Sheridan Street from N. 46th Avenue to I-95
Taft Street from State Road 7 to Federal Highway
N. 26th Avenue from Hollywood Blvd. to Sheridan Street
With no apparent concern for unacceptable traffic levels, Hollywood’s Commissioner Fran Russo, a Planning Council member, urged her colleagues to support the developer and approve the project, as did our city staff. As I watched this show, I felt a sense of betrayal. Where is our city’s concern for us, Hollywood’s residents who depend on our streets to get to work and many other places?
In the end, the Planning Council members voted to defer their vote on Sheridan Stationside for a month, to give the developer time to alleviate the traffic impact.
Ms. Orshevsky says the 21st century requires planners to stop thinking about "traffic" and to consider instead "transit." While this might work in communities that actually have a decent public transit system, in South Florida, the more likely result is snake oil.
Take for example, the "Village of Gulfstream Park" in Hallandale Beach -- a huge new project with terrible traffic problems.
The Village of Gulfstream Park managed to move its project through the Planning Council and the County Commission, despite Planning Council staff’s recommendation that it be denied. The developer’s voluntary commitments on transit and affordable housing seemed to persuade the deciders. (To her credit, Hollywood’s County Commissioner Gunzburger voted against this project.)
As for the voluntary transit commitment, the developer said it would provide $3 million to construct a new commuter rail station that will take cars off the road and add to Tri-Rail's ridership.
So.....will Broward get a new Tri-Rail station? No way. Tri-Rail's Board of Directors now says:
"While it may appear that setting aside $3 million for a potential future station is a good transit planning decision, the actual costs involved show this to be an ineffective gesture." A new station would cost a minimum of $27.5 million with an additional annual operating cost of at least $1.5 million.
Oh well. The developer's $3 million can be directed to Broward's bus service instead.
We SHOULD talk about public transportation and more important, create it. But so long as we don't have quality public transit, we should not allow snake oil to justify over-development. "Ineffective gestures" should not be accepted. Projects that cause "unacceptable levels of service" should not be built. Period.
The Planning Council will be reviewing Sheridan Stationside again on April 26. Hollywood residents who have had enough need to be present at this hearing. If we're not there, the message we send is that we don't care.
