Transit as Way to Go Green

"Martin Sees Mass Transit as Way to Go Green" by v. johns

I was surprised to read in the Stuart News Sunday edition about a "Transit Fair" held this past Saturday at the Blake Library in Stuart, hosted by the Martin Metropolitan Planning Organization (See TCPalm.com:" 'Martin's Going Green' theme of Transit Fair Saturday in Stuart," 6-06-09). I've always criticized Martin County for not being out front on mass transit issues because it seems to me that Martin considers itself to be a part of the "Treasure Coast" sub-region and not of the larger "South Florida" region as defined by the Center for Urban and Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University (SoFlo.org). But based on what I read in this article, this isolationist mindset is about to change. BIG TIME. Ann Perotta, MPO director, told the Stuart News that she wanted "people to become more aware of the variety of services that are coming in the near future." One of our county commissioners, Doug Smith, apparently a proponent of public mass transit, made this comment to the Stuart News in reference to these upcoming services: "I'm excited about where we're headed. These developments prove that Martin County is part of a larger region."

Among these developments, the fall season launching of the Interstate 95 Commuter Express that will go from Halpatiokee Park at I-95 and Kanner Highway, just outside Stuart, to downtown West Palm Beach, with stops in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens along the way. The article also mentioned that a "more promising" development being planned is the northward expansion of Tri-Rail from Mangonia Park to Jupiter -with further plans to expand to Stuart, Port St. Lucie and Ft. Pierce.

These certainly are exciting developments. Not just for Martin and the Treasure Coast, but for all of South Florida as it will add stature and dimension to our image as a regional powerhouse and will help put us on par to compete with Southern California, the Northeast and other regions of distinction in America and around the world. You simply cannot have a region where only a certain portion of that region is serviced with optimal choices in mobility. Its not optimal and it certainly isn't green. I would opine further that I certainly hope that Vero Beach and Sebastian in Indian River County are added to the mix in some way or another. Perhaps the Treasure Coast Connector, which runs from Indian River to St. Lucie to Martin and back, would be of service in this area. As far as I know, the Connector is now managed by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

In conclusion, I should have known from the outset of this blog that it would take some type of green initiative to get Martin going in the area of mass transit development. Don't get me wrong, some of these things being planned are as old as I am, but the matter at hand is that its one thing for them to be on the drawing board, its another for them to be presented to the public in a way that will make us all care about these issues...