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Sunday, November 04, 2007

Sarnoff Circle?


I received this email:

Is it true that everybody is calling the new rotary on Virginia Street and Shipping Avenue "Sarnoff Circle"? I was in Milam's today, and somebody was talking to a group of people and said, "You get to my house by going down to Sarnoff Circle and take a right."

Everyone seemed to know what he was talking about. Have you heard this?


I have not heard this. Has anyone else? I like the circle but I don't see why it is needed on Virginia Street, I drove down on Saturday and there wasn't a car on the road. And on Halloween night, there were many cars, but not enough to warrant this circle.

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17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I drove down this street the other night by mistake and my companion asked me if this is where that "city council dude" lived.

Not sure to what my companion was referring to, I asked for clarification and was told that some city council member lived on this street and by "coincidence" a $100K traffic circle appears near his house.

This happens all the time in Chicago. Everyone knows that the local alderman has the best paved street, but what shocks me more is that it costs the city $100K to build a traffic circle.

I brick paved and landscaped my entire house for about 15% of what the city paid for this centerpiece.

November 04, 2007 12:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if you can call it the "Sarnoff Circle" since the planning for the circle has been in the works for 6 years. Maybe it is a start at beautifying the Center Grove which it desperately needs!

November 04, 2007 3:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well I want a circle on my street matilda needs one maybe I should run for city council

November 04, 2007 7:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The traffic load on Virginia is the highest city sreet in the Grove. It is one of the main arteries to the Village. On Halloween night this was clearly demonstrated. The circle included drainage which has been an ongoing problem on Virginia St. All this was approved 3 years before this guy became Commissioner. The circle is adjacent to a dog park with some of the highest use in the City and next to a children's park. The traffic has been calmed.

November 04, 2007 8:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't believe the hype about this circle being in planning for six years. Make em' prove it!

November 05, 2007 8:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anything the City does takes six years, unless it involves giving a raise to some incompetent staffer. That just takes a connection and 5 minutes.

I wish we had more traffic circles. They slow down the idiots driving massive SUV's.

November 05, 2007 10:32 AM  
Blogger Adam said...

I just don't really see how a traffic circle with yields instead of stops and no crosswalk for pedestrians makes sense there. It seems to me that traffic goes through there much faster than it used to, and as a pedestrian it feels much less safe than the 4-way stop.

November 05, 2007 11:09 AM  
Blogger SteveBM said...

Anon, Virginia is far from the busiest street in the Grove. Probably not even in the top 10. There was no need for it as the stops signs there and at the Day/Virginia intersection work just fine. I live right off Virginia on Day and I travel on that road quite frequently, so I know what its like. Not to mention the cost of the damn thing is completely absurd. $100K?!?!?! There also was no drainage problem at that intersection, so I have no idea where that comment came from. The only problem at that intersection is the goddamn people who use the dog park and think its OK to park their cars IN the street, taking up an entire side of the street and inconveniencing everyone who has to drive on that street. Then again, as Ive said 1000 times - this is Miami, home of people who dont give a crap about anyone but themselves, Sarnoff included.

November 05, 2007 11:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The calming circles for District 3 were completed and landscaped faster than any other circle in the city. The total cost was over $150,000. Most were placed in Mr. Sanchez's area/neighborhood. So $100,000 is not so bad. The city saved over $50,000

November 05, 2007 2:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

is the 100,000 for one or a series of circles? If its for one, the city needs to find new contractors to do this work. its freaking robbery.

November 05, 2007 3:16 PM  
Blogger Jack said...

Where does this $100k figure come from? It seems like someone just pulled it out of thin air.

As far as safety is concerned circles require all drivers to yield to traffic in the circle and to pedestrians. I assume this will be adhered to as well as any other traffic laws in S, Fla.

November 05, 2007 4:07 PM  
Blogger SteveBM said...

I think I saw the figure in Miami Monthly magazine and it was actually more than $100K from what I remember.

The point is, its an unnecessary development and total waste of taxpayer dollars. While I liked Sarnoff at one point and feel that starting over with a new Commish for D2 would just waste more time, I have to ask, "What have you done for me lately?" Without another platform like HD to stand on, does this guy bring any value to the community?

November 05, 2007 5:29 PM  
Blogger Miami247 said...

One suggestion, if Sarnoff gets elected and acts like a decent hard working local advocate and actually helps the neighborhood measurably then we put a glorified statue of Sarnoff on Sarnoff Circle. Otherwise if he acts like the bookish, arrogant , out of touch politician then we put a put a statue caricaturization of
Sarnoff for posterity on his circle. So let all know that no one can ever get away with mediocre governance in our community.

November 05, 2007 7:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"So let all know that no one can ever get away with mediocre governance in our community."

Starting when?

I wanna circle too, with pretty palm trees and pink bricks - don't really care how much it costs:)

November 06, 2007 10:13 AM  
Blogger wtanders said...

FYI - if any of you actually drove by (or better walked by) you would see a sign that gives an exact figure of what the project cost - and it's under 100k, but that' s still a lot if you ask me.

-B. Anderson

November 06, 2007 8:03 PM  
Blogger The Server said...

95K on the sign. Unreal. Here is how that happens:
1) polititions rig the bids
2) Contractor awarded project for way more than it should cost
3) Contractor kicks money back to politions

November 07, 2007 11:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is everyone forgetting why the circle was put there? Unfortunately, it was doomed to failure because it does not address the problem--SPEEDERS! The circle has actually made it more dangerous to cross the intersection and most don't even slow down. The street has a child and dog park. Its just a matter of time that a pregnant woman walking her dog all get killed. People will say what a tragedy we just put in a circle. The tragedy is THE circle, the process that led to it, the decision makers & traffic official who with good intent but without common sense, and you the citizens for not taking a more active part or driving too fast! People routinely stomp on the gas and drive 40 MPH just to screech to 25 MPH before blowing through the intersection. The real problem is lack of speed limit enforcement and drivers falsely thinking that it is a MAIN ARTERY into the grove. ITS A NEIGHBORHOOD STREET THAT HAS A 25 MPH LIMIT. Folks, focus the attention where it needs to be. We should have had more public input to solve this problem. I predict that eventually (10 yrs), they will tear out the circle, install rumble strips (not speed humps) and then finally just enforce the speed limit.

November 09, 2007 5:02 PM  

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