Why is South Florida road infrastructure so poorly designed? (Miami: low income, 2015)

[humeston]

Short answer? Greed and Corruption. Example: Toll road projects began in earnest when a state funded report produced by a "Think Tank" encouraged multiple toll options. The Think Tank was funded by Toll-Lane developers. See Miami Herald article.
| Miami Herald

Now for my experiencesRant)

This is a sore point with me. I have driven the same 12.3 miles to my employer for almost 24 years. Over the same highways. What years ago took me 20 minutes in rush hour traffic now takes a minimum of 45 minutes, and often longer. Years ago the toll on the Florida Turnpike was 50 cents a day for my route. Now I paid over $50 a month in tolls on the same highway, but with significantly more unnecessary traffic delays. Whoever designs highways in South Florida has no idea about human beings and how we think and react. Time after time I see FDOT or others start a project and I think to myself, "That isn't gonna work!" The road designs seems to be meant to slow down traffic and clog the highways, when a different design would do the opposite.

Meanwhile, the quality of the roads continue to worsen. I-95 in north Miami-Dade consists of millions of patches and numerous potholes. I-75 in Broward county is in a permanent state of construction. Days after they finish a project with cloverleaf highway ramps circling like a Disney ride, they begin tearing it up again to reconfigure the rides, eh, I mean ramps.

But no place I have seen is as good as sucking money out of your wallet or purse. The Sunpass system has eliminated toll booths so as you drive money flies out of your pocket automatically. And your only choice in many parts of the area is Sunpass or they mail you a fine. No cash, credit allowed.

The latest money making scam is the Lexus Lanes on I-95 and I-595, where they squeeze two lanes into a separated express lane with barely enough room for two cars and charge as much as $6.60 for a short "express" trip from point A to point B. Meanwhile they place stop lights at the on ramps to slow the number of cars that can enter the regular I95 lanes. Cars now back up into the neighborhoods causing more local traffic jams. And three out of five days the express lanes are closed as it is nearly impossible for two lanes of cars driving fast over potholes and patches inches apart to not run into each other.

Yes, politicians are corrupt everywhere, that is the definition of a politician. But South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Broward county are world class thieves. Every community is filled with corruption. Some are home grown and many "retire" from their jobs up north and come here to rake in more money.

Because everyone in South Florida is from some other place, and we have hundreds of different cultures, it is difficult for the people to unite against the politicians. There is no "home town" feel here. The politicians know it and they take advantage of it.

If you are moving from LA California you might like the traffic here, as most of the toll developers have moved here from there.

Otherwise, plan on spending a significant portion of your daily life on old dilapidated highways and paying for it.

[djmanu]

Compared to Miami-Dade, Broward has an excellent road system.
3 lanes in each direction on most blvd and the pavement is quite good compared to other places in the country and you can avoid toll roads most of the time ...
Now for Miami that's another story, the roads are way too narrow to accommodate such population growth, just look at the differences between US1 in Miami and FLL ... and it's impossible to avoid toll roads in Miami.

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by MrKnight

The biggest difference between SoFlo and DMV roads is that while DMV road infrastructure is older, traffic signals are synchronized and strategic efforts are made to increase traffic flow, there are also many back roads and side roads that can be taken as alternates, especially in the city.. In SoFlo no efforts are made, getting stuck at every red light is completely inefficient, something as simple as synchronizing traffic signals would have a substantial impact on increasing traffic flow, not sure how anyone would not agree with this..

Broward County lights are synchronized. The east-west major routes were re-synchronized about 5-6 years ago to give them more time since they are more problematic than north-south roads. There is only so much synchronization that can be done on a grid system. If you over-do east west routes, then north-south routes suffer.

The part about lack of back roads. This was done to avoid having noisy traffic flowing through residential communities. Most of Broward was designed as a suburbia in the 70's and 80's, and they did not anticipate the rate of growth would overwhelm major arteries. By the time they figured this out, it was too late to build additional roads that would slice and dice through neighborhoods. The newer areas of Dade County built further west after the 50's basically have the same issues but worse.

I have driven in the DC area and found no synchronization whatsoever. The traffic moves very slow there whether rush hour or not. Most roads are 25-30 mph and it is almost impossible to go more than 35 mph anywhere there. There is nothing good about traffic, lights, or synchronization in the DC area.

[shunketsu]

Originally Posted by DanielAvery

It isn't always about "laziness and overweight people". If I need to go to a specific address (say, on the west side of X town) at a specific time, I would have to rely on the train to arrive within walking distance of that address, at or around the time of my appointment. I'll also need the train to come back through the west side of X to take me home at a reasonable time. This hinges on whether the civil engineers can even get a rail line into that part of town at all. If I'm unsure of how long I'll be at that address, I can't be assured of a ride home if that train is on a limited run in that possibly lesser-traveled part of town. And if the train station is too far from my destination, I'll have to take a taxi (putting a car on the road after all) or a bus (adding to the uncertainty of a reciprocating ride back to where I started). And what if I need to make multiple stops for errands, etc.? I don't think the train engineer is going to park outside Publix while I "run in for a few things". I may as well just drive myself there, not only out of necessity, but convenience.

