The SunPost: Nautical But Nice 

Dear Editor:

Thank you for the nautical/nice front page of the SunPost, February 13, 2003.  [RE: “The Unofficial Boat Show Guide” issue.]  Oar-some! 

Minnie Mondschein

 Send Me Up To That SkyTran In The Sky! It’s Where I’ll Go When I….. 

Letters to the Editor:

I agree with Mr. Frank Del Vecchio, chairman of the Citizens Technical Committee in his Letter to the Editor printed in the Feb. 20, 2003 issue of the SunPost. 

Light Rail IS NOT a good System for the Miami Bay Link.  Light Rail will cause more traffic problems than South Beach has today.   Left turn lanes will disappear, curbside parking spaces will be reduced, and it will take up lanes on the MacArthur Causeway reducing auto lanes and making congestion worse.  In addition, unsightly Catenary wires will be strung along the route to provide power to the trains, and the route will suffer blocked roads and heavy traffic congestion/interference for considerable periods of time during construction as well as dirt blowing around and air pollution during
such activity.

And will the Light Rail System get any additional cars off the road?  No.   A Light Rail System will still be subject to slow traffic speeds and speed limits, traffic lights, and cross traffic as are the buses and with stops every half and three-quarters of a mile Light
Rail Stops WILL NOT be AS CONVENIENT as the present buses.

There is a system in the development stage that would provide much better service over the SAME ROUTE with stops every 2-3 blocks as with the buses, and would be MUCH CHEAPER to construct/provide at less than $2 million per-mile versus OVER $25 Million per-mile for Light Rail so that for the same amount of funding additional Routings could be extended North of 17th Street on Alton Road, Collins Avenue, and Sheridan Avenue (the routes of the "R", "S, M, L, G, & C", and "K" respectively) serving Central and North Miami Beach as well.  The name of this system is Skytran, on which information can be found on the Internet at www.Skytran.net.

I encourage the mayor and vice mayor, the Miami Beach Commission, and other officials to turn down the proposed Light Rail and wait for Skytran, studying and evaluating it and telling Miami-Dade Officials that Miami Beach wants this System, which would be the best choice for the rest of Miami-Dade County as well.

Robert Coy

 

Let’s See Some Credentials Frank

And By The Way, Here’s Mine 

Editor:

I wonder if some of the 'experts' writing to you  (e.g., the Chairman of  the "Citizens Technical Subcommittee on the Bay Link Study" – in your February 20 issue) even know what 'light rail' means. What are these peoples' credentials in rail or bus transit systems?

Some of the representations from this "Chairman" include: 'left turns will be eliminated', 'Washington Avenue is infeasible for light rail tracks', 'the system would run on the west side only', 'the Northeast corridor along Biscayne Boulevard is an alternative to bay Link.’ None of these representations are based on fact, and the fact that Biscayne Boulevard does not cross to Miami Beach might be a stumbling block to this alternative.

Please print the relevant credentials of letter writers if they purport to be experts having special knowledge of the subject. 

Al Hartkorn  

P.S. I have over 40 years in transportation, 27 in transit systems; published numerous articles and professional papers on rail transit systems, nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in rail transit systems safety, including advanced maglev systems, and, in Miami-Dade, in bus transit systems also.

 Cubby: Making Even The “Queen of the Night” PR’s Bow Down and Worship Him

Cubby,

Thanks for the sweetest mention in your column this week [RE: “Nightlife,” published February 6.]. That was too kind. You are the first person to print out engagement. I am so excited. We have received so many calls. You are the best!!!!!! Also, thanks for the mentions of SkyBar, Forge, Sabor, Joia and PURE.
 

