More schools bring more traffic, too much traffic

Traffic backed up for miles on Friday due to Gulliver Academy.

School starts today, which reminds me of last week when there was orientation and the start of some private schools.

One of the worst traffic offenders is Gullver Academy on Old Cutler Road. Traffic on Friday afternoon was backed up from the school at SW 125 Street and Old Cutler Road to the traffic circle at Cocoplum. That's 4.5 to 5 miles! And I'm sure it was all the way backed up on Red Road too, toward South Miami.

This is reason for the city to deny schools to be added to The Kampong and the old Villa Woodbine site at 2167 South Bayshore Drive, which backs up to Tigertail Avenue.

I know it sounds selfish and like we are saying "not in my backyard," but the schools are being selfish with their daily traffic jams. When I bring up the subject of school buses, people get angry. There needs to be a traffic solution from the proposed schools before they are even considered as being added as part of the neighborhood. 

FIU has been granted a warrant by the City of Miami Planning Department to allow for construction of an International Center for Tropical Botany in a residential zone adjacent to The Kampong at 4013 Douglas Road, in South Grove.

That area is backed up daily already. There is a traffic light not too far away which adds to the traffic problem. Miami21 prohibits colleges and universities in a T3-R residential zone, which is where The Kampong is located and Carrollton wishes to add a boys school to the North Grove area between South Bayshore and Tigertail, commandeering two major roadways.

There is a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board on Wednesday, September 4 at 6:30 pm, at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive to discuss the FIU issue. The HEP Board (Historic & Environmental Preservation Board) continued a meeting from July 2 for their Tuesday, September 3 meeting. 

Recently the Village Council postponed a meeting regarding the FIU issue, in favor of holding another meeting where lawyers representing FIU and The Kampong could be present. This does not sit well with neighbors. Lawyers?


FACTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED CARROLLTON/VILLA WOODBINE SITE: 
The new footprint: The New auditorium is 125 feet from South Bayshore Drive. It has has 33 ft. roof ridge and 77 ft. X 119 ft. footprint.

School proposes faculty residences at an existing house north of Villa Woodbine and administrative staff use of historic Villa.

The project's negative impact on the site as a natural resource includes removal of 113 trees, removal of sections of historic coral rock walls to accommodate vehicle circulation and new structures. Proposes obstruction of the protected Silver Bluff by new pool & deck, which HEPB found is in violation of City Code.

Their Traffic study includes an inadequate Study Area, has an unidentified surrogate school of comparable enrollment, grade levels and basis of trip generation - plus has background growth rate to be calculated on historic growth trends which does not consider traffic added to Coconut Grove due to office, retail and residential projects currently under construction.

Project requests a 20% waiver for parking reduction from 82 to 65 spaces. No extracurricular bus parking is indicated.

Driveways on Tigertail Avenue and S. Bayshore Drive exceed the Miami 21 allowable widths. Proposes 24 ft. width for two lanes (max allowable is 20 ft) and 14 ft width for 1 lane (max allowable is 10 ft.