Our Speaker Today: Mark Heinicke

Miami-Dade Parks & Recreation,

Open Space Master Plan

Miami-Dade County is facing the same population growth issues as many other metropolitan areas, a diminished quality of life, increased congestion, declining recreation and conservation open space, visual blight, limited transportation options and social inequities. With the population expected to increase by three million residents in the year 2025 and up to 4.5 million by 2060, additional pressure will be placed on an already stressed physical, social, and economic environment.

This Park and Open Space System Master Plan envisions that great parks, public spaces, natural and cultural areas, streets, greenways, blueways, and trails can form the framework for a more sustainable community. Such a plan for the public realm cannot be considered as an isolated system, but one that is integrated into the overall fabric of the community and one that will create the kind of place where residents want to live, employers want to do business, and tourists want to visit.

The goal of this Master Planning process is to “create a seamless, sustainable system of parks, recreation and conservation open spaces for this and future generations."

Mark’s father is a 30 year Rotary member in Iowa. Mark was pleased to speak to us about why Miami-Dade is doing this. Thirty thousand people move to the county every year, creating density and congestion which is not sustainable or good for quality of life.

They don’t want to turn away developers, but the master plan offers a better way to look at the public realm. With this plan, there will be great parks accessible to everyone and great public spaces, providing diverse social, recreational and economic opportunities.

Great greenways and blueways  are a skeleton of the plan to connect the park spaces we have currently.  It will provide wildlife habitat, scenic vistas, recreation and transportation activites.  Blueways are water trails for canoeing and kayaking.  The western greenway is a buffer to enhance the rural character of the area. This helps transition to farmland and the everglades with new recreational opportunities.  The new proposed Biscayne – Everglades greenway will connect the two parks.  We are one of the few sites that have TWO federally protected parks in our backyard and they are working on connecting Homestead Park with Blackpoint Marina. 

15% of Dade county is ROADS and STREETS!  It’s ugly, It’s scary to bicycle ride.  If we complete the streets (– through bike lanes, widened sidewalks), this makes the environment more friendly and makes shop owners want to renovate and put parking in the back of the businesses.  Landscaping enhances liveability.  There are positive examples with overbuilt, too wide streets that get a “road diet” adding room for cyclists, pedestrians, and plantings. 

The South Florida Park Coalition Charter represents a  proposal to agree, in principle not in funding – to apply for public support and grants.  Equity, Access, Seamlessness, Sustainability, Beauty and Multiple Benefits  are  guidelines for the public realm.