Traffic solutions
The Miami-Dade Commission was considering extending Metrorail south to Florida City, north to the Broward line and west to Kendall and Florida International University. The problem is the cost of an elevated rail system. One possible solution is a ground-level rail corridor, which would be cheaper to install, but there is a danger of rail and car collisions due to the impatience of drivers who do not want to lose inches of space to anyone else on the road.
MDX collects just under $700,000 a day in tolls — about $21 million a month. Where is this money going? Is it being spent only on the roads that MDX controls? Or is it possible there are paybacks and corruption in this non-elected commission? After all, South Florida is not immune to that as we all know.
Is there any possibility the county and MDX can get together and finance Metrorail as a major mass-transit solution instead of just widening streets and expressways, which does not eliminate automobile traffic?
Richard Flynn, Miami
This story was originally published December 19, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Traffic solutions."