And I won't even go into the fact that a lot of people will tell you they wouldn't be caught dead riding a bus or a train with "the riff-raff". Conspicuous consumption is alive and well and spends its winters in Florida.

How come public transportation usage is higher in other developed countries (including those with higher GDP per capita PPP than the USA)?

[ruski]

Originally Posted by shunketsu

How come public transportation usage is higher in other developed countries (including those with higher GDP per capita PPP than the USA)?

Because we love our cars and our freedom.

[Flyinglow]

Originally Posted by MrKnight

I have lived in various cities throughout the country including other Florida cities and never have I seen as bad of a road network as South Florida, to be frank, the road infrastructure is HORRENDOUS down here, most roads are severely undersized for the volume of traffic that they handle, major intersections with no turn lanes, no traffic signals are synchronized causing unnecessary stop and go traffic, drawbridge signals are not synchronized with surrounding traffic signals resulting in more traffic, etc... Why is this? Why is something as simple as synchronizing traffic lights not happening anywhere? What is the local government doing about it? Looking forward to some insight from more tenured South Floridians..

This article should help answer your question - No sales tax increase in Broward - Sun Sentinel

While I agree not synchronizing traffic lights is ridiculous and causes major traffic problems, how is a grid system a bad design?

For the most part (especially Broward and Palm Beach counties) the roads are a grid, they are 4-6 lanes wide and in a straight line. There are no hills, no winding roads, no sharp turns (they are all 90 degree turns mostly), EVERYONE has a turning lane on the right AND on the left (no shared middle lane for turning).

It's not perfect, but what would be better than straight, wide roads? Twisting winding roads with blind corners? Pardon the sarcasm but c'mon... Compared to roads elsewhere in the country this grid system is the best mankind has been able to come up with so far. We can't have 8-12 lane roads everywhere.

Also, PLEASE take a look at this article - South Florida's plan for traffic: 'We're going to make them suffer' - Sun Sentinel - roads are purposely being made more difficult to drive in order to discourage people from driving. If you think traffic is bad now, it's only going to get worse as the population of FL skyrockets and roads/infrastructure can't keep up.

To quote from the article:
"Some cities are deliberately reducing the number of lanes on major roads to make room for bike lanes and wider sidewalks, while cramming more cars into a smaller space."

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Broward County lights are synchronized. The east-west major routes were re-synchronized about 5-6 years ago to give them more time since they are more problematic than north-south roads. There is only so much synchronization that can be done on a grid system. If you over-do east west routes, then north-south routes suffer.

The part about lack of back roads. This was done to avoid having noisy traffic flowing through residential communities. Most of Broward was designed as a suburbia in the 70's and 80's, and they did not anticipate the rate of growth would overwhelm major arteries. By the time they figured this out, it was too late to build additional roads that would slice and dice through neighborhoods. The newer areas of Dade County built further west after the 50's basically have the same issues but worse.

I have driven in the DC area and found no synchronization whatsoever. The traffic moves very slow there whether rush hour or not. Most roads are 25-30 mph and it is almost impossible to go more than 35 mph anywhere there. There is nothing good about traffic, lights, or synchronization in the DC area.

I know when the lights were synchronized a few years ago, and it was a breeze to drive East/West on Oakland Park Blvd, Commercial Blvd, McNab... a green street all the way... You could see lights up ahead turning from red to green as you were approaching them.


But that didn't last more than one year, it got all out of sync again.

Now I often hit every red light.

P.S. and I believe in Weston they have always deliberately synched the lights to make you stop at every intersection. I don't see any other explanation.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by shunketsu

How come public transportation usage is higher in other developed countries (including those with higher GDP per capita PPP than the USA)?

I would say it has to do with statements like. Only the riff raff ride transit. Or I get there faster by driving my own car. The further from Metros that utilize transit one gets. Then the more one hears these and similiar statements. Especially in the sunbelt states. Ive lived the majority of my life where transit was available. I've owned a vehicle most of the time, but alternate between the car and transit. Of all the place I've lived including overseas. Florida is the first place where more than one has said to me. Only low life whites and blacks ride the bus. I think I said to my self about the same time. This is not a place I could ever fit in or be comfortable. Eventually I would tell some of these ignorant types, just what I think of them. Life is to short.



It's ignorance, arrogance, selfishness and laziness, that keeps transit usage down in this country. In other countries what I mentioned isn't the problem it is in the USA. Different mindset.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

South Florida roads are not even the worst in the US, Detroit and parts of Ohio and New Jersey are way worse but I agree they are very sub par compared to what they should be.

[John Rose]

Coming from the congested Northeast, I don't think of South Florida as being all that bad at all. I'd say the main problem is the explosion in population coupled with a lack of investment in infrastructure occurring over the same amount of time. Trump claims he wants to invest in infrastructure, so we'll see...