Get rapid transit to South Beach on track now — and don’t let protests derail it | Opinion

Miami-Dade County needs more rapid transit. And that includes the Metromover train from the mainland to South Beach, despite recent attacks on the idea, mostly by residents of affluent neighborhoods on Miami Beach.

We are sick of spending 45 minutes or an hour to go five or 10 miles during the morning commute — which now stretches for hours. We are fed up with traffic jams on Interstate 95, even on the weekends, because there are just too many cars. We can’t even get across town — let alone to South Beach — without a major battle plan mapped out.

Clogged roads also cut into productivity: Meetings start late because people can’t get there on time. (And that’s not just because we are on “Miami time,” though that’s true, too.)

We have reached the breaking point on traffic. If we want to be a world-class community, we must handle the traffic better. Cars have to come off the road. Rapid transit is the way to do it. It’s that simple.

The idea for a train to Miami Beach — along with other rail extensions in other parts of the county — has been under discussion for decades. It cannot come as a surprise to anyone on South Beach, despite protestations that it is being “shoved down” residents’ throats.

A monorail proposal that was too expensive and couldn’t offer a “one-seat ride” on the existing train system was rightly rejected last year — after an extensive public conversation on the topic. But a better idea, to extend the Metromover system already in use, is moving forward. That’s great news.

There isn’t any doubt that we need this. As the Miami Herald reported Sunday, the bus route that currently crosses the MacArthur Causeway — the same route for the proposed train service — is routinely packed at rush hour. The buses become so full at peak times that they routinely must drive right past waiting passengers.

“I never get a seat going home. Every day, it’s full,” Lakeisha Henry, a 31-year-old maintenance worker, told the Herald.

Fewer cars on road

Then there are tourists, of course. They’re vital to our economy. They’re already pouring into South Beach. So how about getting a portion of those cars off the road to make the town more livable for the rest of us? It’s a quality-of-life issue for anyone who calls this place home.

It’s funny how a flurry of new concerns are being raised now that the train, planned by the county, might really happen. Suddenly, there are worries about a flood of homeless people, graffiti, zoning changes, environmental impacts and that it’s all being done haphazardly.

But this has been discussed and discussed and discussed. A train has been coming since the ‘80s, back when it was the old Baylink proposal. More recently, Miami Beach voters in 2004 endorsed a proposed light-rail system over the MacArthur Causeway. And then there was the monorail — when it was under development, the group behind it circulated a poll from September showing 65% of Miami Beach voters would support the transit link, with 29% opposed, the Herald reported.

There seems to be wealth divide at play. At a recent meeting in the “South of Fifth” neighborhood — the southern end of South Beach — a group of residents chanted “Stop the train!” The meeting was held in the community room of the Murano Grande, where apartments start above $1 million.

And yet the less affluent enclave of Flamingo Park endorsed the project, according to Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who represents South Beach and parts of Miami.

The environmental concerns are being raised by a lawyer for Fisher Island, an exclusive community of waterfront homes in Miami Beach accessible only by ferry. It’s one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in the country. The median home price there was $6.1 million last year.

Legitimate concerns

We understand there are fears about a bigger homeless population coming to South Beach ferried by a free train. Miami-Dade does need to find better ways of helping those who are homeless. But Miami Beach is part of Miami-Dade County. We can’t just pull up the drawbridge.

We also understand worries about zoning changes, but that’s not a real issue, according to Higgins. Although the county is trying to increase density around rapid-transit routes, she told the Herald that South Beach would see virtually no change in development caps because of exemptions for historic districts and other areas.

The county doesn’t need Miami Beach’s backing to push forward with this proposal — a request for bids is supposed to go out this year with a final commission decision in 2024 — but lawsuits, especially from those with deep pockets, could tie it up. We hope anyone thinking along those lines thinks again.

Though other train proposals for the causeway have fizzled out, this one needs to happen. The county should work with the opposition, compromise where possible, but forge ahead. It’s time to do something about traffic besides whine about it.

Rapid transit has to happen. It has to happen now, and it has to happen in Miami Beach.