The popular footpath connecting two parts of Coconut Grove remained blocked this week, frustrating parents who rely on the shortcut to safely shuttle their kids to school.
Like parents everywhere in Miami this week, Ian Wogan was thinking ahead to the start of a new school year and the route he would take to shuttle his kids safely to where they needed to be when public school classes began on Thursday.
“We have three kids. We bike them to school and we look for the safest route,” Wogan told the Spotlight. He and his family live in the North Grove.
With one child at Coconut Grove Elementary and another at Plymouth Preschool on Devon Road, Wogan was planning to use a slender shortcut to reach the South Grove without risking the fast traffic that monopolizes Douglas Road and Main Highway.
The shady pathway, a popular route for pedestrians and bike riders alike (and a refuge for stray cats), connects Marler Avenue in the West Grove to Plaza Street and Loquat Avenue in South Grove.
“That cut-through is a critical connector,” Wogan said.
When it’s open, that is.
Just days before the start of school, however, the pathway was closed to accommodate a residential construction project at 3601 Loquat Ave., next door to the brick footpath.
Wogan discovered the detour earlier this week, but was clueless as to why the corridor was closed and when it might reopen.
“Some of the frustration is there’s no official communication, there’s no signage, there’s no clarity on how long it’s going to be closed,” he said.
Others have expressed frustration as well, most prominently on social media, where a neighbor said the private property owner at 3601 Loquat would destroy the pathway to build a swimming pool.
Two weeks ago, on Saturday August 2, Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo’s office sent a message to nearby neighbors explaining the closure.
“Sending this out as an FYI, to counter misinformation that is being posted on local social media sites about a permanent closing of the Marler / Loquat passageway,” Javier Gonzalez, the Coconut Grove liaison for Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo, wrote in an email message.
“The Marler passageway to Loquat is going to be closed for approximately 2 weeks for a required sewer line connection to 3601 Loquat Ave.,” Gonzalez added. “Once completed, the contractor must bring the passageway back to its original condition.”
Although the closure was inconvenient, Gonzalez noted the environmental upside: By connecting to the public sewer system, the new home under construction on Loquat Avenue wouldn’t need a septic tank.
The City of Miami did not immediately respond to questions about the closure, including whether city officials had considered the timing of the closure and the impact on parents and school kids when they approved the installation project.
On behalf of District 2, however, Gonzalez said he met with the contractor, Empire Engineering, and promised to keep neighbors updated, as appropriate.
Gonzalez said he also met with at least one constituent who shared Wogan’s concerns about the start of school and student safety.
On Wednesday, Gonzalez said the sewer work might be completed by the end of the week, but the path would not reopen until the contractor restored the pathway.
“We’ve reached out to the contractor to make sure they get those pavers in ASAP,” Gonzalez told the Spotlight.
As of Thursday, heavy equipment blocked the pathway as the installation work continued.
