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On July 11, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava sat with me in the Miami’s Community Newspaper Studios for a nearly hour-long discussion of her tenure as our County Mayor. I started out by asking her to describe the things that were on her immediate radar as important tasks and projects.
“Housing is always on my mind.” DLC went on to say, “We live in paradise, and we are the most recovered economy in the country, and unfortunately the cost of living has gone up and we have to find a way for people to afford to live here.”
The mayor passionately spoke about improvements at Miami International Airport.
“People are regularly contacting us about MIA and I am working very hard on what I inherited,” said Cava. “There was a lot of deferred maintenance (going back many administrations) and I had to replace the existing maintenance company that did not work 24/7 with one that did. It took us 2+ years to get the new company in place after some legal battles, but we are now down to 9 percent of equipment down on average. (This is much better than before) and the industry average, but we have a better goal in mind.”
“We are the fastest growing airport in the country,” said Cava. “We had 53-million passengers last year and anticipate 70-million by the end of the decade, so yeah, with 10 percent year-over-year growth, it is extraordinary. One of the most important focuses is on conveyances (elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks). The other day, I saw a 69-year-old escalator at our airport that was broken. Parts are no longer available, so we need to revamp the entire area, and we are doing that.”
200 bathrooms are being replaced, better signage is being installed and the mayor spoke about a deployed ‘Lightning Team’ that runs around doing the smaller jobs to make sure the airport runs smoothly and gets attention quickly, when needed.
“We are the first airport in the United States to have autonomous wheelchairs,” DLC said.
“We are very pleased to be at the forefront. We have so many people relying on wheelchairs to move around in our airport. We already have a great staff, but with increased demand the autonomous wheelchairs are a great addition.”
She also mentioned the SkyTrain outage was a structural issue that needed major attention. Daniella went on to say that all sorts of adjustments have been made on transportation throughout and around the airport to move passengers around more efficiently.
A new parking garage and terminal are nearing completion.
“The airport is our #1 economic engine. It is generating $118-billion of economic impact annually,” said Cava. “We have 135,000 people working at the airport, so it is incredibly important and that’s why I announced $9-billion in investments.”
It is clear the mayor is committed to upgrading and innovating our airport.
The mayor went on to talk about flooding, and more accurately flood management.
“We’ve recently had another flood and these events are going to keep on coming,” said Cava. “We have to be diligent, creative and resourceful to prepare for flooding. Thanks to our efforts, FEMA has awarded us a better ranking and thus homeowners are seeing lower rates for their flood insurance premiums.”
As you might expect, the biggest topic was (capital-T) Traffic. The mayor’s answer was quickly, “The only answer to traffic is transit.”
The county is making major strides in transit changes. From the actual modes of transportation being upgraded to projects like the Underline, which got nearly $1-million in State funding in early April, Daniella reports that things are starting to fire on all cylinders.
“I want people to know that the bus system is our spine. Bus Rapid Transit is now completing the South Dade corridor upgrades that run from Dadeland to Florida City. It also happens to be the longest electric bus system in the world!” remarked Cava. “We wanted to extend Metrorail there, but we didn’t have the density to attract the Federal dollars needed to do that, so we worked hard to get the job done with better buses.”
The mayor speaks of the Better Bus Network, the first redesign of our network of bus routes in 40 years, to offer better service to residents by increasing reliability and frequency. DLC said they’ve added express service in many areas and that the bus stations are nearly ready to go, complete with air conditioning, level loading and pre-paid entry to the buses.
Construction has begun on the first all-electric South Dade Transit Operations Center (SDTOC) that will charge, service, operate, maintain and house the department’s future 100 battery-electric buses.
The new facility is being built on a 20-acre site in South Dade, and will include green energy features such as solar power and a water reclaim system for the bus wash and will considerably improve efficiency for bus routes that will employ bus rapid transit service on the TransitWay Corridor of the SMART Program.
The Mayor and I explored many other important topics, including the lowering of the tax rate to the lowest it has been in 40 years. You can watch the entire interview at: miamihal.com/the-miamihal-real-estate-show/2024/7/12/episode-131.
Daniella Levine Cava is on the ballot for a second term as our County Mayor. You can vote on August 20 and I, and she, hope you will get out and be counted on that day.
Real Estate Update
As of 7/17/24 there were 126 properties for sale in Pinecrest, 21 homes pending sale and 9.7 months of inventory. If you’re ready to move, contact me to get the best local expertise, truthful guidance and realistic expectations. It’s easy to get started at miamihal.com/getstarted.
I invite you to view past episodes of my The MiamiHal Real Estate Show at miamihal.com/the-miamihal-real-estate-show to hear from experts and get the latest real estate news.
Hal Feldman (MiamiHal) is a Realtor with RE/MAX Advance Realty. You can contact him with your story ideas or real estate questions at www.MiamiHal.com, Hal@MiamiHal.com or www.facebook.com/MiamiHal
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