YEAH 

Nick D’Annunzio

Tara Ink

Something Rotten This Way Come 

There has been a lot of back and forth on the Baylink (AKA: Bay-Stink), but I think that many people do not equate the fact that this is a $100 Million Dollar - A - Mile project. Nor do the "sellers" of this project show any down sides (cons) to the deal as questioned in last Thursday's community meeting at Wachovia Bank. There are obviously many things that are not being presented (including alternatives) like the safety records of rail transportation (see 32 pages of accidents & safety hazards from NTSB.gov web site) including the two "light rail" accidents that happened last year in Baltimore (cost almost $2M total ++).  The mixed messages continue. When asked if this system will benefit local businesses by bringing in beach goers/customers, these "lobbyists" state that the system is really designed to move residents from A to B, probably because they know that not many conscientious people will take public transit at night especially if dressed up with money to spend at dinner, show and or night club. When asked if this system is designed for residents to move from A to B during peak times to alleviate the current bottle necking, they state that it is designed for all riders, from all areas, for all times, neither proving or disproving it's viability for a potential limiting rider ship.

It would be nice to have a reliable form of transportation that will get us from A to B at a set time, but the fact is that a rail system on South Beach will not guarantee these results. To begin with, the system is designed to flow with traffic based on signalized lights at every intersection. The same lights that can hold traffic up and cause possible grid lock (Intersection of Alton & Dade, 5th Street & Washington, etc) will cause delays for the train as well because the train does not get any preferential treatment, other than a dedicated lane that will not even allow street cleaning vehicles in it's path. Further, based on a number of man-made and natural occurrences that will impede this unchangeable track ie: High winds &/or lightening knocking down power lines, trees & tree branches, flooding, car & pedestrian accidents, etc the system can not guarantee anything including the safety of residents on or off the train.

 Finally, as is the case with any new development on Miami Beach, an impact study (Concurrency Report) should be presented and reviewed before a decision is made. Where is the study showing the impact on municipal services: Police, Fire, Hospital, Sanitation, etc.?   

Just voicing my concern as any beach loving resident should,

Mark J. Wohl

 Golden Rule: If You Do Something Nice, Make Sure That Neither You Nor Your Attorney Dies 

To the Editor, 

Here we go again department:

Why don’t nice people review the moral principles of an issue before sending out trial balloon letters for what may appear to them good causes? Case in point: Par 3 golf course. A wealthy citizen of Miami Beach gets his attorney to draw up an iron-clad agreement, to be incorporated into a deed, donating his property to the city of Miami Beach. That is, they can have it if they will guarantee the use of the land involved for no other purpose than golf. He knew there were officials who could not be trusted. But he also had faith in the law, and he did have a good attorney. Naturally, the city agreed, the man dies, the property goes over to the city and then the attorney dies.

Boom. Developers hear about the situation and ideas to screw this dead guy pop up like sand fleas on the beach. Super schools, condos, apartments, bathhouses, property swapping… a cornucopia of proposals. We try, and do stop some of it, but we are like grasshoppers, jumping up and down to the mike at meeting after meeting. Little by little the property shrinks. Promises to assuage opponents are “guaranteed” by the city and then ignored. The city and its present officials should take responsibility, stop violating the rights of the deceased and state “enough already.”

This latest preamble to destruction is just more imaginative ideas from our current officials. All come with the usual promises. Now they want 3 holes for parking or 3 holes for building material storage, or let’s permanently reduce the number of holes from 9 to 6, or let’s suspend the operations of the course for two years, each one equal to “first-step ideas” that resulted in the city placing (can you believe this?) a dump on the back nine, in the middle of Bayshore golf course. That’s right, pay $150 each for green fees, enjoy your day and smell the dump. What’s sad is the way the latest promises, made in tandem with the requests, are presented. You can see the official knows, the same as you know, the promises are horse-poop.

And to those who have kids in the youth center let me say this, you just witnessed a city spending $2,000,000 upgrading the facility. Not to provide ice-skating facilities. But to provide better ice skating facilities, while reneging on the promises made to low-income family kids for more outdoor basketball courts and roller blade facilities. Ask yourself, what about these kids? Are there more ice skaters than there are roller bladders in our city? We need you to tell the city to “stop using you” to help them destroy the par 3, with requests for further incursions. And at the same time it would be nice if you would also ask the city to make the youth centers more inviting to kids from low-income families. Remove the onerous requirements. The reasons given by the city for not building promised facilities for our low income kids, and I quote a city official: “We don’t have funds,” “They are not a high priority item.” Shameful. 

Sincerely, 

Howard G. Kaufman,
Past President, Bayshore Men’s Golfers Club