To Become a "Great City", Miami Seeks to Boost Pedestrian-Friendliness

With the housing bust of the Great Recession fading in the rear-view mirror, a maturing Miami aspires to become one of the world's great cities. City leaders see the creation of a "Downtown Pedestrian Priority Zone" as the path to get them there.

1 minute read

December 9, 2013, 11:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"Miami, where downtown for so long was a danger zone closed after dark, is trying to make the leap to great city," writes Charles Rabin. "After a decade of development, the city’s downtown neighborhoods are now teeming with residents living in towering condos, eating at ritzy restaurants and visiting iconic cultural spots."

"So, say city leaders and shopkeepers, it’s time to make downtown’s walkways safer and friendlier for the 200,000 people who work, play and visit every day."

"Commissioners have scheduled a preliminary vote for Thursday that could start the process of turning the city streets into a Downtown Pedestrian Priority Zone, an initiative that would widen sidewalks, create tree-lined canopies, reduce clutter, slow down traffic and make right turns on red lights illegal," he explains. 

Sunday, December 8, 2013 in Miami Herald

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