An article in the Lakeland Ledger yesterday stated that Polk County commissioners have voted to put the CSX terminal and commuter rail placed on hold until it can be further studied.
Of course, it is important to know as much as possible about a project before starting. But improving transit is not something that should be forced to wait in Central Florida. Especially if this further investigation the commissioners are requesting is superfluous.
This blog has previously discussed the transformation of Haines City and the I-4 Corridor into a bedroom suburb of Orange and Osceola. If that is indeed the region's future (and present reality) then rapid transit ought to be of the highest concern for city planners and tri-county area leaders.
In a second article on Thursday, the Ledger reported that Lake Alfred officials are "ecstatic" about a road construction project that will widen 17-92 as it passes through the city. This project is being pushed through quickly following an incident of congestion that occurred when I-4 was closed.
The idea that building more roads will alleviate traffic is a fallacy. To lessen the traffic burden on I-4, Orange, Osceola, and Polk counties need to build rapid public transit, like the proposed commuter rail.
In Miami-Dade County, there is a need for more Metro-Rail lines, but there is a sentiment that it is almost too late. Because development is so dense, it would take massive restructuring of neighborhoods, large amounts of land acquisition, and lots of money.
If Central Florida wants to avoid a similar situation the counties involved need to act quicker than they have been. In the case of Orlando, existing sprawl may already make this an extremely difficult task. This request for further investigation needs to move quickly.
Friday, March 7, 2008
What to do About All That Traffic
Monday, March 3, 2008
Education Breakdown - Miami Edison Senior High School
What happened at Miami Edison Senior High School this past Friday has got me thinking about the futility of our education system.
A friend of mine and I were recently talking. I suggested that teaching, and education in general, was the most important job in the country.
“Teaching is a noble profession,” he said, “fine. But it’s definitely not the most important.”
“But what about the impact you can make in a child's life?” I said.
“Sure, you might really help a few kids, but probably just one a year. Maybe teaching could or should be the most important job," he said, "but it's not."
Now, this is where Edison comes to mind. As one girl in one of the many Youtube videos pointed out, we really do run our schools like prisons. Dropout rates are incredible, and testing scores prove that in poor neighborhoods, many kids are learning close to nothing.
So what difference is our attempt at education really making? What change from previous socio-economic conditions are the majority of the kids at this high school going to see? And what will be their impression of the institution of education—that police will interfere any time a group tries to demonstrate against the powers that be?
The violence that took place at Miami Edison this past Friday should be a giant red flag to this city, and anyone else who is paying attention to problems in their own area. Regardless of who was to blame—the vice principal, the students who threw debris at police officers, or the police officers themselves for their conduct towards minors—the conclusion we should draw is that one of the United State’s largest cities has a population of young people who are angry, discontent, and eager to voice these feelings.
And also, that this country will still send police to shut down demonstrations and use violence, even when it is children demonstrating, and especially when they are black children.
It doesn't seem like just a few children are falling through the cracks. The education system that I know in Florida is built upon a giant, gaping hole in the ground, where life's other problems seem to be dragging it down quickly.
Can our education system really support these kids, and give them a chance for social mobility, for a better future?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Blackout in Miami
Florida experienced a massive blackout today.
When the lights went out, I walked around downtown Miami to hear a handful of rumors. The streets were smoky, and smelled of fire. Between the library and the South Florida Historical Museum, a ventilator was billowing with black smoke.
“A generator beneath the library blew up,” said a man sitting on a bench, outside Government Center.
“The power’s out? Fine by me,” he said, pulling a hardback murder mystery from his back pack.
“I’m an I-T tech in that building up there. I’m still getting paid, so now I’ll actually be getting paid to do something I like,” he said, turning to the page where he had last left off.
Some cell phones were working, some weren’t. Various text-messages coming into my vicinity claimed a power outage from Daytona to Homestead. Still didn’t know why though.
A few hours later, we heard that Coconut Grove’s power was back on. Towards Biscayne’s skyline, the metro-rail could once again be seen traveling its singular course north to south.
In Overtown, we were still in darkness.
“It’s because we’re in the ghetto,” a coworker said.
But eventually, an hour later, our power came back on as well. Our boss told us there was a problem with FP&L, and that an outage had occurred from Tampa to the Keys.
Ever the cynic, I thought this would make the perfect case for FP&L to get their new power plant built in the Everglades.
My mom in Lake Wales said her power hadn’t wavered, but my brother in Melbourne had been sent home from work due to the outage. It felt like a hurricane except without the wind, the rain and destruction—just the pleasant disruption of daily routines across the state.