Home Depot will destroy traffic patterns
If, and or when, the Home Depot opens at Grove Gate, traffic will never be the same.
The intersection of Bird and McDonald will be a nightmare most of the day and into the night. The turn from US1 onto McDonald will be another backed up situation 10 times worse than the turn from US1 onto SW 27th Ave. into the Grove.
And along with those little flower stands across from the area on Bird Road will be open-backed trucks selling fruit, frozen drinks, ice cream and whatnot. The Grove will lose most of its charm and that one small area that was basically more of a neighborhood area than the central business district, will have maybe finalized the old Grove's demise.
That one corridor down Bird, past Grove Gate and Gardner's Market, past Virginia and Mary Streets, down to 27th Ave. and E-Z Kwik, has always been the Grove to me. To get to the Home Depot, people will be turning in on 27th Ave. as short cut and that whole stretch of Bird from 27th to 32nd will be non-stop traffic.
When I travel, I don't see small, intimate neighborhoods overtaken by box stores. It doesn't happen in Greenwich Village in New York, nor the French Quarter in New Orleans, nor Boston's Back Bay. It just doesn't happen.
The intersection of Bird and McDonald will be a nightmare most of the day and into the night. The turn from US1 onto McDonald will be another backed up situation 10 times worse than the turn from US1 onto SW 27th Ave. into the Grove.
And along with those little flower stands across from the area on Bird Road will be open-backed trucks selling fruit, frozen drinks, ice cream and whatnot. The Grove will lose most of its charm and that one small area that was basically more of a neighborhood area than the central business district, will have maybe finalized the old Grove's demise.
That one corridor down Bird, past Grove Gate and Gardner's Market, past Virginia and Mary Streets, down to 27th Ave. and E-Z Kwik, has always been the Grove to me. To get to the Home Depot, people will be turning in on 27th Ave. as short cut and that whole stretch of Bird from 27th to 32nd will be non-stop traffic.
When I travel, I don't see small, intimate neighborhoods overtaken by box stores. It doesn't happen in Greenwich Village in New York, nor the French Quarter in New Orleans, nor Boston's Back Bay. It just doesn't happen.
posted by Tom Falco at 8:18 AM
YOU MAY NOT LIFT THE PHOTOS & TEXT. IT'S COPYRIGHTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU CAN HOWEVER SHARE A STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY USING THE LINKS HERE.
For linking to this one story, just click on the time it was posted & just this story will open for sharing - only through social media. Not copying and pasting.
11 Comments:
There has been a big box store there for decades.
How is it that no one mentions adjacent to Grove Gate, the addition of all the new "town houses" (NOT the name I would prefer for them) of at least 25 new multiple family, 2-car garage dwellings and their impacting the traffic pattern/flow at Bird and McDonald onto US1, or into downtown Grove? This has just as much impact on a day-to-day -get through the Bird corridor traffic pattern as ANY STORE which would set up shop at Grove Gate, HD included!
Take a good look folks, ye who dwell in high density townhouse-y center grove homes are, in fact, smack in the middle of the reality of lots of people living within a few block radius. We are a big town now, no longer a sleepy village of yesteryear. There will be traffic. It is a fact of life here. And building up height wise residentially with commercial business on ground level may be an urban solution to sprawl, but the end result is traffic. other than relocating to alaska or iowa, there's walking, biking or dealing with it as a fact of 33133 life. HD is just a store which will be sandwiched between two roads which move a lot of people - US 1 and Bird. Not really that much different than what we presently have.
Except they predict 5000 more cars a day and 15 18-wheelers. :(
"They" predict 5,000 cars a day?
Who's "they"?
The wizards who came up with that number couldn't count to 11 with their shoes on.
I agree that traffic is going to be a nightmare. In between the failure of our cops to regulate traffic, people speeding past red lights and the general existing chaos and the influx of new cars, forget it... one spot to avoid.
However... that area is not going to lose most of its charm. It ain't got it! That's a really ugly area dude.
Let's be realistic. That entire area is ugly, badly developed, un-charmed. There are truly charming areas in the Grove and in the Gables. This ain't one.
Let's not be more catholic than the pope, please.
