Miami Population Density
I'm sure the current round of construction downtown will alter this map a bit, but as of ~2000, the densest part of urban Dade County unequivocably appears to be Little Havana, particularly:
- Flagler street @ nw 12th Avenue
- SW 8th street @ 22nd Avenue
- WEST Brickell, between I-95 and Metrorail. NOT along the bay.
Even weirder, the part with all the skyscrapers that most people regard AS "Brickell" has a lower population density than the area west of the REDLANDS.
Now, I suspect the results are badly skewed by the fact that the census only counts official residents, and not "de-facto" residents (particularly wealthy South Americans with second homes who spend half the year or more in Miami). And I'm a little disturbed by the map legend's claim that each Census tract is supposed to comprise ~3,000 people. I did a quick count, and if that were the case, urban Dade County's population is about 600,000. So I'm taking the map less as absolute truth than a general guide to relative population densities.
In my opinion, it definitely validates my belief that making FIU the last station of the E-W line instead of an additional station at the northwest corner of Coral Way and the Turnpike would be madness. There are 4 high-density tracts between the Turnpike and 137th Avenue between 8th Street and Coral Way. Sending those potential park & ride commuters to a station next to 117th Avenue by the National Hurricane Center would be a complete gridlocked disaster of Dade County proportions. They'd screw up traffic at the 8th Street Turnpike interchange, render 117th Avenue unusable, and just plain make a mess. With a Coral Way station, they can completely bypass SW 8th Street and 117th Avenue, and use Coral Way (a street with WAY less congestion) to get to the station instead.
Population Density near FIU:
I think it also lends strength to my belief that a southward extension from Coral Way along the Turnpike would do more to reduce gridlock on 836 than a line down Kendall Drive. The census tract by Sunset & the Turnpike is one of the densest in Dade County. The tracts west of the REDLANDS are comparable in density to central Dade, and also happen to have the longest average commute times in Dade County: 36-68 minutes. If at least a third of them work along 836 (particularly the Airport) or downtown, they represent a potential Metrorail customer base to die for, because a Metrorail express train that skips the stations between International Mall and MIC (shaving ~9-10 minutes from the trip) would enable them to get from the Hammocks to Brickell faster than they could legally
drive at 2am when there's no traffic to speak of. I can't think of any single Metrorail line with more potential to profoundly reduce congestion on 836 than this. One could
almost rationalize scrapping the Turnpike alignment, and instead running west along Coral Way to 127th or 137th avenue, then south to Killian... but I think the Turnpike alignment would only be a tiny bit less convenient (one way or another, those people are going to drive to the station), is less likely to invoke NIMBY opposition, and has more potential to spur dense transit oriented developments.
Average Dade County commute times
IMHO, it also lends credibility to my belief that it's worth the extra cost to run Metrorail as a subway below 110th Avenue through Sweetwater to put the station at 110th avenue and Flagler Street. Sweetwater is almost as dense as Little Havana, and a station there would be within reasonable walking distance of nearly every square inch of Sweetwater. A station at the Turnpike & Flagler would be useless to FIU students and the third of Sweetwater closest to 107th Avenue. A station at 107th & Flagler would be useless to people who live in the equally-dense third of Sweetwater along the Turnpike & 836. Only a station in the heart of Sweetwater itself maximizes Metrorail's usefulness. If Metrorail went underground at 836, and came back up as soon as it ducked under the canal and 8th Street, I believe the added cost of burying Metrorail for that mile or so would still be fairly sane relative to the benefits.
In addition, I believe it strengthens my argument that the "Galloway" station should go over the railroad tracks between 82nd and 84th avenues, accompanied by a pedestrian bridge over 836 to make it accessible to people who live near 82nd avenue on the other side, and ideally a second parking lot for the Metrorail station on the south side as well (to enable people driving to the station to avoid contributing to the bottleneck at 87th Avenue & 836 by letting them park on the other side). I'd love to see a little Metromover spur running down to Flagler along 82nd, but I'll write that off as a fantasy and just dig in & insist on the pedestrian bridge as non-negotiable
