Image: Biscayne Boulevard cruisin’
At a ULI conference last May, a V.P. of Cushman Wakefield mentioned a bike and scooter shop in Uptown on 19th street and Biscayne Boulevard as being an indicator of urban progress. He said, “a few years ago I would never have imagined a bike shop in that area.”
Image: Scooter and Bike shop on N.E. 19th street (Uptown)
South Beach has long been a center of scooter activity. Myself, I find them somewhat annoying at times as they jostle for position on the streets, but recognize their value to those looking to traverse traffic more efficiently, cut down on gas, and make finding parking more painless–an ideal urban self-transport option. With condos having stringent parking restrictions and traffic expected to pick up with the growing occupancy wave, look to see more of these little traffic side-steppers in Uptown.
Image: View across the street from the scooter and bike
I noticed a scooter shop for the first time the other day. But I can’t remember where. I haven’t been further north than Bird lately so it was somewhere SW. It struck me odd that it was the first time I was seeing one.
Could be the one I’m referring to here. The owner of this shop, though, is getting a bit tired of waiting for the nearby condo towers to occupy. He told me that he’s been hopefully looking at them since lat year but little has changed. I told him that none of the buildings he’s looking at have a CO yet. The hope: occupancy will boost the businesses in the area
Note: a scooter produces more pollution then the biggest SUV, because of its two-stroke engine.
Damn. Didn;t know that. Duly noted. Can’t think of too many hybrid scooters out there.
Check out the BBC’s take on the effectiveness of scooters in combating traffic jams.