Wanted to start a thread on the many forms of transportation in South Florida! Although we are not Chicago, or DC when it comes to mass transit, we give many other cities a run, and I'm thankful for what we do have. I'm also glad that our city has taken the intiative in expanding our mass transit options within the next 2 decades

Post your thoughts on anything that has to do with transportation, your views on the Baylink project and other street car proposals (in Miami and Ft Lauderdale), Is it Really needed? What about the plans for a tunnel under government cut (between Watson Island and the Port of Miami), or the plans to put I-395 below-grade, are these needed too? The new intermodal center by the airport, the County-wide Metrorail Expansion Plan. Is metromover and/or metrorail a success, or a failure, or somewhere in between? What about Highway construction in Miami, do we need more of it, do the current ones need expansion (which ones?)?
We can discuss successes, what needs improvement, post pics, anything!
You don't have to answer all of these questions at once, but give your thoughts!


Here are some photos that show our already-awesome infrastructure!


http://www.bigfoto.com/sites/galery/florida/people_mover.jpg


http://www.bigfoto.com/sites/galery/florida/miami_florida_downtown-1.jpg


http://www.where-miami.com/depts/1image8.jpg


The Edge of downtown

http://www.schrauder.org/travel/florida/miami_medium.jpg


http://faculty.washington.edu/~jbs/itrans/miami1.jpg


http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/miami8.jpg


http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/miami2.jpg


http://img101.exs.cx/img101/4299/why-drive.jpg


http://img27.exs.cx/img27/5462/Northside.jpg


Downtown Kendall, 20 miles from downtown Miami


http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v255/kleclerc/IMG_0198.jpg


http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v255/kleclerc/IMG_0169.jpg


http://img27.exs.cx/img27/3531/JointElevated.jpg


http://img27.exs.cx/img27/2748/metrorail.jpg


Tri-rail commuter train


71-mile corridor from West Palm Beach to Miami


http://img27.exs.cx/img27/9587/DelrayDeparture.jpg

I Like the Idea of this thread, Great Pics...I cant wait to see the first new lines of metrorail or the LRTs...

HERE are My Thoughts on some general Subjects from a previous thread:
Sorry about the double posting of the same info, enjoy:

The problem here is, is that while it is that true that Tri-Rail does offer a viable solution to I-95, too many people like to have their giant SUVs with them when they inch along the highway at 25MPH or less during their 2 or 3 hour long commute to work. The proper thing to do here is to quit trying to appeal to the needs of vehicles in this state and start trying to appeal to people. Too many complexes’ are being built with vehicles in mind rather than people (What does that mean? Developers have stopped creating pedestrian friendly areas for shopping, living, or working). Unfortunately this has been the culmination of events starting with the suburbanization of America which mainly began in the 1950s and is now posing a huge problem for nearly all American cities. Malls are planned with one thing in mind; parking. Brickell Ave. home to many of Miami’s tallest buildings are so far apart and highly inaccessible by foot almost entirely due to people’s desire to live a gated community that they can drive their car into. Many streets are so hostile (40 MPH or greater) that you see virtually no pedestrian activity and nearly all stores, businesses, and residences are recessed from the streets to allow for parking or huge signs which can be seen better when drivers are speeding by.
Americans as a whole have become too attached to their cars and it is not an easy task for engineers such as myself to overcome. Streets simply cannot continue to widen. There is not enough money to widen them and the damage they would cause to the environment would be insane. The only feasible plan to start getting Americans out of their cars again is to create viable Mass-Transportation options which are appealing enough to the average commuter. Studies have shown that most people (Americans) are unlikely to travel to work on heavy rail type commuter trains (Hence: Metrorail and Tri-Rail, however this is not the main cause for their dismal ridership). This has recently created the advent of light rail train projects in many major cities across the USA including Houston and Phoenix. The Average commuters are more likely to ride light-rail than any other form of mass transit including Busses and Heavy Rail and light-rail is one of the few forms of transportation which do not seriously degrade the pedestrian atmosphere in most urban areas. Unfortunately, we are not going to see any more significant improvements though in Tri-rail's usage until the mass-transportation system in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties is significantly improved or sanctions are placed on the widening of Highways (Like I-95, where preliminary plans were made to widen it further possibly to 16 lanes!). Studies have also shown that on streets with major bus travel, have decreased in pedestrian activity and have Lowered The Overall Quality Of Life in the given area.
Now, Comparing the High Speed rail to Tri-Rail is like comparing apples and Oranges in the sense of what type of rider you are trying to attract with each. Amtrak provides a better comparison but we are hoping that the High speed Rail would provide better service than Amtrak and something more comparable to the very successful routes in Europe and Japan. Just so you all know though that one of the Most successful routes Amtrak runs is from Miami to New York City which travels I believe 3 times a day and is almost always sold out.

my opinon is mass transit is good in sf,of course it could get better by expanding and decreasing the amount of waiting time,the baylink i feel is needed,and other expansion projects like intermodal.and metrorail has been a success in my opinon,it maynot have the ridership the new york subway has but its doing a good job at moving a large amount of people.also i wish the expansion of the metrorail would of started ten years ago but im glad its getting started.

and great pics street.

oh i forgot i-395 should be put below grade or maybe a tunnel because right now its the only thing stoping that area from becoming great.

^^Great analysis Toucano

These are the proposed rail corridors for the county expansion project


http://img27.exs.cx/img27/2079/railcorridor.gif

Chuckscraper was right when he said that they were building a highway-like roadway near the airport! It looks like it goes from the 112 expressway south to the 395...


http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/September_2004/RmapSept2004.jpg


Sept 2004


http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/September_2004/100_0004.jpg


http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/September_2004/100_0010.jpg

on-ramp/or off ramp

http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/July_August_2004/LeJeuneSbound1.jpg


http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/July_August_2004/LeJeuneSbound2.jpg


http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/July_August_2004/LeJeuneSbound3.jpg


http://www.micdot.com/Projects/Roadways/Construction/July_August_2004/100_0044.jpg


I really feel like this is needed...traffic is horrible on Lejeune Rd. Anyone who has gone to the Airport using the Dolphin Expressway (836) knows that you must get off the highway at Lejeune and then travel a few blocks to enter the airport, it's the same situation going the other way from the airport to the dolphin expressway. This creates a massive crunch (especially during rush hour) and many dramtic lane changes, it gravely disrupts the flow of traffic in the area, and can be quite dangerous at times.


This is what the Dolphin Expressway/836 (near the airport's Lejeune on and off ramps) looks like!


http://img74.exs.cx/img74/3889/MIA.jpg


And everyone, make sure to check out the MIC website (http://www.micdot.com/MIC%20Information/MICInfo.htm) , it has been updated with new pics, videos, and slide shows

From working on Brickell and spending lots of time in the CBD, the MetroMover is worth it's weight in gold. At a Billion $ it was a steal! Not too many complaints with the Metromover or Rail except that connectivity to the MIC and the Beach will be great improvements.
Dadeland Station is brilliant. The idea of a Park and Ride Structure, with a MetroRail Station, and Big Box retail stacked high is great. This is the likely model for the Potamkin site (Alton / 5th St) on Miami Beach.
As for this high speed rail to connect the penninsula that is Florida...I'm not buying it. Keep the dollars here locally and improve the infrastructure. We should accept and have some State level coordination efforts so that there is seemless connectivity to Broward and Palm Beach counties so that we aren't a protectionist county, but to have the State tax then dictate a train that will go to Pennsecola/Ocala/Melbourne etc just does not make sense to me.

PS. Are those new roads around MIA going to connect to the Miami Intermodal Center?

^^..I have no idea, maybe someone else has some info!!

great thread

yes they are roark, itll all b a big web, its gonna b great, i wanna encourage u 2 the site, cause itll explain everything better than i ever could, and its a great site, with lots of information (in my opinion, dade county has always had great sites, theyres main one is really nice as far as county sites go)...

great thread, no on thing is the answer, a large number of projects that include cummuter train, high speed, heavy rail, light rail, street car, pedestrian fiendly development... all put together, those will solve our problems, its a long process, that takes a long time to get rite, but well get it in the end, through some trial, but were takin a step in the rite direct, that half penny sales tax is a god send, if the county commisioners would stop worryin so much about themselves being in charge of everything (theyve already stripd a great deal of power from the mayor, a position that was greated less than a decade ago) the citizen review board, or w/w it is, could work out wat the hell is goin on, and some stuff would actually get done, i think itll b 30 or 40 years before we start to see a truely good massive public transportation system that would connect any1 and eliminate the need for a car throught the area, untill then, baby steps...

Burying I-395 would be just about the most financially reckless and stupid thing the government could possibly do. Keep in mind that burying it will cost at least $500-700 million dollars. Just to give a feel for how much money that really is, it cost less than $300 million to completely demolish and rebuild I-95 in Broward County into the spectacular road it is today.

People who argue that I-395 is the reason why Overtown is a slum are full of $#!t. State Road 878 is just as elevated, and passes through an area that's almost entirely residential. It doesn't seem to have hurt adjacent property values in the least. While I'm at it, I might also point out that I-95 passes within inches of plenty of ungodly expensive real estate in Brickell. I doubt you could touch a plutonium-contaminated woodshed on a 25x25 foot lot in that area for less than a quarter-million dollars.

Give developers a few more years to bulldoze and redevelop Overtown into a wealthy bayfront community with tall skyscrapers and prohibitively expensive townhomes, and people will look back on quotes made by people about Overtown and 395 today and laugh at the sheer naivete. And hopefully breathe a sigh of relief that the cash was used to widen 836, accelerate the construction of Central Parkway, and (god forbid) maybe a few other badly-needed projects, like extending 878 all the way west to the turnpike, or building a pair of ramps from westbound 878 to northbound 826, and from southbound 826 to eastbound 878 (so people trying to get from the Palmetto to US-1 can take a detour around all the new traffic around Downtown Dadeland). Or even pay half the $2 billion cost of building Metrorail to South Beach as a real subway ;)

TRUE MIAMICANES :) , Enough SAID :) !!!, ITS NOT going to WORK, Even That STUPID Port of MIAMI TRUCK TUNNEL under the PORT CHANNEL, is the MOST DUMB PLAN :bash: the County has ever COME UP with, and ALL THAT WASTE of MONEY on its STUDY :bash: , YOUR TAX DOLLARS, WASTED, Just KEEP I-395 THE WAY it IS :) , its NOT that , ITS I-95, that Needs A PLAN. :cheers:

Is there a general feeling that the money allocated from the People's Transportion Plan (sounds communist) is being well-spent, that some tangible improvements are already evident ?

I ask because I thought I'd read a while back that the proposed improvements were getting bogged down already.

Excellent Nimby...I didn't notice that link at the end of your post the first time. Lot's of great maps and virtual tours. Can't wait for the updated videos showing water taxis to Brickell!!

Is there a general feeling that the money allocated from the People's Transportion Plan (sounds communist) is being well-spent

Hell no. It's being shamelessly squandered on stupid things like free transit passes for students and the elderly. I think it's safe to say that 99% of the people who supported the tax did so for exactly one reason -- they want to see construction crews out building new Metrorail lines and stations.

This is pre-PTP, but a perfect example is the new Palmetto Station. I'm not going to attack the wisdom of spending $70 million to extend it 1.5 miles to attract (in their own words) about 5,000 new riders a day (at which rate it will take 135 years to pay off the cost, assuming zero operating or maintenance costs) because I think the station will probably spark a major redevelopment of that whole area into another version of Dadeland Station (once crews finish rebuilding the Hialeah Expressway to make 74th at 826 easily accessible to downtown Hialeah, you can kiss all the industry within a half mile from the station goodbye because that's going to be PRIME retail and residential property).

What I AM going to attack is the stupidity of NOT building it the last 2 miles west to 107th avenue. Right now (but not for long), there's NOTHING out there, so they could just run the tracks at ground level with a wall on both sides. As roads expand to the north and the area builds up, they could build tunnels over the tracks like they did in Northern Virginia (it's a lot cheaper to run a road 10 feet up and over a pair of tracks than it is to run a pair of tracks 25 feet up and over a much, much wider road).

[QUOTE=miamicanes]Hell no. It's being shamelessly squandered on stupid things like free transit passes for students and the elderly. I think it's safe to say that 99% of the people who supported the tax did so for exactly one reason -- they want to see construction crews out building new Metrorail lines and stations.

Don't forget Sidewalks. A huge chunk of the PTP money was used to pay to make sidewalks and bus stops ADA complient, every intersection in the county has to have a ramp for wheelchairs to access the sidewalk and bus stops. Also, every municipality gets a chunk of the money to spend on completely unrelated things like fixing pot holes and sewers.

The problem with all of the proposed Metrorail expansions is that they are simply too late. It will cost billions just to acquire the land to build on much less build it. All of this should have been done in the 80's but at that time suburban mall culture gripped America and mass transit took a back seat. Now it is going to take another 20 years (at least) to build and by that time the traffic might have gotten to bad everyone may just pack up and move and there would be no need to expansion. You do have to love our current Metrorail layout though: "It takes people from where they aren't and brings them to where they dont want to go". The problem is that we need every single one of those expansions and we need them all now, not 20 to 30 years from now.

Here's what's happening:

www.trafficrelief.com

Hey Streetscaper, go to the MIC website (intermodal center) and the direct connection to take autos off of LeJeune is a major component. they have a mini-movie you can watch. I had no idea they already started that portion of it.

Guys, What Miami metro has is good:
Metromover loops downtown in roughly the same scale as the Chicago Loop loops the Loop (confused?). :) I did a scale map comparison once for shits and giggles.

Secondly, Metrorail, which is similar to MARTA and DC's Metro, services the city limits I guess adequately and Hialeah and Dadeland.

Third, Tri-Rail (I don't have the link right now but do a google search or link via miamidade.gov), is just like Chicagoland's METRA, which has maybe ten or more lines that go as far as South Bend to the East and as far north as Racine Wisconsin with double-decker cars that service most of those routes. Miami's is, what, 72 miles long- AND, it is being "double-tracked" because of increase in ridership along with modernization of several stations in Broward and PB counties. That is exciting. They just need to finish the MIC and promote mixed use projects at other Tri-Rail stations.

Here's what I think. The most economically feasible thing to do for the city is to promote the construction of residential towers near the Metromover stations (which is happening). Next, once the double-tracking of Tri-Rail's main I-95 line is complete and turnaround time is cut to under 20 minutes per train, more riders will use it, and a second line could be routed towards west Broward and miami-Dade, and also the East Miami-Dade and east broward corridor (check the website for the MIC and future expansion of mass transit system).

All they have to do with Tr-Rail is lease the track from CSX or whoever owns the track. Then, they can double-track for more efficiency. It's gotta be much cheaper than a concrete elevated Metrorail line. But, Metrorail does not have to be elevated exclusively. London's Tube is sub and at-grade. Chicago's MTA trains are elevated and at-grade and subway. NYC too. As long as the track is already there, it's cheaper to do.

Once Metrorail connects to MIA via the MIC, as does Tri-Rail, then that will be a profound change. If High-Speed Rail gets built, then it will dock at the MIC as well, along with Amtrak, buses, and the car rental facility. In London, Mass transit is down to a science, which includes city buses and regional buses to Oxford and the like. Miami could do that as well and bus people to Broward and PB Co. if the system is reliable enough, marketed well, and expansive enough.

