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Miami Beach caters to the moneyed crowd. At upscale shopping centers like Lincoln Road Mall and renowned spas (Agua Spa at the Delano is a particular favorite), residents and visitors spend boat loads for comfort and comfortable clothing. Night owls shell out hundreds on drinks at dance clubs and bars. Sophisticated types observe the Art Deco architecture and stop by the Bass Museum of Art in the afternoons. Relaxing at the beach is truly the best "free" activity. Most cost-conscious visitors spend their days lounging on the beach or swimming, surfing and kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean. Also, don't forget to stop by the very moving Holocaust Memorial. The best way to get around Miami Beach is on foot. South Beach is especially pedestrian-friendly, and how are you going to people-watch or get a tan if you're in a car? Another option, bikes, can be rented from a number of vendors. Just be sure to pack or purchase a strong lock as bicycle theft tends to be a problem. Driving will bring headaches, particularly when parking is limited at peak hours. If your feet begin to cramp, there are buses run by Miami-Dade Transit. The city buses are reportedly unreliable, but the SoBe Local is ultra convenient and cheap. Still, hailing the occasional cab rather than waiting at a bus stop is preferred. You'll probably also use a cab to get from the Miami International Airport (MIA) to town. Taxis are the hassle-free option for travelers that don't want the troubles of a car. During the day, you can easily flag down a cab found hovering near places with lots of foot traffic. Their numbers will multiply after dark as they lurk outside popular nightclubs and bars. Little Havana is the famous 3 1/2-square-mile site where many Cubans fled to after escaping their country. "Calle Ocho" or 8th Street is the main drag and central point (particularly between 11th and 17th Avenues) and it's best as a walking-around destination. Diversions include watching cigars being rolled at the El Credito Cigar Factory (1106 Southwest 8th Street) and visiting the Cuban Museum of the Americas (1300 SW 12th Avenue). Serenity-seekers should head to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (10901 Old Cutler Road) where a mix of man-made lakes winds around one of the world's largest palm tree collections -- not to mention verdant examples of flora and fauna. The Toronto region* already has one of the continent’s largest funded transit expansions under construction. By the early 2020s, Greater Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolitan area, will have four new light rail lines running on 52 kilometers of track; an 8.6-kilometer extension of an existing subway line; an airport express line; an improved central station;several bus rapid transit lines; and improved all-day commuter rail service. For a growing region with serious congestion problems, it’s a big expansion that will provide more rapid transit more quickly than any city on the continent. Those improvements, however, hardly satisfy regional officials, who have plans for more than C$34 billion additional new transit lines. But the primary sources of funding for the current projects — Ontario Province and the Canadian federal government — aren’t yet ready to commit to such a significant investment. Thus the regional transit coordinating body,Metrolinx, developed an investment strategy released last month that recommended a variety of new funding sources that could provide the needed revenues to pay for these transit expansions. Proponents of personal rapid transit systems have frequently promoted themselves as opponents of traditional public transportation. Unlike expensive metro or light rail systems, they claimed, their PRT lines would be cheaper to construct, more convenient for passengers, and more attractive for users. Now that a new line is readying for opening in the United Kingdom, the technology may attain new prominence. Over the years, most attempts at implementing PRT have failed due to a lack of interest from investors — and as a result of deceptive, dishonest campaigns by “pod people” who simply promise too much.
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