Mayor Francis Suarez thinks the tunnel could alleviate congestion, but critics argue the city's rising water table makes tunneling too expensive and impractical.
Despite the city's reputation as a "sinkhole capital," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez plans to "seek federal funding for an Elon Musk-built underground car tunnel to curb traffic," reports Denise Pellegrini in Bloomberg Quint. Ignoring longstanding concerns about the high water table in the area, "Suarez has become the chief local advocate" for the tunnel and hopes that the federal government will "involve itself" in the project. Although the roads are controlled by the county rather than the city, the mayor hopes his enthusiasm will lead to more momentum for the tunnel.
"After meeting with executives from Boring, who are already building a tunnel for self-driving Teslas in Las Vegas, Suarez said he is thinking about a similar transportation system that could potentially connect Brickell to downtown, Grand Central Station, Miami World Center, the Omni area, Wynwood, and Little Haiti." Anticipating a funding shortfall, "Suarez is also already pursuing a company-funded model for the project," writes Pellegrini. "Suarez thinks Musk may agree to build a user-fee based tunnel system in Miami, and says such systems could become widely popular across the country." While the mayor points to a "Boring project in Chicago [that] is set up under a similar concept," that project has been almost certainly scrapped.
FULL STORY: Miami Mayor to Seek Federal Funding for Proposed Elon Musk Tunnel
Two Boring Co. Projects Appear to Bite the Dust
References to the Dugout Loop, in Los Angeles, and the Baltimore-to-Washington Loop have been removed from the Boring Company's website.
Elon Musk Wants to Dig Tunnels in America's 'Sinkhole Capital'
Musk claims the tunnels could ease traffic and "be an example to the world," but experts caution that underground work in Miami is expensive and unpredictable.
Elon Musk and BART Go Toe to Toe (on Twitter)
Transit agencies and advocates are developing a genre of criticism that could be described as calling Elon Musk on his BS. Musk still has plenty of support on social media.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association