In Orlando, they can't agree on anything and the result is- nothing.

I used to commute on tri-rail from Hollywood to Boca.... I gave up because the train is never on time and most days would run 45 minutes to an hour late in the evening. Try waiting on a train in an open air platform in business clothes with just a few benches and three shade canopys that are full of people trying to keep cool. Tri-rail just sucks.
The trains run only ONCE an hour. what a fucking joke. I know double tracking is going to give flexable trains schedules like i think every 20 minutes.....? but thats a while off for double tracking to be completed.
If they had A/c Stations that were enclosed I would bet a trillion billion pennies that people would ride the train more. Granted some of the newer tri-rail stations are larger and have shade over the entire platform most peoples impression of tri-rail is its inconvienent (schedules)and uncomfortable(stations).
As it is Tri-Rail would be more beneficial to run through the central city of Ft Lauderdale and Miami..... which is another reason why people dont ride as much because once they get off the train they have to take a nasty ass bus to get where ever they have to go........ Luckily I moved downtown FLL and moved jobs to downtown but my tri-rail experience in and off the train I would not recommend to anyone.

This is what the Dolphin Expressway/836 (near the airport's Lejeune on and off ramps) looks like!


http://img74.exs.cx/img74/3889/MIA.jpg


And everyone, make sure to check out the MIC website (http://www.micdot.com/MIC%20Information/MICInfo.htm) , it has been updated with new pics, videos, and slide shows[/QUOTE]


well one of the reasons 836/dolphin is like this is because of stupid people trying to look at the airplanes.but this area has some of the worst traffic in miami

metro rail is elevated and at grade sometimes

anyone have new info on baylink or metrorail expansion like when is it going to start

well one of the reasons 836/dolphin is like this is because of stupid people trying to look at the airplanes.but this area has some of the worst traffic in miami

One of the main reasons the 836/dolphin is always congested is because it is the only one true east-west highway for central Miami-Dade (which holds the bulk of the population), anyone who lives in the western, southwestern, and northwestern suburbs, or anywhere in the middle, take this freeway to go where they need to go, there are very few other highway options (in most cases there are none).


http://www.miami-hotels-locator.com/Pics/miami-map-mapage.gif


In my opinion, the 836/dolphin is the most congested expressway in dade county, not that the amount of traffic (eg wait-time) is worse than other expressways, it's that there is always traffic on that highway day and night, there have been extremely few times that I've taken this expressway, outside of rush-hour even, and there hasn't been a crunch (which usually starts at the western edge of the airport)!

I don't know, however, how much an east-west rail corridor will help this situation, which can only get worse if nothing gets down!

anyone have new info on baylink or metrorail expansion like when is it going to start


well the traffic-relief website is tracking the going ons of the PTP, and it states that early phases of the expansion are currently going under approval processes.

For the North Corridor (along NW 27th ave), for intance, Preliminary Engineering is scheduled to start in April 2005.

Earlington Heights - MIC Connection
P.E. is scheduled to start in May 2005.

East-West Corridor
Segment I: From Florida International University (FIU) to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC)
Planning is also "in the works"

Estimated completion is in 2012/13 for these 3 project, which isn't TOO far from now. It seems like (to me) these projects and the MIC are planning to finish around the same time. It also seems like the these 3 projects will form miami's next rail line (as shown below) with the MIC in the middle

http://img126.exs.cx/img126/8126/railcorridor2.gif

Metromover Xtra's


http://www.pbase.com/dolf/image/12934149.jpg


http://www.susqu.edu/students/l/leimbach/213.jpg


http://www.transportimages.com/albums/Railways-in-USA/largemetrorail1.sized.jpg


http://www.theinvestor.tv/realestate/metromover.jpg


The best I've Seen

http://www.susqu.edu/students/l/leimbach/255.jpg

I thought I read where they're replacing the metromover cars...and maybe refurbishing the stations ?

I thought I read where they're replacing the metromover cars...and maybe refurbishing the stations ?

Yeah.. I also read that it's cheaper to replace them than repair them :)

I still haven't forgiven them for replacing the original TI speech synthesizer voice with the lame digitized woman. It's just not the same without the "Speak 'n Spell" voice saying, "Please stand clear of the doors, hold on while the train is departing..." :)

IMHO, they took away its soul and extinguished its personality.

"Just what do you think you are saying Cane, stop...my mind is going...I can feel it". -Hal

^^hahaha

so what do you guys think will solve our east to west traffic problems?

when you're driving south on the palmetto/826 or the turnpike during rush-hour, every major east-west thoroughfare, West Flagler, sw 8th st (calle ocho), sw 24th st (coral way), sw 40th (bird rd), sw 56th st (miller), sw 72nd (sunset dr), sw 88th st (kendall), sw 104th, sw 152, all have traffic jams from the mass exodus out of the central part of the county, the dolphin/836 being the only freeway option for a gigantic part of the county (at least 100s of thousands of people)!

Posted on Fri, Nov. 19, 2004

MASS TRANSIT
BayLink not a priority, group says

Miami Beach transit advocates were thwarted in their efforts to push a light-rail system linking downtown Miami and South Beach higher on the county's funding wish list.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ
llebowitz@herald.com
Miami Beach voters may have finally convinced their elected leaders that they really want streetcar-style mass transit, but that doesn't mean they are going to get BayLink built any faster.

A key transportation policy group Thursday blocked an attempt by Miami Beach to push the proposed $488 million light-rail project to connect the island city and the mainland higher on the county's funding wish list.

Led by black county commissioners who said they need to protect the Metrorail North Corridor expansion along Northwest 27th Avenue through predominantly black neighborhoods, the Metropolitan Planning Organization decided to leave BayLink on track to open in 2023.

''I'm not going to allow anything to get in the way of the North,'' Commissioner Dorrin Rolle said. 'We have to keep our promises to these people. If we let BayLink or anything else get in the way, they're going to be saying, `Here we go again.' ''

Since the passage of the half-cent sales tax for transit in 2002, county officials have been plowing forward with plans for three other major Metrorail expansion projects:

• The 9.5-mile North Corridor running along Northwest 27th Avenue from 62nd Street to the Broward County line.

• The 10.5-mile East-West segment from Florida International University to the new transit hub under construction next to Miami International Airport.

• A 2.3-mile spur that will run from the Earlington Heights station to the Miami Intermodal Center near the airport.

ONE SECTION CERTAIN

Only the $260 million MIC-Earlington Heights segment appears to be certain because county officials will not have to ask the federal government for matching funds for it. The county will spend $160 million in sales-tax proceeds and $100 million from the state Department of Transportation to finally bring Metrorail to the airport by 2012 or 2013.

Miami-Dade Transit is going to have to look to the feds to finance hundreds of millions of dollars to build the North and East-West lines.

But the competition is stiff and highly politicized. Dozens of U.S. cities are vying for the same pool of transit funds; several, like Miami-Dade, are hoping to finance multiple lines at the same time. And there's no guarantee that future Congresses will continue to fund transit at the same levels.

Looking at raw numbers like population densities and major employment, transit experts believe the East-West plan makes more sense. But the black community, which supported the 1970s bond issues that created the original Metrorail line, has been waiting 30 years for a train through black neighborhoods.

THE MAJORITY

Meanwhile, 54 percent of the Miami Beach voters said they supported BayLink in a nonbinding referendum in November -- a setback for Beach Mayor David Dermer.

The ballot issue was overwhelmingly approved despite a well-funded campaign of ''misinformation and demagoguery'' by some opponents, Miami Beach Commissioner Luis Garcia said Thursday.

Armed with a clear victory after years of fights on Miami Beach, transit advocates were hoping to move BayLink to a higher priority level so planning, design and construction money could start flowing in the next five years.

''Look at the conditions that are already here, and look at the reality of what's coming here,'' said Mark Needle, a transit advocate. ``We cannot afford a decade of delay.''

But county commissioners were unmoved.

''Look, if we move BayLink to priority one, then obviously you impact the North Corridor and East-West,'' said Commissioner Dennis Moss, chairman of the Transportation Committee.

I really can't say I blame the county though....Miami Beach dragged it's feet on this issue while the other corridors were already in the planning process. If they want to blame anybody it should be Mayor Dermer for opposing Baylink in the first place and then forcing beach voters to go back and vote on another referrendum on it.
He has set the transit needs of his city back a decade.
As much as I'd like to see Baylink moved up the reality is that they are just going to have to wait their turn.

Also I can't believe it's going to take 8-9 years before Metrorail finally reaches the airport considering the county doesn't even need federal funding for this project.

Regarding Tri-Rail, I think you're right. The only was to really attract more riders would be to build a few really nice enclosed multi-modal stations with a/c and maybe mixed use with private retail adjacent. I know in Orlando, bus stops here are nothing more than a metal sign with people camped out on the sidewalk or grass like refugees. Who wants to travel under those conditions? I guess much more $ would have to be pumpede into the project.

METRORAIL funding: regarding the competition for FED funding from other cities, although Jeb tried to screw High Speed Rail, he is a South Floridian, and having him as governor while his bro is in la casa blanca has got to count for something. I mean, in the late '70's, when Carter was Pres, Tom Moreland was the Sec of Trandportation. The result from that local duo was the modernization of spaghetti junction (I-85 & I-285), the Tom Moreland Interchange in Atlanta.

The issue with TRI-RAIL is that it was never intended to be a permanent commuter line in the first place.It was started simply as an alternative to all of the construction going on I-95 at the time but has managed to survive. Nevertheless I think they will eventually build more hospitable stations in the future but their main priorities now are service improvements and the double tracking project.

so what do you guys think will solve our east to west traffic problems?Yeah...that is an awful no matter the day of the week. That MIC link that Nimby put up is really great, they have a virtual tour of the way that airport people can get out of the E W commuters way and how LeJune will flow N to S through the airport area...
Some of the 836W problems occur from the South ramp to LeJuene. Clean up the flow on LeJuene, and presumably, 836 flows Wester faster! :)
Not sure what to do on the West side of the Airport.
This should go a very long way to helping the bottle necks, but we'll see if it can solve the whole problem.

I think it's safe to say that the stretch of 836 between Red Road and 826 is eventually going to be double-decked. At least, with the mainline at ground level, and the ramps sorting out cars heading to and from the Palmetto above. Or maybe cantilevering the lanes for cars exiting 836 for north and southbound 826 over NW 12th street.

Central Parkway will help a lot by moving all the Broward-bound traffic off of 836... but I seriously think they need to add AT LEAST one or two lanes to 112 and Gratigny in both directions while they're at it, because for all intents and purposes Gratigny will be the northwest third of Central Parkway, and 112 will be the southeast third of it. Lobbying Congress to officially incorporate gratigny, central parkway, 112, and 195 into I-75 might not be a bad idea, though I've heard the reason why it was nuked is because 112 would have to be totally demolished and rebuilt in order to meet interstate standards because the grades are too steep or something along those lines.

The county or state needs to build more roads across both 826 and 836 that don't have interchanges. In particular, at 82 or 84th avenue over (or under) 836, and over 826 on both sides of Bird Road between it and Miller and Coral Way.

IMHO, Miami's biggest culprit is the fact that every single major road in the county has dozens of school zones. Traffic gets choked every day starting around 1:30, and never gets a chance to recover before the surge of people trying to beat the traffic home starts at 3:30 and 4. One fairly cheap thing the city/county could do that would probably reap huge dividends would be to build elevated walkways adjacent to major roads and abolish the school zones, at least along major roads like 87th avenue, 67th avenue, etc.

Metrorail is needed, but anybody who thinks it's going to make the least bit of noticeable difference to traffic is living a fantasy.

Miami-Dade Transit Gears up for the Largest Set of Service Improvements in Its 44-Year History

(Miami-Dade County, FL) -- Beginning November 21st, Miami-Dade Transit will introduce new and expanded bus service, including significant improvements to approximately 50 bus routes, thus making public transportation more convenient along some of the county’s busiest transit corridors. This introduction of new service is part of the five-year bus plan promised to voters in the campaign for the People’s Transportation Plan, which calls for both new and improved transit service.

“This expansion of new and improved service will allow us to accommodate the heavy ridership we experience during the winter months, which is when South Florida tourism is at its peak,” said MDT Director Roosevelt Bradley. “The new bus routes were created as a result of public requests. We also relied on Miami-Dade County data which track new and growing areas that are ready for new bus service.”

Editor’s Note: Your readers can also be directed to MDT’s website for a complete description of the bus service improvements. Suggested text should read: Metrobus service updates, effective November 21, 2004, are available online. Visit http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/bus_service_improvements04.asp for a preview of the eight new routes and other service improvements to approximately 50 existing routes.
The eight new bus routes are:

Airport West (Route 41) – Transit planners expect heavy ridership for this route which will travel between the Allapattah Metrorail Station and the Dolphin and International Malls, primarily along Northwest 36th/41st Street and Northwest 107th Avenue. The Airport West will connect with Metrorail and serve several large employment sites in Doral and West Miami-Dade that are not served by transit. Connections with several other routes will be provided at the Dolphin Mall transit mini-hub.

Busway Flyer (Route 34) – A demonstration route, that will provide limited stop bus service between Florida City and Metrorail via the Busway and, along US 1 parallel to the future Busway extension, offering premium rush-hour transit service for commuters who now travel to and from south Miami-Dade.

Gratigny Connection (Route 68) – As a minibus circulator route, it will travel between the Hialeah Gardens City Hall and Miami-Dade College’s (MDC) North Campus through the City of Hialeah. It will travel on West 60th Street, West 24th Avenue and then along Gratigny Road (West 68th / 65th Street) with a portion on the Gratigny Expressway. The route will provide direct service from Hialeah and Hialeah Gardens to MDC’s North campus, Palmetto General Hospital, and will provide transfer connections to other Metrobus routes at the Hialeah Gardens City Hall.

Goulds Connection (Route 216) – As a minibus circular route, it will operate between the Southland (formerly Cutler Ridge) Mall Bus Terminal/Park-n-Ride lot and the Quail Roost/Southwest 122nd to 127th Avenue area serving the east and west Goulds communities and those sections of South Miami Heights that need additional bus service.

Liberty City Connection (Route 46) – A minibus circulator route, it will travel throughout the Liberty City area serving corridors without transit. It will operate between the future Passenger Transit Center planned for NW 7th Avenue and 62nd Street and the Tri-Rail Market Place Station in Hialeah primarily along NW 10th Avenue and NW 46th Street. The Liberty City Connection will serve Northwestern High School, the Winn-Dixie shopping center at NW 12th Avenue and 54th Street, the Brownsville community and the Earlington Heights Metrorail Station.

Route 147 – A minibus route, it will serve the north-south corridor of Southwest 147th Avenue in far west Miami-Dade County where no bus service currently exists. The route will connect the Hammocks, Kendale Lakes and other West Miami-Dade communities with east/west cross-town, and limited-stop express routes and will provide connections with several other routes at the Dolphin Mall transit mini-hub.

