Ten years ago, on the heels of a flubbed sidewalk beautification project, the city of Miami broke ground on what was to be a total makeover of historic, bedraggled Flagler Street in the heart of downtown.
To bring new life to Miami’s original Main Street, there would be wider, nicer, more durable sidewalks for outdoor cafes and improved walkability. New shade trees and historically appropriate lighting. A design that allows the street to be closed to cars for markets and festivals. Better drainage to end persistent street flooding.
It was just the start of what one longtime downtown advocate has dubbed “the fiasco on Flagler” — a decade-long nightmare of stop-and-go-and-stop-again construction, fired contractors and legal battles, design changes, and endless traffic detours and street closures leading, inevitably, to a string of business closings and ballooning costs that climbed from $13 million to $32 million…