Imagine a Miami where:
-conservation and critical habitat are protected;
-streets become tree-lined boulevards and parkways;
-cultural and historical sites are protected, maintained and promoted;
-the public has equitable access to lakes, beaches and other major natural features;
-parks are models for sustainable development and,
-you can fish without a boat.
Those are some of the concepts that would flow from the principles behind the “Parks and Open Space System Master Plan” developed by Miami-Dade County Parks for all parks, public spaces, natural areas, greenways, blueways and trails in the county.
Everything, except the fishing part. That I added because it seems the right to fish should be an inalienable one in a waterfront community. Of course it’s not, particularly in the Biscayne Bay-Rickenbacker Corridor, where police are sometimes seen rustling people off the Bear Cut bridge.
It wasn’t always this way. A news photo from the early days after the Rickenbacker opened in the late 1940's showed people casting bait into the Bear Cut channel. And Virginia Key Beach once had a fishing pier. Now, even with a boat, you can’t go off fishing from Virginia Key unless you rent a slip there, as the only public boat ramp on the island was closed years ago.
People do fish off the old, now closed half of the Rickenbacker bridge. Officially, it's a fishing pier, though sometimes it feels a bit forlorn and forbidding -- particularly in the mid-day sun, when only a scrappy few try their luck amid the chipped concrete and weathered walkways.
Which is maybe why the City of Miami consultants came up with a spiffy new design for a fishing pier in the earlier version of the Virginia Key Master Plan (see artists rendering above). It was so fancy and outlandish it wasn't well-received, to say the least. One city board member said he felt he would need a tuxedo to go fishing there. Which may be why that particular rendering was never seen again.
Imagine a Miami where people can fish without a boat. What a concept.
Resources: See the Parks and Open Space Master Plan at
http://www.miamidade.gov/greatparksummit/library/OSMP_FINAL_REPORT_entiredocument.pdf
I am actually looking for groups of people pissed off about the same thing. I am looking to make waves. It seems that not only can you not fish Bear Cut on shore without the risk of getting arrested. The beach is completely inaccessible for fishing or anything else at night. Criminals, low-lives, and litterbugs aside I do not believe everyone deserves to be shut out of the beach at night. A lot of people like enjoying the night air while walking at the beach, others enjoy candle lit dinners (whether its valentines or not), and the fishing community with no boats definitely enjoy Bear Cut and other parts of the Rickenbacker. Having been born and raised here I can definitely say 33 years later this place is not fishing friendly if you have no boat. On a side note: if you really want this right you have to earn it. That means if you are on a beach where they have placed a trash can every five feet from you, PUT YOUR GARBAGE IN THE CAN! If there is no can, TAKE YOUR GARBAGE WITH YOU! If your fish is undersized, THROW IT BACK! If it is a fish you cant keep, THROW IT BACK! If you are just there to get drunk, stoned, or coked out, GO TO SOUTH BEACH! If anybody else believes in this get back to me at alex305mata@yahoo.com, maybe we can organize or start some type of thread. I want to start a ruckus!
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