July 28: Metromover Accident Shows Need For Maintenance Money

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Almost a year ago, I wrote:

http://sunshinestatements.blogspot.com/2009/09/sept-16-we-can-spare-quarter-for-dades.html

Last week's accident on the Brickell Loop of Metromover, in which one car crashed into another one, showed exactly why that money is needed.

After the accident, David Sutta, a reporter for WFOR-Channel 4, did a story about the current condition of Metromover; along with age - the Inner Loop tracks opened in 1986, the Omni and Brickell Loops in 1994 - there are rats chewing at the cables:

http://cbs4.com/iteam/metro.mover.condition.2.1817716.html

With a 25-cent charge, those 8 million riders per year would generate $2 million for Metromover maintenance, which would certainly help matters.

That's why the Miami-Dade County Commission should re-institute the fee. It's not too much to ask - or pay - for the public's safety.