MLK Blvd in Pompano Beach falls in the category of "both," and it doesn't just have one major rail corridor, but two.
The easternmost tracks follow Dixie Highway, which also (coincidently?) marks the point where 3rd Street becomes MLK Blvd. This photo is taken while sitting on 3rd Street at the tracks, looking onto the beginning of MLK Blvd.
Behind me in this photo above is a fairly tidy neighborhood of single family and apartment homes. The volleyball court had a nice crowd of primarily white 20-somethings playing a game while their dogs watched from where they were tied to the chain link fence. I have good friends who live in a very upscale townhome just a few blocks away. In their minds, when I cross these tracks in front of me I will be on the "wrong side of the tracks."View Larger Map
The above map shows Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd prominently, but a Mapquest map showed the road as Hammondville Road, which is a story for another blog post. The rail corridor in the above photo is out of sight to the right of the above map.
Next (below) is a photo of the other major rail corridor, which is on the west side of the I-95 freeway and runs along the Andrews Avenue industrial park (dead center in the map above). That is Andrews Avenue above us in this photo.
While this is the Tri-Rail and Amtrak corridor, as well as a freight corridor, it does not mean that people who live here have good transit. There is a single bus (Route 60) that runs along MLK Blvd and it would take at least two connections to get to the Cypress Creek Tri-Rail Station. It is not too likely that anybody in this neighborhood will be taking Amtrak, so I won't concern you with how complicated it would be to get to the nearest Amtrak stop at Broward or Deerfield Beach.
Now, what you see out the window while riding in the Tri-Rail or Amtrak passenger cars from Northern Palm Beach County to the Miami Airport is the subject of an entirely different blog. Suffice it to say that a "white guy" riding on Tri-Rail fully understands what it means to be "in" the world, but not "of" the world. Most would focus on a book or the morning paper, diverting their eyes from a view that at times looks like a landscape from Calcutta.
Next (below) is a photo of the other major rail corridor, which is on the west side of the I-95 freeway and runs along the Andrews Avenue industrial park (dead center in the map above). That is Andrews Avenue above us in this photo.
While this is the Tri-Rail and Amtrak corridor, as well as a freight corridor, it does not mean that people who live here have good transit. There is a single bus (Route 60) that runs along MLK Blvd and it would take at least two connections to get to the Cypress Creek Tri-Rail Station. It is not too likely that anybody in this neighborhood will be taking Amtrak, so I won't concern you with how complicated it would be to get to the nearest Amtrak stop at Broward or Deerfield Beach.Now, what you see out the window while riding in the Tri-Rail or Amtrak passenger cars from Northern Palm Beach County to the Miami Airport is the subject of an entirely different blog. Suffice it to say that a "white guy" riding on Tri-Rail fully understands what it means to be "in" the world, but not "of" the world. Most would focus on a book or the morning paper, diverting their eyes from a view that at times looks like a landscape from Calcutta.
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