go back to the County to get permission to modify the undersized roundabout (which is still undersized!) > no wonder the south corridor did not get elevated rail….

  7. Cava gets no praises from me. It’s appaling to think that having a cheerleader should be admired. There are other commissioners that appear to get ahead providing what their constituents want. The north needs the train too. I don’t begrudge them. I applaud them. They got it.
    Cava doesn’t know how to play the game and the residents are now feeling the pain. Shame on those that actually voted for her again.
    We need a commissioner that EXPERIENCES the traffic to champion this cause. She touted rail as the solution to the VOPB residents of District three. She BAILED on us and I for one am tired of being represented by someone so ineffective.
    I’ve read Jacksonville is getting twice the funding for public transportation plans while we get money for park and rides. When has the entitled Cava taken a ride from FLORIDA CITY. She lives north of her office while we live south of ours. When she does go downtown and takes public transit she does so from 152 and grabs an express bus that stops ONCE at Dadeland south.
    She bailed on you too voting down a fully funded bridge that is desperately need to complete the grid work in VOPB so that we don’t experience 10 miles of a parking lot on useless 1 & another 4 miles on 87 ave to sit 20 min to go 5 blocks on 168th.
    We need someone from within. Not an entitled woman who changes her name just to sound Latino to attract us.

  8. Correction of a typo:
    “not results in increased density” should be “that result in increased density”.

  9. Excellent article, Mr.Zarzecki!
    I live in City of South Miami, and I am also thoroughly disgusted with our County Government,and it is my observation that Commissioner Daniela Levine Cava is the best of the lot of them. When I drive south to the Homestead area I am appalled at the sight of the bus stops that are located on the west side of US1 for the dedicated bus express lane. I protect my pets better than County government protects humans from the elements. The third world conditions of these bus stops are emblematic of the County’s attitude towards the suffering of the residents who are forced to use the buses.
    To his credit,I acknowledge my district Commissioner,Xavier Suarez,for the excellent article that he wrote regarding the appalling conditions of County bus stops, and especially those that are south of the Metro Rail. Commissioner Suarez has been working on the issue of transportation, and has written many excellent articles on the subject, but unfortunately his work hasn’t resulted in any relief for South Dade. On the subject of overdevelopment I am an activist myself, and am 100% opposed to any more increased density not results in increased population anywhere in this County. I remember very well when mr. Victor Dover, acting as representative for a developer, promoted a high density project for the east side of Old Cutler Road in Cutler Bay. I remember the uprising a 400 outraged residence who protested and convinced your city council members to vote no on the project. That’s what kind of citizen participation it takes to stem the flood of overdevelopment that will drown us in negative consequences, and continue to destroy what we have of the natural environment. You are also spot-on in regard 2 defective and misleading traffic studies that may or may not result in stopgap measures to mitigate the F rated Levels of Service of our roadways. What we need is a moratorium on all development that will increase density until we have impact studies, studies and implementation done on real world concurrency needs for the entire County and other studies such as absorption rates, the future of our fresh water supply,the condition and status of the Sewage Treatment Plant and outflow of sewage wastewater into the ocean,etc.
    If the County Commission had any integrity at all,they would put such a moratorium into Ordinance. Alas, most of them work at the behest of developers with deep pockets and all thier verbal recitals of concern for us residents do not ring true, and our concerns are cast aside every time they vote “yes” to increase density. We have the same problem here in South Miami. We should band together as a coalition of all communities against increased density. What say you, Mr.Zarzecki?

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