What a lively audience and panel discussion we had at MCAD, 100 NE Avenue, Friday, June 20th!

Kicking off the luncheon panel, the Gold Coast APA’s Silvia Vargas, event sponsor and organizer, thanked Cheryl Jacobs of MCAD for hosting the lunch and the 4-week exhibit of the design work of University of Miami School of Architecture’s studio class that created a vision plan to transform the MPath under MetroRail into a linear park and urban trail.

Panel Moderator, AnaMarie Garces of Urban Health Solutions, kept the pace of the luncheon panel discussion moving and added her own compelling questions for the speakers.  Tony Garcia of Street Plans Collaborative and Green Mobility Network gave a very informative presentation on successful trails around the country including the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, the Chicago 606 and Miami’s own future Ludlam Trail.

Isabel Padron of Miami-Dade County’s Transit Department gave a thorough history of the MPath from its inception  to today.  Isabel said “it’s hard to not get excited about an initiative that has so much momentum and can do so much for the community and MetroRail.”

Jack Kardys, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Director shared the economic impact of the many successful “Rails to Trails”/Linear Parks conversions including New York City’s High Line, Chicago’s 606, and more. Jack cited the substantial return on investment of the High Line, over $2 Billion in new real estate investment/development and nearly $1 billion dollars in additional tax receipts for New York City over a 20 year period.

University of Miami School of Architecture student Andrea Rebull Gonzalez gave a lively description of how unique the 2014 studio class experience was.  She said “I have never engaged with a real life project that engaged so much of the community, the input of elected officials, and representatives of Transit, Parks, FDOT, and more.  It was truly the chance of a lifetime.”

The audience checked out the UM School of Architecture exhibit that blanketed the walls at MCAD.  They also raised questions about the projected total cost of the initiative, the potential to transform the US1 corridor and the challenges of the crosswalks.  To improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety, Zackary Lata of FDOT shared that his department is analyzing the cost and implementation schedule to redesign to “GreenLink specifications” (the GreenLink is now The Underline) at all the FDOT intersections (8 total) along the corridor.

Please come out for a FREE guided bike ride along the MPath Saturday, June 28th beginning at Vizcaya’s “Garage” at 8:30 AM.  We’ll have goodies and fun for all. See you this Saturday.

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