THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020
To:
James Wolfe
District 6 Secretary
Florida Department of Transportation
Dear Secretary Wolfe,
COVID-19 has irrefutably altered the way "business as usual” is conducted across Miami-Dade County and around the world. Mitigating the spread of COVID-19 will thus require significant flexibility to help our community get back on its feet in a way that is both safe and responsive to our current situation.
It has never been more urgent to adapt our roads for people instead of cars, and to support economic activity instead of addressing traffic. Across the urban core, pedestrians and cyclists taking everyday trips for groceries and services are outnumbering cars on the road, while small businesses are enduring extreme hardship at the outset of a long road to recovery.
We urge your collaboration with our local leaders and administrators to adapt state roads to the new normal. From Collins Avenue to Calle Ocho, we need vital state roads to support the expansion of restaurant seating and create safer movement for pedestrians and cyclists.
This time of crisis has clearly shown how destructive unchecked car dependence and road expansion has been for our county, especially in low-income and minority communities. While corridors where pedestrians take priority are poised to recover – businesses on car-centric corridors without foot traffic and adequate space will suffer unless we take action.
I ask myself, how will we remember our actions on mobility during this time? A community of entrepreneurs shattered by woeful empty streets – or a city where we gave our most vital public space, our streets, to serve our businesses in need and a new sustainable future.
Your action and collaboration can shape that better future.
Sincerely,
Azhar Chougle
Executive Director of Transit Alliance Miami
CC:
Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales
Miami Beach City Mayor Dan Gelber
City of Miami Beach Commission
City of Miami Manager Arthur Noriega
City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
City of Miami Commission