Route 200 – Another demonstration route, it will serve the Americana Village, a residential development on Quail Roost Drive west of Krome Avenue. The Route 200 will operate along Quail Roost Drive/Southwest 200th Street and Southwest 208th Street/211th Street to the Southland (Cutler Ridge) Mall Bus Terminal/Park-n-Ride lot, providing connections to Busway routes and other local Metrobus routes. It will operate non-stop between Krome Avenue and Southwest 137th Avenue.

Route 344 – A minibus circulator route, it will travel between Miami-Dade College Homestead campus and the Florida City Post Office along Krome Avenue, East Lucy Street and Palm Drive, serving portions of east Homestead and Florida City currently without transit service. Ten trips per day will be extended to serve the Everglades Farmworkers Village on Southwest 376th Street.
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I also saw the new buses on Channel 7 this morning and they look great, in addition they reported that anyone can go to the central bus depot downtown and check them out as well as the new renderings of what the Metro mover and Metrorail cars are going to look like.

The Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust has amended the People’s Transportation Plan to authorize the purchase of 12 new Metromover cars at a cost of $20.7 million and the retrofit and rehabilitation of 17 Metromover cars, for a total cost of $24 million.

Will Metrorail and Metromover *stations* be improved ?

wow...can someone get some pics of those either at the central bus depot or when the come online? I'd Really like to see them!

IMHO, Miami's biggest culprit is the fact that every single major road in the county has dozens of school zones. Traffic gets choked every day starting around 1:30, and never gets a chance to recover before the surge of people trying to beat the traffic home starts at 3:30 and 4. One fairly cheap thing the city/county could do that would probably reap huge dividends would be to build elevated walkways adjacent to major roads and abolish the school zones, at least along major roads like 87th avenue, 67th avenue, etc.


If they just got rid of all the school speed zones around those tiny private schools that would ease the head-ache a lot. Also I've noticed recently that every time a light turns read near a school it stays red in every direction for 30 seconds before it turns green, even when no one is crossing (which no one ever is, kids don't walk to school anymore). This is the corner of Sunset and Ludlam. This has the effect of backing up for several miles. I wonder which "concerned parent" had this bright idea?

I think it's safe to say that the stretch of 836 between Red Road and 826 is eventually going to be double-decked. At least, with the mainline at ground level, and the ramps sorting out cars heading to and from the Palmetto above. Or maybe cantilevering the lanes for cars exiting 836 for north and southbound 826 over NW 12th street.

Lol...sounds drastic, I don't see other cities double-decking their expressways, are there any other examples, from other cities I mean? ....that would be cool but ugly, would the county ever do such a thing?

Central Parkway will help a lot by moving all the Broward-bound traffic off of 836... but I seriously think they need to add AT LEAST one or two lanes to 112 and Gratigny in both directions while they're at it, because for all intents and purposes Gratigny will be the northwest third of Central Parkway, and 112 will be the southeast third of it. Lobbying Congress to officially incorporate gratigny, central parkway, 112, and 195 into I-75 might not be a bad idea, though I've heard the reason why it was nuked is because 112 would have to be totally demolished and rebuilt in order to meet interstate standards because the grades are too steep or something along those lines.

So what's the deal with the Central Parkway, Is it currently under construction, or will it soon be? If it can't connect to the SR-112/I-195, how far south will it go, will connect to the Gratigny, or will it just go straight up to the Palmetto?

The county or state needs to build more roads across both 826 and 836 that don't have interchanges. In particular, at 82 or 84th avenue over (or under) 836, and over 826 on both sides of Bird Road between it and Miller and Coral Way.

Well, I understand where you're coming from, but I'm not sure wether that'll solve the congestion problems in that area.

Metrorail is needed, but anybody who thinks it's going to make the least bit of noticeable difference to traffic is living a fantasy.

I totally agree with you here!! Let's hope that the transit authorities get the funding they need on the north-south corridor, and east-west corridor in a timely fashion, they seem to be optimistic about it!

Lol...sounds drastic, I don't see other cities double-decking their expressways, are there any other examples

San Antonio has a bunch of 'em. See http://www.texasfreeway.com/SanAntonio/photos/i10_double_deck/i10_double_deck.shtml

http://www.texasfreeway.com/SanAntonio/photos/i10_double_deck/images/i10_dd_ground_view_at_culebra_A_PREFERRED_2-sept-2001_lres.jpg

I've often wished they could build a bunch of mile-long double-deck stacks spanning a half-mile on both sides of roads like the Palmetto to provide a bypass route (2 lanes in each direction) for people who just want to get from one side of the road to the other and avoid all the cars trying to get on & off the road (as well as in and out of all the businesses near the exits).

I'm also rather fond of the I-95/State Road 84 interchange in Fort Lauderdale. It's a cool design because it doesn't take much space (so it could be applied to even non-freeways, like US-1 at 136th street, 152 st, red road, etc) and could also easily accommodate extra ramps to things like malls and huge plazas adjacent to the road...

i sure hope we dont go to the same extreme as texas and build highways like that hopefully people will use mass transit

texas is covered in highways and they are always backed up people drive 90 miles an hour at any time in the day dallas just launched a train service D.A.R.T and it seems to have helped some but not much....

what sucks there is that you have to drive 40 mins to get to a grocery store.

MIAMICANES :) :) :) , Your RIGHT, The 836 / 826 INTERCHANGE IS NEXT, In Fact, its in its FINAL DESIGN STAGE of the PROJECT, INCLUDED in this Design is a NEW WESTBOUND 836 Dolphin Expressway RAMP FLYOVER FROM the 826 Palmetto Expressway NORTHBOUND and Two New CARPOOL LANES added on Each Side of the 826 Palmetto Expressway. :cheers:
WHICH there will BE CARPOOL LANES on the 826 Palmetto Expressway FROM KENDALL DRIVE North to MIAMI LAKES DRIVE in About 6 YEARS when all the PALMETTO Interchanges ARE COMPLETED. Construction of the BIRD ROAD, MILLER ROAD, CORAL WAY, and the TAMIAMI TRAIL Interchanges START in the NEXT 2 to 4 YEARS, When ALL is DONE :) , the 826 PALMETTO Expressway will Have 2 EXTRA LANES, ONE on each Side FOR CARPOOL VEHICLES ONLY ! :cheers:

anybody got any maps or rendering or anything of the future of these highway projects, especially the palmetto and the dolphin?

also, i thought i had heard a few months ago that the central got killed

^^ whoa, I didn't know about those Palmetto Projects chuck, thanks for the info, the Palmetto is def in need of better on and off ramps, they cause soo many backups on the major roads (from people trying to get on)!



Oh...now I see what you're talking about Miamicanes, those don't look too bad!

are these projects that are goin to happen on the palmetto similiar to what was done on 103rd street in hialeah, cause that onramp is a god send, traffic had been cut downt tremendoudly, i have family that save 20 minutes in either direction a day because of the traffic that that alleviated... and bird road could us an on-ramp like that desperately, its backs up alot and alot of it is because of people trying to get onto the palmetto

found this site: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/constmap/d6.htm lists all the major state projects that are underway or will be and tells what they are doin


according to them this is wats goin on on the palmetto:

Project 2
Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) - Miami-Dade County -- Addition of one lane in each direction between the Okeechobee Road/South River Drive interchanges and just south of NW 74 Street; construction of a flyover ramp from westbound Okeechobee Road to southbound Palmetto Expressway; reconstruction of the bridges over Okeechobee Road/South River Drive and NW 74 Street; reconstruction and widening of all ramps; construction of two new bridges over the Miami Canal between Okeechobee Road and South River Drive; widening of bridges over the FEC railroad tracks and Metrorail; construction of a new ramp over Metrorail; and improvements to the barrier wall, drainage, lighting, and signage. Reduced speeds, lane closures, and lane shifts. For more information, contact the Palmetto Expressway Project Public Information Office at 305.823.0403. Click here to view the Press Release.

Project 5
Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) - Miami-Dade County -- Improvements to the Palmetto Expressway from NW 31 Street to NW 52 Street include: addition of one lane in each direction; reconstruction of the bridge over NW 36 Street; and widening and reconstruction of approximately one-half mile of NW 36 Street. Reduced speeds, lane closures, and lane shifts. For more information, contact the Palmetto Expressway Project Public Information Office at 305.823.0403. Fact Sheet

I-95 in South Florida has to be the most travelled highway in all of Florida, the city has gone through great lengths to improving the driving experience on this mammoth highway, and most of the time traffic flows smoothly. Rush hours can be sort of a B*tch though, of course! Here are pics from the herald traffic cams from 12:30pm, today Saturday, Nov 20th!


NW 186th st

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/trafficcam-I-95nwmiamigardensdr.jpg


NW 124th st

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/trafficcam-I-95nw124st.jpg


NW 102nd st

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/trafficcam-I-95nw102.jpg


NW 93rd st

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/trafficcam-I-95nw93rdst.jpg


NW 29th st

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/trafficcam-I-95nw29th.jpg


SW 28th rd

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/trafficcam.jpg


US-1 and 17th ave

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/kleclerc4/US1-17thave.jpg

Central Parkway will help a lot by moving all the Broward-bound traffic off of 836... but I seriously think they need to add AT LEAST one or two lanes to 112 and Gratigny in both directions while they're at it, because for all intents and purposes Gratigny will be the northwest third of Central Parkway, and 112 will be the southeast third of it. Lobbying Congress to officially incorporate gratigny, central parkway, 112, and 195 into I-75 might not be a bad idea, though I've heard the reason why it was nuked is because 112 would have to be totally demolished and rebuilt in order to meet interstate standards because the grades are too steep or something along those lines.
Last I heard the Central Parkway has been scrapped... Too much local opposition. Had it been built it would have run parallel to NW 37th Ave, along the CSX railroad tracks and would have been completely Sunpass-only. It would have connected to the Gratigny (924) directly to I-75. It would not have gone up to the Palmetto because the right-of-way would have cut right through St. Thomas University.

Besides what you've already mentioned, one of the things that keeps 112 from becoming an interstate is that the airport entrance ramp has an at-grade railroad crossing... and they can't place the ramp above grade because there is a runway directly to the west.

The county or state needs to build more roads across both 826 and 836 that don't have interchanges. In particular, at 82 or 84th avenue over (or under) 836, and over 826 on both sides of Bird Road between it and Miller and Coral Way.
A new overpass is being built over 836 to create an entrance and exit at NW 97th Ave. So west of 826 there will be four exits: NW 87th Ave, NW 97th Ave, NW 107th Ave, and finally the Turnpike... Eventually 836 will be extended to NW 137th Ave.

You're right about needing more crossings... I would build them for the midpoint avenues ending in 2... 82nd, 92nd, 102nd Aves.

i sure hope we dont go to the same extreme as texas

Having spent 3 months living in Plano (north Dallas) a few summers ago, I can say without hesitation that Miami's ultimate wet dream would be to wake up tomorrow morning with roads half as good as the ones in Texas. Among Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida (all states I drove through on the way home), Florida had absolutely the *worst* roads (and radio stations), hands down, no contest. Even Alabama made Florida look like a third-world country.

The Central Expressway is awesome beyond words. I used to look forward to driving downtown every Friday and Saturday just so I could take it. It's one of the few roads that outdoes even I-95 in Broward.

Also, unlike Florida, Texas actually plans ahead more than 3 months into the future. All over Dallas, you can see 2, 4, and 6-lane roads with 300 foot medians just waiting to be transformed into 30 foot deep canyons with expressways at the bottom. And every single four lane road I saw (in North Dallas, at least) had six-lane wide bridges (compare the cost of pouring another 300 square feet of concrete with 2 more columns at initial construction time, vs the cost of sending out another new crew 5 years later to rip apart one side and widen it).

I was utterly blown away by TxDOT's speed. In about one year (summer 2000 to summer 2001), practically the whole 6 mile stretch of some road (don't remember the name) went from normal-road-with-300-foot-median to same-road-with-6-to-8-lane-depressed-freeway-in-the-middle (George Bush Turnpike). Just over the summer alone they dug out half the trench. It was wild watching them... they'd build a temporary road to divert traffic around a future bridge, dig a hundred foot trench, build the bridge in the trench, then dig out the rest once the bridge was done. It was surreal seeing bridges in holes only slightly larger than the bridge itself ;-)

God only knows how many years the Palmetto and 836 are going to be torn up before they finish rebuilding the interchange. I'm sure it'll take FDOT at least twice as long to do it as TxDOT is going to take to rebuild the 635-Central Expressway interchange as the Dallas High-5. It's one of the sobering realities I keep thinking about when I'm busy looking for a condo in Brickell (I work in Doral). I wish FDOT would just save up the money for 3 or 4 years, then do ALL the projects at once (with each crew building one bridge, or a few hundred feet of roadway, all simultaneously so the entire project can be done in 6 months) instead of having one crew start at one end and s-l-o-w-l-y work its way to the end over the next 5-7 years...

Think about it... with crews working 24/7 under lights, how long would it take to build one overpass? Maybe 4 or 5 months? So why do they HAVE to build them one at a time? If they built them all in parallel, they could build an entire brand new road like Central Parkway in less than a year from groundbreaking!

As far as Central Parkway itself goes, I was under the impression that it's still full speed ahead, with construction scheduled to begin in 2007... at least that's what something I saw at mdx-way.com a few months ago said (hint: not everything on their site is publicly linked. Try a search on google with +site:mdx-way.com and check out the "related" links and you can find all kinds of stuff that's not quite public yet (it works for other sites too... try it for Infinity at Brickell's site and you can get around their temporary homepage roadblock and see everything).

This is the article I remember reading...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/8806237.htm

June 1, 2004
Proposed parkway runs into dead end

A proposed north-south expressway through the heart of Miami-Dade County is dead before it got off the drawing board.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com

A proposed eight-mile toll road that was supposed to relieve some of the north-south traffic strain from Interstate 95 and the Palmetto Expressway is dead in its infancy.

Black community opposition, led by County Commissioner Betty Ferguson and Opa-locka leaders, killed the Central Parkway proposal last week -- even before the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority got it off the preliminary drawing boards.

At Ferguson's urging, the Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to remove the parkway -- and its very preliminary, pie-in-the-sky $927 million to $1.2 billion price tag -- from a key long-range transportation plan.

If Ferguson has her way, it won't ever get back into the mix.

''We need to stop building roads that destroy our communities and get people on the buses and the Metrorail and the Tri-Rail,'' said Ferguson, who is not running for reelection. ``It's dumb to keep building roads. We have to stop being dumb.''

The proposed expressway would have been the first major north-south highway built in Miami-Dade in more than two decades.

Road builders and traffic planners say fears of massive community disruption were unfounded.

Most of the limited-access parkway would have been built above or directly east of already-procured rail lines that the state purchased years ago from the CSX railroad and through largely blighted and redeveloping warehouse districts, said Sam Gonzalez, director of engineering for the expressway authority.

But the expressway planners were failing to hear a deeply ingrained distrust of road building projects in predominantly black communities like Opa-locka.

Opa-locka Mayor Myra Taylor issued the oft-heard rallying cry: ``We remember what [Interstate] 95 did to Overtown.''

It didn't matter that the current version on the drawing boards never would have entered Opa-locka. The earlier versions dating back to the late 1960s did.

In 1969, the Florida Department of Transportation proposed a 16-mile toll road called the Le Jeune-Douglas Expressway. It would have started at the Broward County line, at the present day start of the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike, and run along Douglas Road south to the Palmetto Expressway.

