In an effort to mitigate a growing concern of unreasonably high traffic, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner is weighing the plausibility of utilizing underground transit tunnels, much like those used by Elon Musk's The Boring Company.
As reported by Teslarati, Meiner floated the idea of transit tunnels to Miami Beach's City Commission in a Sept. 3 memo. He pointed to the ongoing efforts to alleviate traffic congestion and proposed an examination into underground solutions.
According to the memo, Meiner acknowledged that he was not an "advocate for a specific project" but simply intended to "initiate a conversation about whether such infrastructure is even feasible for Miami Beach."
While The Boring Company was not specifically named in the memo, Meiner has previously shown interest in Musk's operation as a potential infrastructure partner, per Teslarati.
Founded in 2017 by Musk, The Boring Company was designed to help solve urban traffic congestion by building underground transportation tunnels and systems. Through a network of "Loops," the company utilizes electric vehicles to shuttle passengers through narrow, high-speed tunnels.
The Boring Company has previously completed a project at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with a 2.1-mile tunnel capable of transporting over 30,000 passengers per day.
While it's unclear if an underground transit project would ever be approved in Miami Beach, some have questioned the logic behind its proposal. Musk and his companies have faced substantial backlash in recent months. This includes Tesla, which has witnessed a dramatic drop in car sales this year.
"I would think twice about building tunnels in hurricane and flood prone areas," argued one commenter. "Vegas and Nashville are landlocked."
Miami has often been considered one of the most vulnerable coastal cities in the United States because of the threat of rising sea levels and the likelihood of extreme weather events.
While constructing tunnels could certainly be done in a hurricane-prone area like Miami, the process could be challenging to complete. The project would also likely require extensive engineering and elevated costs to mitigate the risks of extreme flooding.
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Another commenter offered up another suggestion to increase sustainability. "Get rid of the Tesla cars and replace with Tesla Traincars, 80 feet long and capable of emulating any railed transport," they wrote.
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