Gridlock in the 305: Miami Struggles with Traffic Congestion Crisis

You are rolling down FL-836, trying to go to work in Brickle. You stop and see what looks like an endless sea of cars. All moving meager inches.

This is what the average Miami driver has to deal with to get anywhere in the city. Especially if they live in the suburban areas in the west.

The issue of traffic is a very common issue for big cities. Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, etc. However, out of all the cities in the United States, Miami has been known to have it the worst when it comes to traffic blockage. This is, in part, due to the lack of reliable public transportation.

New York City has a metro line that makes the entire city walkable. The Boston metro allows people from the suburban fringes to make it to the city center without the need for a car.

In Miami, the Metrorail only really connects Dadeland to Brickell, and some areas in Hialeah. It does not expand west to the suburbs where many people commute from.

The Metromover only services the people in Downtown Miami, Brickell, and Park West. It is a great service for Downtown but does nothing to help people who live outside.

But why does this matter? Why should we care about the suburban fringes?

These areas are the top 3 congested areas in Miami. They show a clear trend of people living in the suburbs commuting to downtown.

The city has planned to expand the highway and add “Expressways” to Downtown. But these have been proven to not work.

Widening highways and adding toll roads may cause a reduction in the short run, as Carter Rubin explains in “New Calculator Shows Bigger Highways Won’t Fix Traffic.” But over time, more people will see how fast car travel has become.

This only increases the demand for highway usage, which in turn can lead to congested roadways. This can result in drive times being even longer than they were before the expansion.

Since an increase in highways causes an increase in highway demand, this means that we are causing an increase in congestion. Using taxpayer money to fund highway expansions does not bring a good return on investments.

These two metrics display both the financial cost and the personal cost that congestion brings. Annual Congestion Costs show how much money every American spends on congestion, whether that is through wasted fuel or potential lost income. Annual Hours of Delay presents how many hours are being wasted in congestion compared to low traffic hours.

Miami has been reaching new heights when it comes to both the Annual Congestion Costs and Annual Hours of Delay. Of course, this increase is due to the increase in the population and commuters to the Downtown area.

But noticeably, a big downward spike happened around 2020, when people were on lockdown -from COVID-19, and working from home became an option for certain workers. This highlights the one issue that causes congestion, people on the roads.

To reduce this congestion, we have to get people out of their cars and onto trains, buses, bikes, etc. While our current transportation network has extensive bus lines, they still suffer from congestion. Which, ironically, is what they are trying to reduce.

We have to expand our rail and metro lines to cover those underserviced communities. To the places, there are only two ways to get around, either a car or a bus.

A dedicated rail system will help people who want to make short trips and who want to explore the vibrant city of Miami.

As an FIU student, I live near the MMC campus. But, my classes take place on BBC. A 1-hour drive for me, or roughly a 1-hour bus ride offered free to students by FIU.

My options are limited when it comes to transportation for my class, making my situation volatile. If I miss my bus, I will be late for class by 30-minutes. And that is if there are no delays on the road.

If I drive, I now have to incur the cost of fuel for every 1-hour drive to and from FIU. While also exposing myself to the risks of driving.

Having a rail system connected to every hot spot in Miami would provide a successful solution to Miami’s congestion problem. Having every university campus, every tourist spot, and every transportation node connected by a simple metro ride.