South of the Palmetto, it would have curved west to parallel Le Jeune Road until it reached the Airport Expressway. South of the airport, it would have curved eastward to parallel Douglas Road until its terminus at South Dixie Highway in Coconut Grove.

At $107 million in 1969 dollars, the Le Jeune-Douglas Expressway was considered way too costly and would have disrupted too many residential areas. Local voters killed the plan.

A private developer tried to resurrect the renamed Sunpike project in the early 1990s, but it also died.

One of Ferguson's biggest supporters in killing the parkway was Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, who backed various incarnations of the proposal over the years. He refused to support the current version because it would have dropped thousands of new cars every day at the Gratigny Parkway.

Expressway authority chairman Darryl Sharpton said local politicians killed the project before they ever got a chance to sell it to the community. The authority was about to spend $1.3 million for financial feasibility studies and the first in a series of community meetings, he said.

The early studies were supposed to determine whether the authority could even attract private-sector partners to underwrite the construction costs for a cut of the future profits.

Sharpton and Gov. Jeb Bush's appointee to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Miami Beach developer and attorney Ronald Krongold, cast the only two votes in favor of the parkway.

''To not go forward at least with a study -- in a community that is so locked up in traffic and getting worse every single day -- is not good government,'' Krongold said.

``The traffic in this area is going to get worse and worse and worse. We should do something.''

I did some more searching and it keeps looking more and more grim for the parkway... also, a search of mdx-way.com doesn't reveal anything newer than 2002.

These are the minutes from a Miami-Dade MPO meeting dated May 27, 2004:
http://www.miamidade.gov/mpo/docs/MPO_board_meeting_20040527.pdf

REQUEST BY BOARD MEMBER BETTY T. FERGUSON RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE 2025 LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN (LRTP) ON AN EMERGENCY BASIS (AS REQUIRED BY THE MPO PROSPECTUS) AND ALSO AN AMENDMENT TO THE FY 2004-2008 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (TIP) TO DELETE THE CENTRAL PARKWAY PROJECT (PUBLIC HEARING)

Mayor Myra Taylor, City of Opa-Locka, informed the Board that the City of Opa-Locka supported the deletion of the Central Parkway Project from the Transportation Plan. She then concluded by stating that the Central Parkway Project would have a negative impact on the City of Opa-Locka. Mr. Norman Wartman stated that he opposed the deletion of the Central Parkway project from the Transportation Plan. He further stated that the current Central Parkway as listed in the 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program does not divide the City of Opa-Locka. He further clarified that the original plans of the Central Parkway would have continued northeast and therefore bisected at the Opa-Locka Airport. He then stated that this portion of the project was removed a decade ago as a result of strong community outburst of disapproval.

Board Member Ferguson requested clarity on the route the commuters would use once they exit the Gratigny Parkway heading east. Ms. Winsome Bowen, MDX Project Manager, responded that commuters would use NW 119th Street as their access route to the east. She further stated that a separate study revealed that it would not be feasible to add more lanes to NW 119th Street because the current lanes could accommodate the projected traffic increase for the next 20 years. Board Member Ferguson concluded the discussion by expressing concern with the negative impact the traffic increase would have on the community along the NW 119th Street Corridor.

Board Member Rolle requested clarity on whether any community outreach had been done for the potentially impacted corridors. Mr. Gonzalez responded that the study would entail a 6 month community outreach that would research the impact Central Parkway would have on the corridors.

Board Member Hantman asked if the Central Parkway project is deleted what would be the impact on the transportation mobility of Miami-Dade County if the project is removed. Mr. Gonzalez responded that MDX views this project as vital to the overall mobility of traffic in Miami-Dade County. He also stated that there are no future plans to expand I-95 and SR 826 Expressways. He further clarified by stating that Central Parkway would provide a needed alternative to North/South mobility in Miami-Dade County.

Board Member Martinez stated that the City of Hialeah originally supported Central Parkway with the understanding that the project would continue to the Broward County line. He further stated that he encouraged the MDX staff to meet with the City of Opa-Locka to retain their support of the project. He concluded by stating that it is not logical to pursue the project if it will terminate at the Gratigny.

Board Member Sharpton stated that the proposed Central Parkway envisions the traffic conditions that Miami-Dade County will face in the next 20 years. He further stated that the MDX Board shares the sentiments of the MPO Board and therefore would like an opportunity to study the impact Central Parkway would have on the surrounding communities.

Chairperson Carey-Shuler requested clarity on whether NW 37th Avenue was considered as an option to Central Parkway. Mr. Gonzalez stated that the study currently does not entail NW 37th Avenue as an option. He concluded by stating it could be added during the study. Board Member Krongold expressed concern with the proposed resolution to delete Central Parkway. He further clarified that the study could provide an opportunity to discover ways of alleviating the negative impact the highway may have on the surrounding community. He concluded by stating that the study should be done first before a decision to stop the project is made.

Board Member Barreiro stated that building more roads is not the solution to the congestion problem Miami-Dade County. He further stated that mass transit is the best solution. He concluded by suggesting that the funds dedicated to Central Parkway be bonded and used towards expediting the People’s Transportation Plan projects.

Board Member Moss stated that the dialogue with the potentially impacted communities should have taken place prior to this issue being brought before the MPO Board. He concluded by stating that he will support the Board Members who represent communities that would be impacted by Central Parkway.

After much discussion, Board Member Ferguson moved for approval of the resolution. Board Member R. Martinez seconded the motion. The resolution was approved with two dissent of votes.

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http://www.tollroadsnews.com/cgi-bin/a.cgi/bzTZfL8XEdiRW6r2jfFwDw
2004.06.15
ANTI-ROADISTS WIN
Central Parkway dropped from metro Miami plan

The Central Parkway is being put on the back shelf at the Miami Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) following a vote against it at the area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MDMPO) May 31. MDX officials are convinced the highway is needed and that eventually it will be built, but they won't take the project further until it gains political support. The present 5-year workplan of MDX provides $1.6m for project development of the highway - largely sketch plans of alternatives and public consultation.

But that has been forestalled by the MDMPO vote.

The Central Parkway is a 12.5km (8mi) north-south link between the Airport Expressway (FL112) near Miami International Airport and the Gratigny Expressway (FL924) with interchanges at NW54th, NW79th, and NW103rd streets.

"Central" is accurate. The location of the road is certainly in the center of the southeast Florida metro area. The Central Parkway would be midway between I-95 to the east and FL826 (Palmetto Expressway) to the west - about 6km (3.8mi) from each.

The overused term "Parkway" is especially inappropriate in the case of the Central Parkway because a less parklike environment would be difficult to imagine. Most of the route is gritty commercial development - warehousing, factories, wholesaling and retailing. Not a tree or shrub to be seen anywhere here. The commercial development located there because the corridor has always had the major railroad in from the north. It used to be a commercial strip where the freight railroads pushed freight cars off onto different businesses' sidings. And it still handles some rail freight but of course most of the deliveries and pickups are by truck nowadays.

The plan for the Central Parkway is for it to be almost entirely elevated, either atop the railroad lines or immediately to its east. It would then be grade separated from the many sidings and local streets in the area - approximately $900m in cost.
Opposition

Opposition to the highway is a mix of anti-roads sentiment and racial politics. The residential areas immediately away from the commercial strip are 80 percent or so black in a metro area with a hispanic majority.

The MIAMI HERALD reported the vote: "Black community opposition, led by County Commissioner Betty Ferguson and Opa-locka leaders, killed the Central Parkway proposal last week..." (2004-06-01) It isn't just race however. MDX chairman Darryl Sharpton is black and a strong supporter of the Central Parkway - at least he favored an orderly process in which the authority would prepare the case for the road, seek discussion, and examine alternatives.

Chief opponent Ferguson is plain anti-road. She said at the MPO meeting: "We need to stop building roads that destroy our communities and get people on the buses and the Metrorail and the Tri-Rail. It's dumb to keep building roads. We have to stop being dumb."

But the viability of this area depends on roads, and at the moment it is a congested, slowly moving grid of signalized arterials. Governor Jeb Bush's appointee to the MDMPO Ronald Krogold argued that only road improvements would help tackle road congestion in the area, and support the local economy. But he and MDX chair Darryl Sharpton provided the only votes for the Central Parkway to go forward. All the rest sided agin it with Ferguson. TOLLROADSnews 2004-06-15

What we need is more mass transit, less expressways. Get people out of their cars. I only wish that I-95 would be demolished from US-1 to lets say NW 36 ST and I-395 gone completely. Then Downtown Miami would look even greater!

yeah so Central parkway is basically a no go? and I don't think the North-South rail corridor is gonna help that much to alleviate traffic on the palmetto and I-95! I hope I'm wrong though!

What we need is more mass transit, less expressways. Get people out of their cars. I only wish that I-95 would be demolished from US-1 to lets say NW 36 ST and I-395 gone completely. Then Downtown Miami would look even greater!

It would look "great" as an abandoned ghetto being overtaken by jungle and decay with plummeting property values. Don't kid yourself. Regardless of how dense downtown might get, it'll never have enough of a population to support the kind of cultural amenities everyone wants it to have. It needs Broward and the rest of Miami-Dade county's dollars. Without decent roads, they won't go. Hell, Broward residents dread venturing "south of the border" and talk about Miami as though it were a third-world country as it is. If the only way they could get to downtown Miami is via Metrorail, they wouldn't go. Period. And things that are financially dependent upon them (read: the Heat, among others) would leave and build a new arena next to Pro Player or Sawgrass Mills.

Ferguson is a stupid touchy-feely liberal bitch who needs to be slapped back into reality. The only good news is that her own district is likely to get thoroughly razed and rebuilt by developers over the next 5 years, so she's going to lose her voter base and eventually get voted out of office.

Miami needs Central Parkway. It's the only thing that can make any kind of meaningful dent in the gridlock on 836. This is absolutely the worst news I've seen regarding Dade roads. All the people happily dancing on its grave, gleefully singing paens to mass transit have done is permanently condemn Broward residents (and implicitly, Dade residents who have to share I-95 and 836 with them) to hour-long commutes forever. Because even if Tri-rail trains ran every 2 minutes and Metrorail ran directly to every single office in Miami, it would still take an hour or more to get there via transit. The dirty secret of transit is the fact that it can ONLY be faster than driving when roads are allowed to become hopelessly gridlocked. Transit can never compete with a wide open road, because someone driving directly to their destination at 80mph will always get there first.

I think it was Dave Barry who observed that the main motive for Miami-Dade residents supporting Metrorail expansion was the hope that it would get all the other drivers off the road...

ok let me comment on this one aspect


miami roads are so overcrowded because broward workers commute here for work to our downtown and our airport.

broward has this viewpoint of miami that is completly outdated and wrong they have more ghettos in broward and a larger black population so to think that miami is ghetto is so ironic.

if we could get broward workers to stay in broward miami's unemployment rate would be non existent and our roads would be much less crowded and traffic would instantly be cutt in half.

this reminds me of texas dallas and fortworth FW would trash talk dallas as a city but when it came down to it they all travelled to dallas for work and depended on dallas for thier existence just like broward depends on miami.

one thing i have seen is that alot more airport traffic and port traffic has increased creating jobs in broward and alot of tourism on the newriver but still not enough business to support them.

miamicanes, I don't give a @#$% what the people in Broward think about us in Miami. Let me get this straight, we need to destroy Miami's neighborhoods so Broward residents can save forty minutes on their commute. Well, no way. Yeah, the panthers left and look how well it has gone for them. Ghetto? Third World Country? Plumetting property values? Stop smoking from Ricky's stash :bash: . All great cities have great mass transit and are not dependent on expressways. :)

can't we all just get along,both counties have benefitted from each other although broward has benefitted from miami's recognition.

ex-miami was known to be one of the greatest spots for spring break,and a few years ago ft.l started gaining popularity.

also broward has benefitted from miami's const. boom
and also broward has benefitted from miami's tourism industry

ftlauderdale has beaches that are 3 feet wide!

i doubt they are gaining popularity during spring break
southbeach is packed with teenagers come spring break

only thing ftlauderdale had past tense is the air and sea show and now they want to come to miami being that they will get better treatment and much more profits here in miami...

http://community.webshots.com/topics/8/128381508_views_0.htm

These two cities co-exist together. End of story. They need transit options.

I hate to break it to all the mass-transit True Believers, but the vast majority of people moving downtown aren't doing so because of transit, nor are they doing so because they work downtown... they're doing so because it takes 15 minutes to drive from Brickell to Doral (or the airport, or some other area that's west of downtown) because 98% of the traffic is headed in the other direction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that driving against traffic is an easy way to escape gridlock. If that were to suddenly change, and driving to jobs out west suddenly became just as bad as driving downtown from Kendall, downtown property values would take a major hit.

"reverse commuting" is a fairly recent, but widespread phenomenon everywhere (I had a few co-workers in Plano who lived in Downtown Dallas for that exact reason... it took them something like 20 minutes to get from Turtle Creek to Plano up the Tollway because the northbound lanes were practically deserted. The southbound lanes were another matter...)

Metrorail definitely needs to go west to FIU and east to South Beach. It should definitely go all the way south to Cutler Ridge. Metromover should probably be extended north to Midtown. It would be great if it could be extended west from Brickell down Coral Way, but not if it meant having to cut down the trees in the middle (maybe if they ran over the street one block north or south).

But none of that will make any noticeable difference to Miami's traffic problems. Central Parkway won't solve all of them, but it's one of the few options that will make a noticeable difference that normal drivers can see. You might not care about how long it takes Broward residents to drive to work in Miami, but you will when they're contributing to the traffic jam and gridlock you're stuck in too. The faster and more easily they can get out of Dade, the faster and more easily we can get home too.

Ferguson and her whiney politically-active-militantly-poor constituents are the reason they built metrorail north through Liberty City instead of west to the Airport and FIU the first time around. Yeah, the initial plans for Phase I Metrorail were a line from Dadeland to Downtown, and another line from Downtown to FIU. They even designed Government Center for the station. But then the riots happened, and Miami decided to throw them a cookie and build Metrorail there instead -- totally overlooking the fact that it makes no financial sense to build a billion dollar heavy rail system to an area where the people would take the bus anyway because they have no choice (as opposed to serving areas where the locals can easily drive to wherever, but might occasionally take Metrorail instead if it's exceptionally convenient).

broward needs jobs so they can get off miami dade highways end of story

miami has mass transit in place and it wont make a difference because the people forced to use it are miami residents while broward residents clog our roads.

I live in broward and I do not know anyone directly who works in miami-dade. Also if you say theres such a large number of Broward people working in Miami job market doesnt that show you that Broward residents are educated and have what it takes to run a business? If you do not want Broward residents working in your Miami then educate your citizens a little better and let them fill the jobs.
Secondly I highly doubt a large number of people living north of Hollywood would actually commute into Miami-Dade. South Broward residents I could see doing it more than any of the county.
Also we have Palm Beach residents commuting into Broward.
With your thinking I suggest you follow Berlins footsteps and build a wall at the Miami-Dade line.

first of all it isn't just Broward drivers fault for our clogged roads but the under capacity of our roads to handle the traffic that currently exists even for the residents of Miami Dade. Throw into the equation the 10 million tourists that pass through our county every year ( which averages out to an extra 27,000 people per day) plus all of the commercial vehicles on the road which I consider to be an even bigger problem.
I wish we had seperate lanes for commercial/passenger vehicles on I-95 similar to what they have on the New Jersey Turnpike.
let's not ruin and turn this thread into a Dade vs. Broward battle...we are one metro with the exact same transportation problems.