Interesting, I thought the metrorail ran along US-1, but I guess some people living in the Grove still aren't aware of that...
ok, reality check... there are always going to be people on both extremes with issues like this. HD in the Grove is a horrible idea for many reasons, but the simple reality is that it will be damn near impossible to stop them from setting up shop. We've all been to the 8th street location and its a total crap hole complete with trash, nightmare entrances/exits, and employees who are not only unhelpful but barely speak a lick of English. WHy not stick a HD in downtown? Isnt that ideal? Tons of traffic, its already dismal and depressing, vagabonds everywhere, trash... Sounds perfect to me!
Yes, the Grove is growing. All of Miami is. The past 3 years have seen tremendous attention by national media for SoBe and the city of Miami, and that attracts new residents. The housing boom is a tad on the ridiculous side, but this city was planned by morons so we might as well follow thru on their vision. Rather than ignoring the traffic woes of this city, why hasnt any progress been made in the form of public transportation? Oh wait, there is the trusty Metrorail that takes you everywhere you dont want to go...
Rational Grove Resident -- you expect people to use Metrorail when shopping at Home Depot? Guess you never saw the size of plywood or generators before. Try taking them on Metrorail.
Hell, try crossing US1 with plywood on your back.
Id like to know how often Rational Grove uses the Metrorail...
An excellent opportunity for employment for our friends in the west Grove, who will be able to walk to work.
Rational Grove resident uses the Metrorail a lot. If you live in the Grove, you can get most places you need to go along the line. See, I wasn't talking about people using the Metrorail to shop at Home Depot (LOL at Peter); I'm talking about people who live in the Grove who are complaining about traffic. It shouldn't be as much an issue for us locals.
Ok, if I must: I live in the Grove, I work in the Grove (therefore, I walk to work). If I need groceries, the Fresh Market and EZ Kwik Mart are only a few blocks away. Take out: Slice N' Ice, Pollo, Chick N' Grill, Cozzoli's, etc, all within short walking distance. Clothes or retail? Take your pick; Metrorail to Macy's and numerous other clothing and shoe stores downtown; if downtown isn't your flavor, you've got Sunset Place and Dadeland Mall. You want pretty much anything, you can get it at Target (Dadeland North Station). If you want electronics, FYE is at Cocowak, Best Buy is at Dadeland North Station and Dadeland South station will take you to Comp USA or other such stores in Dadeland Mall. You need bedroom accessories, Bed Bath and Beyond is at Dadeland North Station. Banks: Bank of America is right on 32nd and McDonald; Coconut Grove Bank is at 27th and Bayshore; Suntrust is at Sunset Place, and many many other banks are located downtown. Wanna work out at the gym? Shaq Fitness on Grand and Virginia or Grove Fitness @ Florida Ave & Virginia. Recreation? You've got Peacock Park (Basketball, Baseball, Skateboarding, whatever else you want), Kennedy Park is within walking or biking distance, and the little tennis parks are everywhere in the Grove. Enjoy reading? Barnes and Noble is at Sunset Place. Like to read for free? Try the Miami-Dade library main branch downtown. Prefer movies? Cocowalk or Sunset Place. Higher education? University of Miami main campus, UM's Medical Campus, and even FIU has courses offered downtown at the Government and Metropolitan Centers. In legal trouble? Civic Center area can fix that. Health issues? Civic Center/Health District again. Wanna catch the game? American Airlines Arena is located downtown. Between the Grove, Downtown, Dadeland, and Sunset Place, you've got hundreds of quality restaurants if you want to go out to eat. The bay obviously strattles the Grove if that's your thing. Want a decent bar, nightclub, or other nightlife locale? The Grove, Sunset Place, and Park West are all located along the metrorail line. Want to enjoy a nice broadway show or opera? The new Performing Arts Center is easily accessible via metromover. Hair cut? Overabundance of salons in the Grove. Wanna go to the REAL suburbs? Tri-Rail. Pharmacy? CVS on Grand Ave, Walgreens on Douglas. Once City Square, the new retail district adjacent to the Carnival Center downtown is finished, you'll have even more shopping options. You like Museums? Vizcaya and the Miami Planetarium are along the metrorail line. Laundromats and dry cleaners? Check.
There's probably a thousand things I've missed, but I think you get the point: If you live in the Grove you shouldn't be a slave to your automobile, so don't act like it's the end of the world when there's congestion on US-1 or 27th avenue. If you live in the Grove, pretty much everything you could want or need can be reached by foot, bike, or metrorail.
Post a Comment
<< Home