MIAMI TRANSIT

Re the Sept. 13 online story “Miami-Dade has a new transit director. He doesn’t think you need a car in downtown Miami:” Miami Herald reporter Douglas Hanks wrote an excellent article. Besides being well-qualified for the monumental task at hand, our new transportation director, Eulois Cleckley, is also a commuter and bike rider.

Two of the best decisions I’ve made in the past 10 years were to give up the lease of my car and get a pair of bikes, one for exercise and to commute to work, the other for grocery-store and restaurant visits.

The new Metrorail cars are an improvement, but the stations are shabby, and the elevators and escalators are often out of service. That they are 30 years old is a flimsy excuse. With proper maintenance, their usable life can be extended.

Downtown Miami residents have plenty of mobility options: Metrorail, Metromover, trolleys, buses, scooters, Uber, Lyft and Freebee on demand and micro-transit, provided by Miami Parking Authority.

I hope Cleckley’s vision and efforts accomplish vast improvements to our transportation system and create additional bike paths. This will result in a better quality of life for all of us.

– Harry Emilio Gottlieb,

Coconut Grove