Vice Mayor Lago & City Officials Visit Cocoplum Circle With Uber Rep To Address Resident Concerns

On Friday, September 27th, Coral Gables Vice Mayor Vince Lago, City Manager Peter Iglesias, Police Chief Ed Hudak, Parking Director Kevin Kinney and Javier Correoso, a representative of Uber; met to discuss the growing concern of parking on Cocoplum Circle.

Cocoplum Circle is the meeting point of Sunset Drive, LeJeune Road, Old Cutler Road and Cocoplum Road. It has parking spaces along its East and North West sections.

Area residents have expressed their concerns over Uber luxury class drivers parking in the traffic circle awaiting vehicle routes.

The concern is at times made more present by school buses using the circle as a drop off point for picking up and dropping off area students in the mornings and afternoons, as well as large cyclist groups that use the circle as a meetup point on weekends taking up most of the parking spaces.

Vice Mayor Lago informed Gables Insider that after continuous concerns by residents in the area and he decided to organize a meeting with City leadership and Uber in order to work on finding a possible solution to this growing issue.

Cocoplum Circle, although a key location in the City of Coral Gables, is under the supervision of Miami-Dade County and has been experiencing numerous issues of concern, including tossed garbage, deteriorating road conditions and inadequate lighting.

“The Cocoplum circle has been a point of concern for the City on multiple levels. The City has been requesting for Miami-Dade County to address the poor road/safety conditions of the circle for years and now we have to find the proper balance between this community’s ride sharing needs and the overwhelming presence of Uber and Lyft. I called for this meeting with all stakeholders, including Uber, to access our current situation and find a permanent solution that provides this much needed ride sharing service for our residents within our expected quality of life parameters,” said Vice Mayor Lago.

“Driver Partners are expected to act in compliance with all relevant local laws, including traffic laws and respecting private property. We look forward to continuing to work with Vice Mayor Lago and Coral Gables Officials in the coming weeks to improve the experience for all parties,” said Javier Correoso, Public Affairs Manager for Uber.

“We will be having another meeting with all stakeholders to review all the data. Then, at the next commission meeting I will be announcing our recommendations.” said Lago.

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2 thoughts on “Vice Mayor Lago & City Officials Visit Cocoplum Circle With Uber Rep To Address Resident Concerns

  1. 1. Notice that the so-called mayor is nowhere to be found. Typical of Valdez Failing.

    2. The huge problem is dual: loitering, yes, the waiting drivers just basically take everything: benches, sidewalk, even peace by having such loud music. But there is also a huge amount of litter strewn out everywhere, and if you walk your dog after 8 pm, when it is calmer, you can see huge amounts of rats nibbling on the food thrown away by the drivers.

    While the bike riders are a total pain in the ass –they also park everywhere, don’t respect ANY traffic law– at least they are not dirty.

    As a Coral Gables resident around that area (a block north on Granada) I am totally fed up with the inaction of the Coral Gables Police Department and the total absence of the mayor.

  2. The problem is not the Uber cars parked around Coco Plum. The problem is the loitering of the Uber drivers while they wait for a ride. I bicycle every day around Coco Plum, and the driver are getting louder and obnoxious. They have marked the area as their property. I cannot seat in the benches anymore. It is like a mafia. Only Uber Luxury drivers. Residents are looked down with threatening stares; and Uber X drivers are not allowed. I would ask the city to stop the loitering. If the drivers want to park and to wait for a ride, then they should stay INSIDE their parked cars.

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