Miami isn’t known as a city where it’s particularly easy to walk or bike. But underneath the city’s elevated rail line–which stretches 10 miles from downtown to the southern end of the county–a new park is beginning to counteract decades of car-centric design. The Underline , which broke ground today, combines green public space with paths that connect to transit stations, fully separated from the adjacent street, where 100,000 cars drive by each day. (The plan was a finalist in the Fast Company 2017 World Changing Ideas Award. ) “Miami-Dade County is one of the most dangerous places to walk and bike in the country,” says Meg Daly, who started a nonprofit to champion the project after walking under the rail line–a dimly lit, dirty, unwelcoming area, surrounded by heavy traffic and hard-to-cross streets–and seeing its potential. “We’re not just moving in our cars because we’re car-centric, we’re in our cars because we feel safer.” [Photo: courtesy Friends of The Underline] A simple path already exists under the rail line, but it was rarely used. The new design will fill the space with people, by building a dog park, playground, gym, and other outdoor “rooms.” Lighting and native landscaping […]
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