#TBT
"Flagler Street was transformed today -- to the delight of nature lovers who like a little beauty downtown,*" enthused Ralph Renick on the WTVJ evening news on August 19, 1957.
But in the same breath he noted that the Flagler Street "Beautification project...Wasn't greeted with too much enthusiasm by already short-tempered motorists."
The beautification project, which included a free Flagler Street tram that looped trough downtown and plantings between the sidewalks and the road, epitomized the big conflict in mid-century America cities: Between pedestrians, "those who like their asphalt and concrete broken up with a little tropical foliage*" and drivers, who have to "battle traffic all the way downtown to begin with" and viewed the plantings "as just another frustration.*"
Also annoyed: Truckers and bus drivers, whose already challenging routes were suddenly facing new issues. "Even nature seemed to be against the plantings," Renick reported on August 20. "Flower arrangement crews and palm straighteners were busy this morning trying to repair damage from yesterday's rainstorm.*"
This WTVJ-Miami story reported by Keith Leslie includes an interview with Miami traffic engineer George Kunde, and a follow-up story that aired on August 20.
*WTVJ News script, August 19, 1957.
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This clip is derived from news film in the WTVJ Collection. Accession number TVN0345-1294-07; airdate August 19 & 20, 1957.