Lest there be any doubt, I'm not arguing that Broward = evil. I'm pointing out the obvious fact that Broward commuters who work in Miami basically have two viable routes: I-95, and I-75 to 826 to 836. The second, in particular, has only gotten worse over the years as more Dade residents have moved to new homes in Miramar and elsewhere along the 75 corridor upon realizing that once you hit 75 the traffic mostly vaporizes and Everything Becomes Nicer, cheaper, and less aggravating than even 2 or 3 miles south ;)

Widening 826 would be nearly impossible because the County stupidly let people build right up next to the road 20 years ago, and demolishing everything along one side or another would be cost-prohibitive.

Widening 95 now that the sound abatement wall is up would be another cost-prohibitive project that in any case wouldn't do much for the growing number of people moving to southwest Broward.

On the other hand, there's plenty of room to build Central Parkway over the railroad. Doing so would eliminate a MAJOR bottleneck and successfully shift nearly all the Broward-bound traffic from the most congested parts of 826 and 836 and leave more room for Dade residents. So everyone can get home sooner.

I might add that Ms. Ferguson also has a personal axe to grind over road construction. She's still pissed about having her house demolished 30 years ago to build SR-112.

Well as is Golden Glades needs a complete overhaul its usless and outdated and to get on palmetto from 95 SB you have to do all sorts of fuckin acrobatic turns to get in the right lanes and vice versa palmetto to 95 NB. Also when I have driven to Miami in the evening I see rush traffic flowing north of Golden Glades but once I drive HOV SB from that high up one can clearly see that Godlen Glades is a major cause for NB commuters backups. Is there any plan to change this interchange(s)

Everyone has valid points, Broward is a major factor (but not as big as many of you are implying). It is indeed the South Broward residents that commute, and the Central Parkway could've been a great way to alleviate traffic on the dolphin/836, the palmetto/826 (removing those commuting from SouthWest Broward), and to an extent, may help I-95 a little! Too bad this project got dropped, maybe it'll resurface in the years to come!

scraperdude you may not know anyone in broward that works in miami
well i can tell you all i know is that theres a huge backup of traffic flowing from downtown all the way into broward every evening and vice versa every morning. only citys that bound i95 to the west are liberty city, north miami, and to the east little haiti miami shores. all either very wealthy neighborhoods and they are retired or very poor and live off the government.

so where are all these so called dade residents driving to? they are driving to broward becuase in fact they are broward residents.

biscayne blvd is clogged
i 95 is clogged
turnpike is clogged
i 75 is clogged

only justifiable traffic is the airport traffic and southbeach traffic on weekends

other then that i say we should put toll roads right at the golden glades interchange and tax the living Sh** out of broward residents for using our roads. maybe then they will have a valid reason for saying they dont want to come over here. but then what job oppurtunities would they have?

and on a second note boca raton has great job oppurtunities therefore west palm beach people commute downwards and broward people commute up and down there county lines. i personally know very few miami people that commute north for work and if so they commute to boca raton not broward for work. i also personally know plenty of broward residents who commute back and forth to miami.

Rx...I think it's very outlandish of you to blame all (or even most) of our traffic problems on Broward County residents. Miami-Dade is a county of 2.3 million people, just like all other metros our size, there WILL be a sizeable amount of traffic.

Believe it or not, Most of the people that drive on Miami Roads are Miami Residents!

as much as we have grown as a city you cannot be blind to the fact that our traffic would be much better without the browards commuters whom drastically have increased in the last few years clogging thier own roads also.

TRAFFIC WOES

Broward's traffic congestion got worse faster than any other community between 1996 and 2001, according to a study. But overall, Miami-Dade's traffic is still worse. To learn more about the study, go to

www.mobility.tamu.edu/ums


HOURS OF TRAFFIC DELAY PER PERSON*

1996 2001
Broward 15 28
Miami-Dade 27 33
National average 22 26

how many broward residents commute 80,000 each day and this figure is from back in 2002 which means its higher now.source is below.

http://www.brickellhomeowners.com/news/fall2002/index.html#mayor

how many people travel on i95 in miami average daily?

260,000 in miami 2002 figures
298,000 in broward use i95 in 2002

minus the 80,000 broward residents that use miami roads thats a big difference in traffic flow


http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-095.html

Are you forgetting that a good number of Miami-Dade residents flocked up to Broward after Andrew. South Browards population influx is owed a lot to former Miami-Dade drivers that moved north of the county line so when it comes down to it IT IS MIAMI-DADE drivers on your roads. Just because they moved north to Broward didnt mean they had to give up employment in Miami-Dade. Has this ever occourred to you?

ok street so its fair to blame them for 30 percent then
being that thats what 80,000 broward cars represent on I95 each morning out of 260,000 cars daily

so am i wrong when the facts are there....

30 percent of a million is 300 thousand
30 percent of a dollar is 30 cents
30 percents of your body youd be walking on your balls street

so i can say 30 percent is a considerable amount ,enough to make a difference, wouldnt you?

bottom line they arent miami dade residents anymore
so if thier grocery, vet, dr, gym, school, voters poll is in broward

then maybe they should have half the decency of taking tri-rail to work if they are going to come into miami or make any statements regarding miami or our horrible traffic due partly 30 percent to them.

I will not disagree with you on that People should get their ass on tri-rail but miami-dade residents also drive into ft lauderdale I work with people from as far as Kendall here in downtown ft. lauderdale and as far as palm beach gardens to the north and they drive here..... so its a tri county problem. I moved to the city because I work in the city and I no longer drive so im one less car on the freeway but the commuting will never ever change and until tri-rail can have trains running every 20 minutes it just doesnt fit peoples schedules so they will continue to clog your roads and mine. I agree with tolling most roads. Here turnpike flows in broward more faster than 95 because people are too fucking cheap to pay a toll so they use a free highway. If they were all tolled im sure people would think of alternatives because its costing them extra money to drive..... toll the broward residents but toll miami dade as well. All along the county line every road and streets and freeway toll booths..... Actually London has the Central London Congestion Zone a 5 pound fee anytime you drive into the zone.............. it has reduced traffic somewhat. Maybe Miami could benefit by doing the same.....

ok street so its fair to blame them for 30 percent then
being that thats what 80,000 broward cars represent on I95 each morning out of 260,000 cars daily

so am i wrong when the facts are there....

30 percent of a million is 300 thousand
30 percent of a dollar is 30 cents
30 percents of your body youd be walking on your balls street

so i can say 30 percent is a considerable amount ,enough to make a difference, wouldnt you?



Dude, you better read your sources more carefully


"Of the projected $140-150 million expected to be raised locally, 40 percent will be paid by tourists, including those 80,000 Broward County residents who work in Miami-Dade.A "maintenance of effort" component of the plan ensures that the tax will supply additional revenues for transit improvements, the Mayor emphasized.


This says absolutely nothing about I-95 (or any road, highway, transit service, etc). Why are you stating that all the Broward County residents that work in Miami use I-95. That's just an absurd logic!


Your 30 percent figures are false and probably not even close!

If one considers the ridership on all of the roads in Miami, probably close to a million, that 80,000 surely won't translate into these "30 percent" figures you're spewting out! Not to mention the amount of Miami-Dade residents that commute into Broward.

Back to original point, regardless of county lines, South Florida residents often commute far distances, and we all contribute to the clogging of South Florida roads and freeways!

amen brutha!

[QUOTE=tivo]Last I heard the Central Parkway has been scrapped... Too much local opposition. Had it been built it would have run parallel to NW 37th Ave, along the CSX railroad tracks and would have been completely Sunpass-only. It would have connected to the Gratigny (924) directly to I-75. It would not have gone up to the Palmetto because the right-of-way would have cut right through St. Thomas University.

Besides what you've already mentioned, one of the things that keeps 112 from becoming an interstate is that the airport entrance ramp has an at-grade railroad crossing... and they can't place the ramp above grade because there is a runway directly to the west.


A new overpass is being built over 836 to create an entrance and exit at NW 97th Ave. So west of 826 there will be four exits: NW 87th Ave, NW 97th Ave, NW 107th Ave, and finally the Turnpike... Eventually 836 will be extended to NW 137th Ave.
ONLY One MISTAKE TIVO :) , The 97th AVENUE OVERPASS at 836 DOLPHIN will Have NO EXIT or ENTRANCE Ramps to the 836, BRIDGE ONLY :) , The REASON is because of the Schools to the South of 97th Avenue, ITS ONLY a Connector to the NORTH DORAL AREA :) and the SOUTH FountainBleau AREA :) , with a FOUR LANE Bridge Going Over the 836 and the CSX RAILROAD and OVER N. W. 12 th Street With No Interchange THERE EITHER, its Just a CONNECTOR, That's ALL FOLK's !!!. :cheers:

its this simple, traffic is a bitch, partly because u have alotta browardians commuting here, but face it, most traffic in dade county is from, u guessed it, dade county

now whoever is causing the traffic, its there, and something needs to be done, and lets face it, were not at the point rite now where mass transit can fix it, so we needed central parkway, fukin ferguson, thats bullshit, but dont worry this same project has resurfaced every few years, itll b bak again, and by then itll b so bad that they wont ever b able to say no

ohh im sorry i guess they take thier private jets here and thats why we have FAA limiting the hieght on these buildings!

how else you think they get here rollerskates?

broward residents commute on miami roads using AUTOMOBILES, CARS, CARROS, SUV'S, GEO PRIZM'S, FORD FOCUS, RAV 4'S

unless im wrong and you have some type of teleporting device hidden away that we dont know about then by all means please share that way we can alleaviate miami residents commute. or maybe they passed by opalocka and bought majic flying rugs? i guess only way left is that they are mutants and posses superpowers of flight? or you have some hidden bicycle trail that runs the span of i95 that we miami residents dont know anything about?

the source states how many work here 80 freaking thousand of them. and only 260 thousand use i95 daily thats 1/3, 30 percent, numbers are there and golden glade interchange isnt there just incase someone might decide to use it. its there becuase broward residents built it they brought down the farm when they built it.

Im tired of talking about browards traffic and tired of hearing them post that they dont come here to miami or use our roads its a bit ignorant to think they dont commute here thats a fact not an opinion and 30 percent is still 30 percent and makes a hell of alot of difference.

30 percent of an hours commute is 20 mins
so everyday i could save 20 mins to and from
work if it wasnt for broward residents on our roads.

The MDX Five Year Transportation Improvement Program consists of 27 projects for a total of $204.5 million for Fiscal Year 2005 and approximately $847 million for the entire Five-Year Work Program (FY05-FY09).


http://www.mdx-way.com/pdfs/FY05-09%20Work%20Program%20Summary.pdf

Map

http://www.mdx-way.com/pdfs/FY05-09-Map.pdf

comeon DONT FIGHT were all one metro, we gotta fight atlanta and other metros lool j/p

tru scraper, the golden glades is bad and its alot of acrobat shit to get from one to another lool but i dont want them to knock down the hov lanes those have the best views


and chuck tru about 97 ave, ive seen them building it, but true no exits just an overpass, nice.

anyways the new parking garage at jackson is going sky high like 7 or 8 floors up right over 836,

lol good if the broward residents work in downtown miami, just more reason to build MORE OFFICE TOWERS! A 1000 FOOTER, lol

Im tired of talking about browards traffic and tired of hearing them post that they dont come here to miami or use our roads its a bit ignorant to think they dont commute here thats a fact not an opinion and 30 percent is still 30 percent and makes a hell of alot of difference.

30 percent of an hours commute is 20 mins
so everyday i could save 20 mins to and from
work if it wasnt for broward residents on our roads.




The thing is, it's NOT 30 percent...that was the whole point of my last post!


the source states how many work here 80 freaking thousand of them. and only 260 thousand use i95 daily thats 1/3, 30 percent, numbers are there and golden glade interchange isnt there just incase someone might decide to use it. its there becuase broward residents built it they brought down the farm when they built it.


wow...you still don't get it! :pet:

do the math

260k use only i 95 everyday not other expressways that number is larger
80k of these are broward residents that work in miami

80k = 30 percent of 260k

do you want me to bring up palmetto and turnpike figures im sure its much larger and there more browardians commuting to miami then mentioned.

ONLY One MISTAKE TIVO :) , The 97th AVENUE OVERPASS at 836 DOLPHIN will Have NO EXIT or ENTRANCE Ramps to the 836, BRIDGE ONLY :)
Oops... didn't proofread that very well did I (thanks Chuck)... too bad though... there should be exits every mile on that stretch, especially when 836 is extended to 137th Ave.

...a few talking points...

First point: Highways aren't just about carrying commuters... they carry freight, our commerce, etc. To not upgrade existing infrastructure would be economic suicide, and to destroy existing infrastructure would be even worse.

I-95 is at its maximum legally allowable width, so the sound barriers are a permanent fixture. It was either the Florida Legislature or FDOT that set a maximum road width on future construction several years back, (i.e., we'll never see an Atlanta Downtown Connector here under current law). If my memory serves me correctly, local arterials are capped at 6 lanes and expressways at 8. Biscayne Blvd and SW 8th Street were already widened to eight lanes (or were being widened) before this went into effect.

The Palmetto Expressway is being widened and reconstructed... it's being done in phases... over the past few years, whole interchanges and overpasses have been rebuilt... With the completion of the dual-laning of the I-75 Northbound flyover, the Palmetto is new from NW 103rd St all the way to the Big Curve, and NW 25th St and NW 58th St have been rebuilt. Now NW 36th St, NW 74th St and Okeechobee Rd/S River Drive are all under construction simultaneously. It's amazing to watch the construction as I go by -- they manage to do their work with minimal lane closures, keeping the lanes open during peak hours. I can't wait to see the 836/826 interchange finished; it will be nice to be able to be able to get on 836 west from 826 north without having to go eastbound and exit at NW 72nd Ave!

Second: South Florida's urbanized area is only about 20 miles wide east to west at its widest point and 100 miles long north to south. Like it or not, north/south traffic is ALWAYS going to be bad, and at that point where that north/south traffic needs to go east or west for whatever reason that may be, it's going to be just as bad if not worse.

Space is FINITE here... we're pigeon-holed in by water conservation areas on one side and the ocean on the other... we CAN'T built west anymore. That's a product of our unique geographical condition.

The Central Parkway would have provided some relief to the Palmetto and I-95, but for how long? Sooner or later that road would have reached capacity just like every other highway in the area has, as the population and the number of motorists increase on BOTH sides of the county line. What then? There's nowhere else left to build.

To think that cars are going to magically disappear overnight is a fantasy, but I hope that we can reduce the near-total dependency on them. In Japan, many employers pay for the transit fares of their employees (and I'm sure they get some sort of tax benefit from that). It wouldn't hurt if we came up with some creative schemes like that here.

Third: Many people left southern Dade and moved into western Broward (especially SW Broward -- Pembroke Pines, Miramar, etc.). And the initial response to moving was how "new" everything was, how "clean" everything was, and how smooth the traffic was... It was really naive to think that a mass exodus of people moving into the same area at the same time wouldn't reproduce the same problems.

