This evening Village Manager Nick Marano convened the 87th Avenue Bridge Task Force (Task Force)virtually for the last time. The Task Force heard 26 comments from the public, which were provided by written form and live during the virtual meeting. The Village is grateful to have had the participation of 12 individuals online through our GoToWebinar and 25 on Facebook Live.
Task Force member Alan “AlJohn” Farquharson ran the meeting for Chairwoman Carmen Baker who was unable to attend tonight. Mr. Farquharson requested specific points from members to address at the upcoming Miami-Dade County Transportation Planning Organization Board (TPO) Meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 18th. Task Force Secretary Joseph Miorelli explained that response time improvements do not justify the disruption to the neighborhoods, referring to a report prepared by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. He added that there are two fire stations 1.5 miles away from each other on the north and south sides of the proposed bridge and coverage was excellent. He explained that the added traffic from the bridge would also affect response times and that fact is not being taken into consideration. He further stated that the opinions of the approximate 528 homes directly impacted by this project have not been heard. Task Force member Marcello Zinn explained that empathy goes a long way, and everyone needs to understand the feelings of others. He proposed to focus on alternatives that will favor all positions and not harm anyone.
Manager Marano asked the members to attend the Miami-Dade County Transportation Planning Organization Meeting to speak on the Village's position. He is hopeful that their arguments will make an impact. Mr. Marano informed the Task Members that Mayor Cunningham would also be there speaking on behalf of the Village. He added that the goal at this meeting was to ask the TPO members to delay their vote on the bridge project and have the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works provide a detailed presentation to the public to gather public input before proceeding with the project.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Manager stated this was the last official meeting of the 87th Avenue Bridge Task Force and thanked the members for serving the Village as part of the task force. The meeting adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
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