Transit Talk at Avenue D on Wednesday, May 29, 2012.
Transit Talk featured a panel of local transit advocates and professionals that talked about the transit issues in Miami. The upcoming Transportation Summit (a separate event happening on June 6th) was a key topic — this pre-summit summit will provide information on what to expect and how to most effectively address transit issues. Other topics of interest include pedestrian and bike safety, walkable streets, and the current state of Miami-Dade’s transit ecosystem. Ideas sessions to directly follow discussion.
Transit Talk was presented by the Miami Foundation, in collaboration with the Miami DDA, Madera Events, WhereBy.Us, Move Miami Dade and the Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust.
{Please feel free to download and share.}
Information below via Transit Talk Transit Talk // Urban Mobility
1. Transit Talk: Preliminary Recap
While there is still more information and knowledge to go through and better understand, we hope you walked away with initial knowledge and insight into Miami-Dade’s Transportation eco-system. Wednesday’s turnout and participation showed us that this was the first step in the right direction. Thank you for showing up and being part of the conversation.
As we heard several times during the Talk, the process starts and ends with us so long as we are willing to partake in the overall process. Talking directly to commissioners is one of the most influential things we can do. Also key is setting our own transportation-taking precedent to our circle of friends and family and even passersby.
As mentioned Wednesday, one of our goals for the night was to share the panelists’ knowledge and perspective in anticipation of next week’s Transportation Summit. One notable point was that the Summit is intended to bring together decision makers to listen to what citizens have to say. Information on what to expect at the Summit is listed below (#3).
2. Transit Talk Survey: Initial Results
While all the survey information is currently being compiled, we would like to share preliminary results based on what you believe to be the biggest issue surrounding Miami-Dade County transit. According to Transit Talk attendees:
A. Infrastructure, specifically transit options and maintenance is the leading problem.
B. Lack of Leadership and Vision is perceived to be a very close second as a critical need.
C. Lack of Citizen Input in planning & decisions was cited as the third area of biggest concern.
The Transit Talk team will share these findings with officials and transportation decision makers at the Transportation Summit on June 6th. We invite anyone interested in presenting these topics to please let us know if you can join us. We would be grateful for assistance in compiling additional supporting stats and/or in communicating this message in-person on June 6th (please respond to this email).
3. Details & What To Expect at the 2013 Transportation Summit:
Kelly Cooper, Strategic Planner for the Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust (CITT), provided a useful synopsis of what to expect at the Summit. The Summit will occur on June 6th, at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus. 300 NE 2nd Ave, Chapman Conference Center, Room 3210.
The Summit’s location is conveniently accessible from the Metromover’s College/Bayside station
The entire event is open to any member of the public
Mayor Carlos Gimenez will deliver a Keynote Address at 9:30am
Breakout Sessions will occur between 10:15am and 3:30pm
Public Visioning Session begins at 4:30pm and will continue until necessary. All are welcomed to attend and discuss related issues. The session is open, so anyone will be welcomed even if they cannot arrive by 4:30pm. This is where/when the Transit Talk team will communicate the survey findings.
A number of prominent transportation decision makers, stakeholders and influencers are expected to be in attendance and have indicated that they are there, first and foremost, to listen to what citizens have to say.
4. Forthcoming Information from Transit Talk:
As stated above, the Transit Talk team will compile the full survey results shortly. This information, plus notes from the event and “6 Citizen Actions†as outline by Cesar Garcia-Pons, will be shared with all who registered. In addition, we will send any supporting documents as attachments.