What has obviously come to light is that the residents who fled by the thousands simply brought all their problems with them... now the congestion is just a little farther north.

This whole "traffic is better in Broward" idea is a farce, especially for anyone who has ever been on I-595 during rush hour, or I-75 at Pines Blvd or Sheridan Street. Or Pines Blvd PERIOD. Only their congestion is simply more spread out.

The moral of this story: the traffic chokepoints simply MOVED. It's a REGIONAL problem. If the people lived in Dade instead of Broward, the chokepoint would simply be farther south.

Fourth: As much potential as it has, Tri-rail doesn't reach the western Broward suburbs. Until some viable means of rapid transit reaches this part of the county and provides adequate connections to Dade's transit network, these people will continue to drive to work. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority needs to exercise its new regional muscle to get these projects coordinated.

Fifth: Do you REALLY want all those jobs to move to Broward? Do you really want all of those companies that pay rent and taxes in THIS county to flee and move to Broward? Remember that a lot of Broward cities succeeded in luring companies across the line (and increased their tax rolls at the same time)... hmm, let me think... Lucent, WTVJ-NBC6, American Express, Royal Carribean, and others had substantial offices in Dade and crossed over.

Finally, since that original MPO meeting, Commissioner Ferguson has retired, and Barbara Jordan (a former Assistant County Manager) is the new Commissioner for District 1. That does not change or eliminate, however, the distrust and bad sentiment felt by many constituents on the adverse effects that highway construction has had on some parts of this area, whether or not you may believe that they are right or wrong. It is possible that this idea could be resurrected in the future, but, as with ALL politics, it's going to take a lot of lobbying and some quid pro quo to make an argument compelling enough to fully justify the need for this roadway. But remember, traffic is STILL going to be bad. Single-occupant vehicles are not sustainable in the long term.

Some food for thought

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/6773231.htm

TRANSPORTATION
Gridlock solution sets high example
Like South Florida, Tampa has headache-inducing congestion on its expressway, but the city has actually hit on an innovative alternative.

BY SCOTT ANDRON
sandron@herald.com

TAMPA - The 100,000 people who use the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway here every day have a problem that South Floridians can relate to: bumper-to-bumper traffic. Too many cars on too small a road.

But as you ride this nine-mile stretch of freeway between downtown Tampa and the eastern suburb of Brandon, you see something sprouting in the median that South Florida drivers may have cause to envy: relief.

Rising out of the center of the highway are six-foot-wide concrete pillars that will, within two years, support a 60-foot-wide upper deck. The deck's three reversible express lanes will more than double the Selmon's capacity and increase its rush-hour performance grade from the current F to a breezy B.

Broward's Interstate 595 and Miami-Dade's Dolphin Expressway have a lot in common with the Selmon. All three are congested expressways hemmed in by development to the point where widening them probably wouldn't be practical.

But while South Florida highway officials say they can promise, at best, only modest improvements to congestion, the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority is promising a large and lasting solution.

''I don't believe in this business things always have to get worse,'' said Patrick McCue, the authority's executive director. ``We had to have more capacity on this road to accommodate our commuters.''

The authority could have built the additional lanes at ground level in the median of the Selmon. But this would have exhausted all of the land available for future growth, leaving the authority with no more options when congestion becomes a problem again in the future.

So McCue came up with the double-decking alternative. The problem was that double-deck expressways have a terrible reputation, and are widely thought of as ugly.

In Dallas, for instance, plans to add a second deck to the Central Expressway were abandoned during the 1980s in the face of community opposition.

= [100.0] = [100.0] pa's urban landscape. McCue pointed to the firm's distinctive design for the Sunshine Skyway bridge across Tampa Bay, which has become a source of community pride in that part of the state.

Rather than a big, blocky upper deck like those built in the 1960s, Figg proposed a slim structure supported by a single row of six-foot-wide piers spaced through the center of the median.

No opposition mounted

McCue said the Expressway Authority, a group of Tampa leaders appointed by the governor, wanted to make sure that the upper deck would not be ``some ugly piece of trash that people had to put up with.''

When it came time for the big public hearing, opposition to the project was nonexistent, McCue said.

''There was no opposition,'' he said. ``Not one person objected to the building of this project.''

A likely reason: The project is expected to reduce congestion dramatically. Highway officials use school-like grades to measure congestion, and much of the Selmon now gets an F during morning and evening rush hours.

The upper deck will increase the grade to at least a B when it opens, and it's expected to stay at least a C for 20 years, according to McCue's projections.

By then, the ground-level space will still be available for additional lanes or a light-rail system, McCue said.

Also, the Expressway Authority decided to keep tractor-trailers off the upper deck, reducing noise and the risk of accidents.

6 lanes, 6 feet

To save money and space, the upper deck will consist of three reversible lanes taking traffic into downtown Tampa in the morning and out of town in the evening. The reversible lanes will offer express travel only, with drivers able to enter at one end and exit only at the other end of the nine-mile stretch.

''They are getting six lanes of capacity in six feet of space,'' said Linda Figg, president and ''director of bridge art'' for the Figg firm.

The Tampa project is expected to cost $350 million and will be paid for with toll revenues at $1 per trip. The upper deck will have no toll booths and will be limited to SunPass users.

Building up rather than out has become increasingly common in the highway business in recent years, particularly at complex interchanges. In Dallas, for instance, the Texas DOT is building a gigantic clover leaf called the High Five -- so named for its five levels of interlaced ramps. And of course, South Florida drivers are familiar with the 100-foot-tall Golden Glades flyover, which allows High Occupancy Vehicles to bypass one of the region's worst bottlenecks.

But the Tampa project is unusual because it uses elevated bridges not to separate ramps going in various directions or to bypass a bottleneck but simply to fit more through lanes in a small space. That's pretty rare.

Perhaps the closest thing to it is a 10-mile section of double-deck freeway built during the 1980s on interstates 10 and 35 in San Antonio. That project used the same type of construction technology as the Tampa project to solve a similar problem -- fitting more lanes in a narrow space. Figg designed much of that project, too.

Congestion solvable?

McCue said his project has drawn inquiries from transportation officials from dozens of other communities and visitors from as far away as Australia.

But several highway officials contacted in South Florida didn't know much about it. And while expressways like I-595 and the Dolphin have much in common with the Selmon, like severe congestion and a lack of room to grow, local officials have no plans to try double-decking.

McCue is unusual in looking at urban traffic problems as solvable. The conventional wisdom among highway officials in large, fast-growing cities is that they can't build enough lanes to keep up with demand, and that mass transit is the only real long-term solution.

A capacity for roads

''There is no way we can build enough roads to meet the current capacity needs, let alone for the future,'' said Richard Kaplan, the Lauderhill mayor and chairman of Broward's transportation board, the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Kaplan, chairman of the state association of MPOs and a board member for the national association, hadn't heard about the Tampa project and was surprised to hear McCue's projections of an F-to-B improvement.

In the case of I-595, officials are planning to build two reversible express lanes in the median, which are expected to improve 595's rush-hour performance from an F to a D. Longer term, officials are studying a possible rail line or busway on 595, but it's not clear whether they can fit both the transit route and the new reversible lanes without buying more land.

''You've got a right-of-way issue,'' said Scott Seeburger, an engineer who is overseeing long-range planning for 595 for the Florida Department of Transportation. ``You've got a really tight corridor. You can't start demolishing a major part of a city to put in a highway.''

But Seeburger said a second deck was never seriously considered for 595.

There's no quick fix

As for the Dolphin, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority is trying to relieve bottlenecks by, for example, improving interchanges. But a double-deck solution would not work because the Dolphin has no median at all, said Servando M. Parapar, the authority's executive director.

While the Tampa deck will be supported by piers of only six feet in width, the Dolphin has only a barrier wall less than 2 feet wide.

''The conditions are very, very different,'' Parapar said. ``There is no place to put the piers.''

Some potential problems

Parapar said soon-to-be-completed improvements near the main toll plaza will improve the Dolphin's rush-hour service level from F to at least a D in that area. But much of rest of the the road will remain an F, at least for the moment.

Even if South Florida's expressways could be double-decked, Kaplan said he doubts whether it would be a good idea.

He said adding more lanes to the expressways would be more expensive than mass transit and would have a ripple effect, creating parking problems in downtown areas and congestion on feeder roads.

''We'd have to double-deck Broward Boulevard,'' he said. ``We'd have to double-deck Commercial Boulevard.''

WOW...great anaysis tivo and a very good article, at least Tampa is doing something to combat congestion. South Fla, on the other hand will only rise to D levels, and that's only in some areas.

I think Miami-Dade does provide some tax-benefit for residents that buy homes near transit options and actually use those options, I'm not sure about the details!

^Thanks street!

(Ironically, it was the Crosstown that experienced a setback a few months ago when the new elevated roadway they have been building partially collapsed during construction when a pylon sank due to an undiscovered sinkhole...)

Here's another interesting article about South Florida regionalism... BTW, if any of you are really interested in regionalism and stuff like that, there is a really good site http://www.soflo.org that has a great profile on our area.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7432911.htm
Posted on Sun, Dec. 07, 2003

SOUTH FLORIDA
Group's vision: Think regional
Instead of seeing 101 individual municipalities, these 'regionalists' see one community: South Florida.
BY WILLIAM YARDLEY
wyardley@herald.com

They meet in strange places and hire speakers to inspire themselves.

They recruit members to carry their message of togetherness across geographical, political and cultural boundaries. They build databases of demographics and housing and commuting trends to arm their argument -- which, if it were a reggae song, would essentially amount to an urban planner's remix of Bob Marley's One Love.

The chorus: Let us transcend paralyzing battles between counties and cities for government dollars and business investment. South Florida residents pay little attention to municipal borders -- they cross them constantly to work or eat or shop or sleep -- so why should government and business feel excessively proprietary about them?

They are the regionalists, and they want to change your world -- or maybe just let you know that your world is already changing, whether you realize it or not.

''It used to be city, state and country, and now it's really neighborhood, region and international,'' said Jim Murley, director of the Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University. ``The paradigm has changed.''

Driven, in part, by the very sprawl that regionalism is supposed to help contain and a sense that local governments may no longer have the vision or means to solve their problems, new cross-county regional initiatives are confronting transportation needs, land development, poverty and environmental vulnerabilities.

In just the past few months, various groups have worked together to encourage the future arrival of the Scripps Research Institute in Palm Beach County, to support making Miami the headquarters of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas and, on a perhaps more mundane but crucial level, urge the expansion of cross-county bus and rail routes.

STAYING COMPETITIVE

In South Florida, regionalism has been fueled by business leaders determined to stay competitive in a global economy as well as by regional planners and academics who warn that municipal myopia -- perpetuated by political self-preservation -- could leave the region behind other parts of Florida and the nation.

''The issues are not being fixed by the counties by themselves,'' said Anne Hotte, chairwoman of the Tri-County Leadership Council, a group formed this year by leadership groups in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. ``People just want to protect their own turf and interests.''

The idea of trying to rise above such provincialism is not new, but it has taken time to find traction in South Florida, whose three major counties are further divided by 101 municipalities and scores of ethnicities and nationalities.

Four years ago, the three counties agreed to pursue economic development projects as a region; but just two years later, Miami-Dade leaders furiously accused Broward of violating the agreement by offering Delta Air Lines $200,000 to move a Coral Gables call center to Miramar. Delta eventually did move to Broward, but the dispute surrounding the move led to a renewed commitment to cooperation between the counties.

COLLABORATION

Now, a region historically at odds has generated the Regional Business Alliance, the Tri-County Leadership Council, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and the South Florida Regional Resource Center.

Observers attribute the new collaboration to increasing civic maturity in a rapidly evolving part of the country. And also to fear.

''If the region is not able to do it, it will just lose competitive advantage to regions that can, even within Florida,'' said Allan Wallis, an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Denver's Graduate School of Public Affairs who also studies Florida. Wallis was the keynote speaker at a regionalism summit last month at the International Game Fish Association in Dania Beach, coordinated by the Tri-County Leadership Council.

This summer, as if to affirm the new initiatives, the federal government culminated a decadelong effort to redefine regions across the country by formally making a single metropolitan statistical area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, as well as Monroe County. The new designation united more than five million people, at least in name and numbers.

After an initial dust-up because Palm Beach County was not represented in the new area's title the federal Office of Management and Budget now plans to revise the title. The South Florida region will be known to federal statisticians as Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.

DIVISIONS

Yet while municipal boundaries may seem increasingly irrelevant in people's lives, where people settle in the region often still reflects cultural and ethnic divisions.

''Remember, a lot of the people in Broward and Palm Beach chose to leave Dade County for whatever reason -- the language, the traffic, whatever,'' Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jimmy Morales said.

But both Morales and Frank Nero, president and CEO of the Beacon Council, the county's economic development group, said a consistent drop in crime in Miami-Dade in recent years has softened the county's image and made it a more appealing partner to Broward and Palm Beach leaders. Others say the northern counties have come to realize the Miami name has crucial international cachet.

Broward's new county mayor, Ilene Lieberman, made a point in her inaugural remarks last week to emphasize her support for working with Broward's neighbors.

''If we work closely and in partnership with Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County, we can better achieve the many goals that would be of benefit to us all, in Tallahassee, Washington and at home,'' Lieberman said.

In October, when lobbying was intense in Tallahassee to have the state Legislature spend $310 million to help bring a branch of the nonprofit Scripps biomedical research firm to Palm Beach County, supporters sold the project as a benefit to all of South Florida.

''It's going to benefit all the state universities in the area and probably the University of Miami,'' said Mike Jones, president and CEO of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County. ``It's a regional asset.''

When a Miami-Dade legislator complained to Jones that Palm Beach County was getting so much help from the state, Jones said he countered by reminding the lawmaker that many Palm Beach leaders supported making Miami headquarters of the proposed FTAA.

''We grew up thinking of ourselves as three separate counties or three separate cities, and today we're more like Los Angeles,'' Jones said. ``We're one big megalopolis.''

Next year, the three counties' economic development groups -- the Beacon Council, the Broward Alliance and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County -- plan to hold joint meetings for some members.

Bridging political distances may take more time.

`BUMPS IN THE ROAD'

Morales said wounds from years of intense competition have not fully healed. Nor has every effort to one-up the neighbors been set aside.

At the regionalism summit held last month, Morales said, some were disappointed that the city of Miami had recently insisted the Florida Marlins baseball team be renamed the Miami Marlins if the city helps pay for a new stadium for the team within its boundaries.

But Nero made a point of saying that collaborating will not end competition.

''We're going to have some bumps in the road. We're not going to share all of the trade secrets with each other,'' Nero said. ``But I think you will see us increasingly promoting our respective counties, but also South Florida. I like to tell people that when we wave at each other now, we actually use all of our fingers.''

I can't find the link now, but I remember reading somewhere that the quote anti-road people like to throw around ("You can't build your way out of congestion") was actually taken wildly out of context and truncated... apparently, the WHOLE quote was made by a TxDOT official and went something along the lines of, "You can't build your way out of congestion one or two lanes at a time... if you don't grab the bull by its horns and radically increase the road's capacity, you're just going to cause years of construction misery with no visible lasting improvement when it's done."

