Our unbridled growth and lack of adequate planning has created an entire profession dedicated to traffic reporting and a thriving jitney industry in neighborhoods where people need public transportation to be more accessible and reliable.

Since the passage of the People’s Transportation Plan, our bus service has greatly expanded and ridership is way up. Bus drivers are being trained to ride on the shoulders of expressways when lanes are clogged. We are also improving intersections and synchronizing traffic signals to improve traffic flow. It’s not enough. We must do more.  

Our MOVN Initiative, created by citizens, has prompted a public education and enforcement campaign. Simple acts like moving your vehicle to the side of the road following a minor accident and making sure your car isn’t the one blocking the intersection can make a difference. There are many simple solutions out there and no improvement is too small.

Longer term solutions include eliminating traditional toll plazas to allow barrier-free tolling on roads like the Don Shula, 836 and the Gratigny; and adding new elevated lanes along I-95 to allow motorists the option of paying to travel with greater ease during peak hours.

Together with the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and the Florida Department of Transportation these ideas have proven to work elsewhere and can work here too.

We must also move forward with our Metrorail Expansion plans. I am confident more people will use public transportation if it gets them from where they live to where they want to go.