"Leave the main arteries into Coconut Grove alone!"

Most of last night's Village Council meeting concerned the proposed Virginia Street closing. Most present at the meeting were against the closing. For the first time in a long time, there were quite a few audience members in the auditorium at Ransom Everglades Middle School -- neighbors, business owners and city officials.

In the end, the Council proposed a resolution asking that the City, County, District Commissioner's office and traffic planners be present to discuss the issue, before anything is planned and done. Council Member Michelle Niemeyer said, "Traffic studies are notorious as being used as a sales tool after the fact, to push a plan," so the Council would like to get to the bottom of it all before any City or County plans are completed.

David Wells, Chair of the Council said, "The cost of closing a street has a ripple effect on the traffic patterns," and this was the main concern of all present. Olav Smit, owner of The Grove Spot and John El Masry, owner of Mr. Moe's spoke against the plan. Olav said, that, "Every time a street is closed in the heart of the district, the merchants suffer. Any closure in the business district would be a disaster for the whole Grove."

He went on to name business owners, fire officials and residents in the area who are totally against the plan, even though the rumor has been that they are all in favor of the plan to close Virginia and make it a plaza permanently.

John El Masry asked, "What is the benefit of the whole plan?" He asked why we are going to spend millions of dollars without knowing the benefit. He was not only speaking of Virginia Street's closure, but of the whole plan to change the traffic patterns in the Center Grove. He said that we need to encourage traffic flow, not inhibit it. He declared, "Leave the main arteries into Coconut Grove alone! Don't touch them!"

Residents Maria and Mike Rojas spoke against the plans of both closing Virginia Street and changing the traffic patterns elsewhere. Maria was very concerned about the cost and wanted to know who is paying for the plans and the studies. She was told the County is picking up the tab. Sue McConnell, resident, spoke about the inconvenience of the closing of Virginia. She explained how hard it is to get around now and that it would only make it harder to get around after the proposed closure.

Heather Bettner, Village Council member, brought up the fact that many new families live in the Grove now and there are more and more school children and closing streets would just make traffic backups worse at the beginning and end of the school day. One problem with Coconut Grove Elementary on Matilda Street appears to be the parents who feel it is ok to park and wander the school. Presently the new principal and the police are working on eliminating this situation. Parents will be asked to pick up and drop off and not linger. This will help traffic flow in that area.

David Collins, Council member, suggested that a Commercial Impact Study is needed more than the traffic studies being done. This shows how people approach businesses in the area.

Sue McConnell brought up an excellent point in saying that they are pushing all the plans for the change of traffic flow in the Grove as being "pedestrian friendly." She said "pedestrian friendly" are just buzz words that make people feel good, but they mean nothing. She is concerned about the traffic back ups and loss of parking spots that may end up being the end result of the traffic pattern changes.

In the end, it seemed that most of the people present, including most members of the Village Council, are against the Virginia Street closing. The jury is still out on the main Center Grove traffic pattern changes, but many were against that, too.

Everyone present wanted to know whose idea it was to close Virginia Street and why weren't the residents and business owners consulted. At this point it seems to be an urban legend and it may just stay that if the majority of taxpayers and voters get their way.