As much as the anti-road people like to bitch about Texas (and Houston in general), the fact is that Houston is the only city in America where traffic congestion has gotten better in recent years... in no small part due to its massive freeway construction and rebuilding program. And, as TxDOT likes to point out, commute times for transit users in cities like Portland (which is almost religious about promoting transit) worsened even MORE than commute times for drivers in those same cities. The fact is, pushing transit over road-building doesn't get anybody to work faster. It just spreads around the misery and makes things worse for everyone. Cities need hardcore big roads with freely-flowing traffic and useful mass transit to prosper. Neglecting either is a surefire path to stress, grief, and unhappiness for residents and visitors.

Case in point: I-95 in Broward pre-widening. I wasn't old enough to drive yet, but I vaguely remember how awful it was. Had FDOT just added a lane to each side, chances are pretty good that traffic on 95 in Broward would still be dreadful 24/7. They had to radically rethink and rebuild every inch of the road to really increase its capacity. And I think everyone will agree it made a huge difference... even today, it rarely gets really bad unless there's a catastrophic accident that closes down half the road.

The original speaker's point wasn't that it's hopeless to try to outbuild congestion... you just can't piss around and hope a couple of bandaids will solve the problem. Is there anyone who really doubts that if 836 were rebuilt to I-95/Broward standards and double-decked like the road in Tampa, with 12 lanes at ground level & 6 lanes on the upper deck that only exited at 95, 826, and the Turnpike, Gratigny and 112 were both widened to 10-12 lanes, Central Parkway had at least 6, and the whole Turnpike in Dade got another 2 lanes on each side (to easily absorb traffic from 836's upper deck), it would make no real difference? With clear, wide-open paths to points northwest (SW Broward), west (Doral/Fountainbleu), and south (Kendall/Redlands/etc), it would definitely make a huge difference.

The only real improvement beyond that might be to do our own "big dig" and extend 95 all the way south to Florida City under US-1. But that would be so utterly cost-prohibitive it's not even worth wasting neurons over. Unless, say, they built a series of long suspension bridges whose decks were 100-200 feet above US-1... can we say, "South Dixie Skyway?" ;)

haha....what a funny thought!

What you're saying is true...but these major overhauls are simply not feasible, or else they probably would've been done. Can we easily comapare South Florida to Dallas, it's pretty hard to compare any two city's transportation needs, project-feasibilities, etc...there are too many variables!

With the exception of the Turnpike in NW miamidade (where there is comparatively little traffic) there is no room to expand any of the freeways we have without demolishing houses and businesses (a political non-starter considering MD's spineless politico).

underground time

Posted on Fri, Nov. 26, 2004
PUBLIC TRANSIT

Road's hard for Tri-Rail as it toils on its fast track
Tri-Rail hopes to improve rush-hour service so trains will run once every 20 minutes by 2006. Meanwhile, construction delays are a continual nuisance.

BY MICHAEL HIBBLEN
mhibblen@herald.com

Tri-Rail is hoping its $334 million double-tracking project will lead to improved service and increased ridership. But until construction is complete, the project will sometimes mean some aggravating delays both for Tri-Rail riders and for drivers who need to cross the railroad.

The commuter rail agency reopened the Hollywood Boulevard crossing this week after two weeks of work at the site.

The crossings at Johnson Street and Stirling Road will be closed next year, as will the one at 79th Street in Miami.

Tri-Rail riders also have been affected by the construction. At times over the summer, only 20 to 30 percent of trains were on time. But on-time percentages have since gone back up into the 70s and 80s, Tri-Rail spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold said.

''It's getting better,'' she said. ``We've put new platforms and new pieces of track into service, and actually, last weekend 100 percent of our trains were on time.''

The construction project eventually will give Tr-Rail two parallel tracks along the railroad's 72-mile corridor, which runs mainly along Interstate 95 from near West Palm Beach to near Miami International Airport.

When the project is complete in March 2006, the commuter service hopes to run trains every 20 minutes during the morning and afternoon rush, compared with once an hour now. In the world of mass transit, more frequent service is one of the keys to attracting more riders.

Even with this summer's delays, Arnold said Tri-Rail saw a 12 percent increase in ridership during June and July and a 9 percent increase in August.

Tri-Rail averages about 10,500 boardings per day -- the equivalent of 5,250 round-trip riders.

Building new track on a working railroad is a complicated job.

''It's been a challenge, to say the least, to be able to maintain passenger and freight traffic on the railroad as well as do our job and get the railroad upgraded and constructed,'' project manager Thomas LeBeau said.

Up to 200 people have been working on the project, LeBeau said, with some operating track-laying equipment, others building and reconstructing stations or working on the 12 bridges that need to be built.

As the final phase of double tracking continues, Tri-Rail officials also are looking at other possible expansion projects, including passenger rail service alongside the Dolphin Expressway.

The agency also is studying the feasibility of running passenger trains on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks, which, unlike the tracks used by Tri-Rail now, cut through the heart of most downtown areas.

The FEC had no interest in allowing passenger service as Amtrak and later Tri-Rail were first being planned but now is considering the possibility. Local leaders also support the idea as a better way to get people who live and work in densely populated areas out of their vehicles.

But Arnold said none of these projects would start until the double-tracking project is completed in 2006.

In the meantime, passenger Cynthia Bolden of Miami takes the train several times a week and is hopeful the project will lead to more reliable service.

''That's my complaint, the delays,'' she said, ``because sometimes they'll be so late. Late, late. But other than that, it's pretty decent.''

http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/10276/105604899324.jpg

SLOW WORK: Interruptions come often for workers laying new track for Tri-Rail at the Hollywood station. EMILY MICHOT/HERALD STAFF

i think one solution is an elevated 3 lanes 2 dedicated
1 safety lane in the middle spanning from downtown
miami to golden glades no exit ramps until one gets
to golden glades interchange where they would take
the flyover to enter ftlauderdale or exit ramp leading
to tri-rail park and ride limited only to truck traffic and
buses.the south concept would span from the flyover
and golden glades interchange ramp to downtown miami
off ramp located near metrorail government station.

why trucks and busses only? well that way there would
be no abrupt stops and accidents due to trucks changing
lanes or having slow starts when entering or exiting the
expressway.

then dedicate hov lane on the lower deck of i95
for trucks and busses not traveling to downtown
miami make it illegal that they travel outside of
that lane unless while exiting the expressway

then build a few park and rides near the exits of the
expressway ramps so they can catch the bus and commute
to miami-ftlauderdale and vice versa. if they build them
(park and rides) on the tri rail side then we have a mini
intermodal center instantly.

the problem isnt just traffic its also parking when one commutes
i say place a toll in goldenglades travelling both ways this would
slow down traffic but it would decrease the amount of people
traveling down that road unless absolutly necessary and if our
busses looked better people might ride them.

http://img82.exs.cx/img82/3351/crfbt.jpg

that was only the miami concept im sure ftlauderdale could run
a span to whatever the exit is most people get on and off at good
thing is ftlauderdale has land to the sides where they could build
overpasses for these onramps from the park and rides and plenty
of lots where they could build the park and ride bus stations
near the expressway on off ramps and main roads.

miami has alot of overpasses they would have to rebuild a few
interchanges to accomodate the new road system...

also we could run metro under these elevated lanes build a concrete
two lane line then ontop the 3 lane highway supported on pilars
running in the center of i95 the metro concrete tunnel under this lane
could have exposed openings letting in light and they could line them
with colored glass or steel and even have lighting on them at night.
this system could really work if it spanned full circle around miami and
full circle along broward. then park and rides near on off ramps and
stations with cross over brideges running ontop of the expressway
from both side to these stations.

just a thought
to make them decorative or steel.

ps the bus above is a california bus not sure where in california...
isnt it pretty

^^that metrorail concept would be soo cool!!

The main problem with running transit lines down the middle of major highways is the fact that there's usually not much of interest immediately adjacent to the road... it's all at least a quarter or third of a mile away. Case in point: International Mall. When asked, most people will say it's right next to 836. But try to actually walk to International Mall from 107th avenue under one of the mainline bridges. It's easily a 6-10 minute hike. You might be on International Mall's property in a few minutes, but the nearest entrance itself is still going to be pretty far from there.

It's too bad there's no way to conditionally suspend the Sunshine Law for MDTA when the time comes to determine the exact route and station locations for the new western Metrorail line. If MDTA had the right to conduct negotiations in secret (with the County Commissioners voting to either accept or deny the deal in its entirety after MDTA finished negotiating), they could play Dolphin Mall and International Mall against each other and put both malls in a prisoner's dillemma.

Suppose MDTA offered each Mall the following choices (possibly sweetening the pot by giving generous density and FAR bonuses in return to allow highrise office and residential construction on mall property as well):

a) grant an easement to build the tracks over the parking lot for free, and pay to build a station at the location of choice

b) grant an easement to build the tracks over the parking lot for free, but accept the fact that MDTA will build the station somewhere that's not quite adjacent (with MDTA being positively influenced by agreement to offset at least part of the station's construction cost).

c) don't grant an easement, and take your chances with MDTA's route choice and station location -- knowing that if the OTHER mall goes with option "A", and probably with option "B", and THIS mall chooses option "C", no station at all might get built within a half mile of the mall.

Does anyone think for a minute that either mall would dare to risk being left off the path (with the other mall having a station either at the mall itself or nearby) by choosing option "C" if MDTA could credibly vow to serve neither mall directly if neither mall played ball? It would be financial suicide for the mall. At the bare minimum, they'd grant the right of way easements for the elevated tracks (which would save MDTA millions in land acquisition costs, and cost the mall basically nothing in the long run since they'd get the space under the tracks back once construction was finished) to ensure that a station would at least be nearby... and even then, might decide to offer to underwrite at least part of the station's construction cost (or agree to let riders use the mall's parking lot harrassment-free) to get a favorable station location.

Of course, the only way this scheme could work is if both malls (and obviously the public) could legally be kept in the dark until both malls had signed legally-binding documents subject to acceptance by the BoCC. Sometimes, "backroom deals" can be a good thing for the public...

rx, thats a great concept except for wat my boy canes over here said, tranist draws are not adjacent to highways, and ur system would b very dependent on park and rides, helping, but gettin people outta their cars which is wat the eventual goal has to be, great idea tho

^^wow those ideas actually sound great miamicanes....something like that could actually be feasible, it's in the interest of all parties involved (the citizens of Miami, the transit authority and the shopping centers)

Great proposal miamicanes.....if only.....

$100 Million Per Mile

County Moves Forward with Heavy Rail Airport Connector


The Power of Three: Commissioners Barbara Carey-Schuler, Dennis Moss and Dorrin Rolle at the MIC press conference.

“I remember when we had to walk to the airport, then we had buses to the airport, and now we got trains going to the airport. So let’s go to the airport!” – Miami-Dade Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley

By Mitchell Pellecchia
Staff Writer

Florida Department of Transportation officials awarded Miami-Dade County a check for $100 million last Friday in support of a new 2.2 mile heavy-rail network and intermodal center connecting Miami International Airport with Earlington Heights.

The rail project is one of five promised in the People Transportation Plan (PTP) that got overwhelming support from voters nearly two years ago. Total cost of the EH-MIC (Earlington Heights-Miami Intermodal Center): an estimated $260 million. The remaining $160 million will be paid by the county’s half-penny surtax.

“We’re almost halfway there,” shouted County Commission Chair Barbara Carey-Shuler at a press conference held at the Earlington Heights Metrorail Station last week.

The EH-MIC connector will function as a central transfer point for Metrorail, Metrobus, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s commuter rail, Amtrak and Charter Services and will allow residents and visitors direct rail access to Miami International Airport (MIA).

Lowell Clary, assistant secretary for Transportation Support for FDOT, presented commissioners with the check and told the SunPost that the state will closely monitor the county’s progress on the project. Although “numbers will be redefined” as the project moves forward oversight is a priority, he said.

County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle considered the award a victory for Miami’s lower income neighborhoods. “When anybody pays that kind of money to the ghetto… Mr. Clary you done good,” exclaimed Rolle.

The EH-MIC is part of a bigger picture that promises to add phase II and phase III Metrorail track to the already existing phase I Metrorail service and connect Miami’s Allapattah, Earlington Heights and Overtown neighborhoods with Miami’s downtown and the MIA, then west to FIU (Florida International University Miami Campus) and S.W. 117th Avenue and as far south as Florida City.

“I remember when we had to walk to the airport, then we had buses to the airport, and now we got trains going to the airport,” said Miami-Dade Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley. “So let’s go to the airport!”

Carey-Schuler congratulated county and state officials on acquiring funding, but at the same time warned project managers of the current budgetary catastrophes and deadline dilemmas experienced by the almost $70 million over budget and 20 months overdue Performing Arts Center, and the 18 months late, $87 million over-the-top MIA American Airlines Terminal. “If you can’t get a team to work together, you run into cost overruns and deadline problems,” Carey-Schuler said.

The project is scheduled to begin in 2007 and according to Carlos Bonzon, the county’s surface transportation manager, trains should be running by 2010. “We’re five years ahead of the original plan,” said Bonzon. “The PTP targeted 2015.”

Land acquisition, however, could slow the EH-MIC process. Bonzon said he knows that the project requires roughly 36 parcels and that 23 of those will be shared with the State Road 836 to 112 extension already in progress. But because the EH-MIC design is incomplete, the county isn’t sure how much more land will be needed for the project.

Although city officials could not comment at this stage whether or not eminent domain will be necessary in acquiring land, they referred to it as a last resort and that first a third party realtor would be contracted to negotiate with landowners.

County Commissioner Dennis Moss told the press and the public that the EH-MIC connector would “provide one more tool for our transportation tool box.”

“Out of all the major U.S. cities, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Dallas, Miami is the only city that is not connected to the airport, Moss said. “In the not-too-distant future, Metrorail will go to the airport.”

Tarnell Carroll, communications director for county transit, told the SunPost that bus expansion will accompany rail improvements starting next month when, on November 21, the county will introduce eight new and 55 improved bus routes throughout the county adding 110 buses to the fleet and “reducing wait times from 15 minutes to 10.”

“We are deadly serious about moving this project along and moving it ahead quickly,” said County Manager George Burgess, regarding the EH-MIC. “We’re moving full speed ahead.”

From Miami Today
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/041202/story5.shtml

Transit study to examine Metrorail extension to Homestead
By Samantha Joseph

An extension of Metrorail to Homestead is among possibilities to be considered in a $1.5 million study to improve public transportation in the southern end of Miami-Dade County.
As more people move to south Miami-Dade, transportation officials want to be able to see trends coming and prepare for increased ridership.
In Homestead, 12,000 homes are under construction and the population has grown 10% in the past three years. In Kendall, developers have targeted large areas for residential and commercial development.
The rapid growth points to the need for more efficient transit services, planners say.
"The sooner we start strategizing, the better," said Wilson Fernandez, who heads the analysis financed by Miami-Dade Transit. "What we're looking at in this study is long-term transportation feasibility."
The Metropolitan Planning Organization, which determines transportation policy in the county, expects to present its findings and guidelines for the area by January 2006.
The study is the first step in soliciting federal funding, which could complement local financing from the $17 billion People's Transportation Plan.
"We're going to look at a range of options to see what the transportation needs are and how we can meet them," Mr. Fernandez said.
The group will examine ways to upgrade the South Miami Dade Corridor, an 8.2-mile busway that stretches along US 1 from the Dadeland South Metrorail Station to Southland Mall, 20505 S. Dixie Highway.
The busway is being extended more than 11 miles to Florida City, from Southwest 112th Avenue to 344th Street, as part of an $88 million project. Once it is completed by August, it would provide a nearly 20-mile route reserved for public buses.
However, planners say they need to do more to meet future needs.
The study will consider several factors, including population projections, transit ridership and potential costs. It will also examine strategies to speed service along the busway.
In the next four months, transportation officials expect to invite public feedback and suggestions on how to improve services.
"Our main goal," said Metropolitan Planning Organization Director Jose-Luis Mesa, "is to safely move the traveling public in an efficient manner."
Details: (305) 375-4507 or www.buswayconstruction.com

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/10316912.htm
Posted on Thu, Dec. 02, 2004
TRANSPORTATION
'Superconsultant' picked for Metrorail

A team of engineering firms was recommended for a coveted pact to help Miami-Dade Transit try to win billions of dollars in federal funds and build as many as three new Metrorail lines.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ
llebowitz@herald.com

One of the nation's largest engineering firms Wednesday emerged victorious in the fight to become Miami-Dade County's Metrorail expansion ''superconsultant'' in a deal that could be worth up to $84 million over the next seven years.

A county selection committee Wednesday recommended a team of 15 firms headed by Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas to help Miami-Dade Transit make the first substantive additions to the underperforming rail system since it opened two decades ago.

Before they could win the package, however, Parsons Brinckerhoff executives had to assure committee members that high-profile problems they had suffered with public jobs in Boston, St. Louis and Los Angeles were isolated, complicated situations -- and that no one who worked on those projects would wind up working in Miami-Dade.

COMMISSION VOTE

If the county commission agrees to the panel's choice, Parsons Brinkerhoff will provide Transit with additional staff to help engineer, design, inspect, acquire rights-of-way, mitigate environmental damage along the proposed new rail corridors and try to persuade federal bureaucrats to pony up billions of matching dollars to pay for the program.

The proposed Metrorail expansion -- and the consulting contract -- is made possible by the passage in 2002 of a half-cent sales tax for mass transit.

''Our team can help you tremendously in safeguarding the public trust,'' William Anido, Parsons Brinckerhoff's leading executive in Miami, said minutes before his firm was picked.

County Manager George Burgess will now negotiate the contract terms and bring them to the county commission for consideration by late spring.

ISSUE FOR ALVAREZ

The decision comes at a time when new Mayor Carlos Alvarez says his highest priority is taking power over contract awards away from the county commission.

Surface Transportation Manager Carlos Bonzon says he worked with the Inspector General's Office to keep overt lobbying out of the process.

Bonzon tried to structure the transit contract to assure that Miami-Dade maintains complete control over the consultants and avoids a repeat of the lobbying and minority set-aside controversies that have dogged a similarly large contract with Dade Aviation Consultants at the airport.

The eventual selection of Parsons Brinckerhoff -- and its team members, including DMJM/Harris, Spillis Candela, PBS&J and EAC Consulting -- was virtually uncontested.

Three other teams originally competed for the contract. Two teams were eliminated by county staff at the outset, for failing to comply with the extensive proposal requirements, minority hiring thresholds and background checks.

The only other serious competitor, the second team of 22 firms headed by the similarly named but unrelated Parsons Transportation Group and engineering giant URS, bowed out Nov. 14 after both firms landed other lucrative Metrorail contracts.

Parsons Transportation will be lead designer on the proposed $1 billion North Corridor that would run up Northwest 27th Avenue from Martin Luther King station to the Broward line near Pro Player Stadium.

URS landed the same role for the already funded $260 million Metrorail spur that will be built from Earlington Heights station to the Miami Intermodal Center under construction near the airport.

SOME CONTROVERSIES

Parsons Brinckerhoff has a solid local reputation, but has run into serious, well-documented controversies with the $14.6 billion Big Dig project in Boston, two transit projects in Los Angeles and a rail expansion in St. Louis that led to dueling lawsuits.

Anido and Parsons Brinckerhoff President William D. Smith thoroughly defended the firm's reputation, giving the selection committee a detailed explanation of their version of exactly what went wrong in all three communities.

Bonzon and Miami-Dade Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley said they were satisfied.

''I have no problem recommending this firm to take us into the future,'' Bradley said.

They spent $88 million to extend the busway to Homestead? There's money well spent...ha. Of course the county manager at the time the project started was Homestead resident Steve Shiver.

homestead is un necessary,and why does it have to be heavy rail,why not light

why does it have to be heavy rail,why not light

Because light rail will still screw up traffic on US-1, and won't be much faster than buses anyway. If they're going to spend a billion or two, they might as well do it right. In fact, they should probably run AT LEAST 3 parallel tracks from Dadeland to Cutler Ridge and Homestead... using one for express trains stopping ONLY at homestead, cutler ridge, then all the stops from Dadeland South to Downtown...towards downtown in the morning, and towards homestead in the afternoon and evening.

Ironically, Metrorail *is* an attractive option for people who work downtown and live WAY down south, because it's far enough to make pulling out the laptop and doing work along the way worthwhile (unless the trains are too crowded).

Ironically, Metrorail *is* an attractive option for people who work downtown and live WAY down south, because it's far enough to make pulling out the laptop and doing work along the way worthwhile (unless the trains are too crowded).
It's also great because it parallels US 1, and there's no expressway that does that south of downtown... a contributing factor to the Turnpike, the Don Shula (SR 874), the Palmetto (826), the Dolphin (836), and US 1 of course, being used over capacity.

It makes the most sense to extend the EXISTING Metrorail line so that you don't end up having to transfer to another mode once you reach the end of the line. Otherwise you'd have exactly what you have now: get off the train at Dadeland South and transfer to the Busway (or the other way around), and why would we want that?

In the short term, extending the busway provides a quick and dirty solution for serving South Dade but allows for a full upgrade to heavy rail once the funding becomes available for extending Metrorail. The right-of-way acquisition would already be completed, you will have existing ridership, and with the development that has been proposed along the corridor, and there will actually be useful places to go to along the way.

didn't know where to put this so I put it here instead of starting a new thread.


http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/10571/111749391007.jpg

A young girl plays in the sand in South Beach as a freighter ship sits offshore with two new gantry cranes that are headed to the Port of Miami-Dade. These super-post Panamax cranes are among the largest in the world and each can lift up to 65 tons of containers. The cranes are part of the port's expansion and may arrive there today depending on weather conditions.
PATRICK FARRELL/HERALD STAFF

i just posted that same pic in the downtown thread, twice the exposure
woo hoo

Posted on Sun, Feb. 06, 2005

Mayor vetoes controversial tax plan

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

lebowitz@herald.com

Flexing his political muscle for the first time, Mimia-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez Saturday vetoed a controversial plan that would have used $143 million in transportation sales tax money to correct a decade's worth of old operating deficits and anticipated shortfalls at Miami-Dade Transit.

Alvarez said County Manager George Burgess' proposal breaks crucial promises to voters who expected that new tax money would be used only for new projects when they supported the half-cent tax in November 2002.

Tax supporters never publicly discussed an existing deficit at the historically underfunded agency during the 2002 campaign.

''It is of utmost importance that we protect the integrity of the surtax and deliver what we promised to the voters,'' Alvarez said in his veto message Saturday. ``For this reason I cannot in good faith allow the surtax to be used to pay for past, current and future [Transit] funding shortfalls from existing services.''

Alvarez stands a very good chance of winning his first public conflict with the commission.

The manager's Transit bailout plan passed on a 7-6 vote, meaning two commissioners from the losing side would have to change their positions to obtain the two-thirds necessary to override the veto.

Transportation Chairman Carlos Gimenez, who voted against the manager's plan, said Saturday the prospect of any commissioner changing sides is highly unlikely.

A disappointed Burgess said cutbacks in existing bus or train service aren't out of the question, but are unlikely at this stage.

''We're going to roll up our sleeves, sharpen our pencils, and try to a substantive, creative way to address the mayor's concerns,'' Burgess said.

Alvarez said he found it ''difficult to believe'' that five weeks before the election, Transit closed the 2001-02 fiscal year with a $23.9 million operating shortfall, first reported in the Herald last month.

''The use of surtax dollars to support preexisting transit services is irresponsible and goes against the very intent of the [People's Transportation Plan],'' Alvarez said. ``This is the fundamental reason that has driven me to veto this item and protect the integrity of the public trust instilled in me.''

In his veto message, Alvarez didn't totally dismiss Burgess' bailout package, passed by commissioners on Jan. 27.

Recognizing the historic funding woes, Burgess's plan calls for 3.5-percent annual increases in the general-fund contribution to Transit over the next 30 years, as well as 1.5-percent annual increases in local gas-tax receipts.

Alvarez praised Burgess for proposing those increases and urged commissioners to make them law to assure that future commissioners will maintain those funding promises. But, Alvarez said, even with those annual increases, Transit will end the current fiscal year with a $24.2 million shortfall.

''Problems of the past have obviously caught up with us,'' Alvarez said. ``We should not look to the voter-approved surtax to now dig us out of these problems.''

The mayor challenged Burgess to look for other ways to close the $143 million Transit funding gap before turning to the sales tax.

The tax, Alvarez said, should only be used for items specifically listed in the PTP, the 30-year spending plan created by the voters: nearly doubling the bus fleet; a 63-percent increase in bus service; up to 88.9 miles of new Metrorail lines and hundreds of road, signage and signal-synchronization improvement projects.

The veto is expected to accelerate the escalating dispute over future Metrorail priorities that has been split along ethnic and racial lines at County Hall.

During the fall campaign, Alvarez said he favored building the East-West corridor segment from Florida International University to the transportation hub under construction near the airport, over the North Corridor up Northwest 27th Avenue to the Broward County border.

But the $843 million North Corridor, through predominantly black neighborhoods, is one-to-two years ahead of the East-West in the bureaucratic and politically-charged competition for matching federal transit funds.

The four black commissioners -- Barbara Jordan, Dorrin Rolle, Barbara Carey-Shuler and Dennis Moss -- are the core of the seven-vote majority that backed the Transit bailout. Several said they supported the Burgess plan because they didn't want anything to stop the county from completing the latest in a series of federal funding applications and financial forecasts required by the Federal Transit Administration. Those forecasts are due to be submitted in a few weeks.

Carey-Shuler on Saturday criticized Alvarez for failing to take a stand on the controversial plan before the commission vote, saying he waited to capitalize on the hair-thin margin before voicing his opposition.

Carey-Shuler said a split commission could undermine the county's chances to win the federal and state funds needed to build both lines.

''People in Washington and Tallahassee are going to go bananas,'' said Carey-Shuler. ``We should have stood tall and supported this, not get into some fight about whether we do the North or East-West first. We cannot be on two separate tracks, excuse the pun.''

Some blacks, who widely supported the Decade of Progress bond campaign that helped build the original Metrorail line, believe they were betrayed by local officials who turned the alignment away from 27th Avenue, west toward Hialeah, at the 11th hour. Three decades later, they're still waiting for the train along the North Corridor.

The six opponents to the manager's bailout plan -- Chairman Joe A. Martinez, Transportation Chairman Carlos Gimenez and commissioners Rebeca Sosa, Javier Souto, Joe A. Martinez, Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz and Natacha Seijas -- all represent large Hispanic constituencies that will benefit more from the $1.38 billion East-West than the North.

''There are some in this community that talk about promises made when the original Metrorail was built,'' Alvarez said in the veto message. ``I am sensitive to these valid considerations but believe that we should focus on developing our system based on the needs of today and tomorrow if we are to succeed.

``Current building trends, population and employment data must be evaluated to determine what, when, where and how we expand our system to comply with the PTP: traffic relief.''

Herald staff writer Tere Figueras Negrete contributed to this repor

Link to article (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10829137.htm)
66164

Rapid transit line would link Sawgrass Mills, Lauderdale

By Michael Turnbell
and Jean-Paul Renaud Staff Writers
Posted January 30 2005

The giant park-and-ride lot at Interstate 95 and Broward Boulevard sits empty on most days, but Jeff Weidner sees it as a gateway for thousands of commuters streaming into downtown Fort Lauderdale on sleek buses or trains racing above or alongside the street.

Weidner, mobility manager for the Florida Department of Transportation, is listening to the opinions of residents, businesses and commuters to decide where stations should be along Broward between I-95 and Andrews Avenue -- the first segment of a $922 million transit line that eventually will link Sawgrass Mills in the western suburbs to downtown and the airport.

The DOT wants stations identified by July 2006 when it hopes to start design and engineering work on Broward.

The first segment could begin operating as soon as 2012. But the project has plenty of hurdles, including questions about funding, ridership and the impact on neighborhoods.

"It's a lot of money to spend and I think they'd better be confident that people are going to get out of their cars," said Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson, whose district borders the south side of Broward. "I can't imagine that you would want it from I-95 east to downtown. If I fought traffic to I-95, I'm heading in."

Planners say they'll likely have to split the 21-mile project into segments because of funding.

Broward is a logical choice for the first segment, they say, because it has the greatest potential for attracting riders headed downtown from all over South Florida. Tri-Rail's commuter trains make a stop just south of Broward, and I-95 has exclusive ramps into a giant park-and-ride lot at Broward. Tri-Rail riders and drivers who use the park-and-ride lot could continue downtown on the new transit segment.

Once completed, officials envision the entire transit line would shuttle 26,000 passengers each day in large express buses running in their own lanes, a trolley-style light rail train that runs next to traffic or a futuristic elevated train. A trip from Sawgrass Mills to downtown would take 39 minutes. From downtown, riders could get to the airport in nine minutes.

"Whatever we choose has to be faster than the car. People will only get out of the cars and ride it if they're looking out at people stuck in traffic on Broward Boulevard as they go by," Weidner said.

In addition to altering commuting habits, the line also has the potential to be a magnet for development, according to planners.

Weidner said the service won't be successful if land use around stations isn't complementary. But he said that doesn't mean high-rises will be strewn along Broward west of downtown.

"What we would like for the city and community to be considering is affordable housing. Those are the people that would use transit. We don't want to be in the business of putting $800,000 condos on top of a transit station," Weidner said.

"We understand the neighborhoods' sensitivity to large-scale development. We anticipate mostly residential that is compatible with the network and scaled back into the single-family neighborhoods," he said.

On the south side of Broward, residents of Sailboat Bend hope planners will respect the neighborhood's historic character.

"We've already got quite a bit of development, and we have to weigh it against what it will do to the historical aspect of the neighborhood," said Bill Nielsen, president of the Sailboat Bend Civic Association.

If the line runs on the north side, the neighborhood of Dorsey Riverbend would welcome the development.

"I think it'll be a great thing because it'll give some people that take the bus a lot easier access since there are a lot of people in this community that don't have cars," said Laronda Ware, president of the Dorsey Riverbend Homeowners Association. "It'll give the community a different face, a new vision."

City Commissioner Carlton Moore, whose district borders the north side of Broward, said neighborhoods should be involved in the process as early as possible.

"The first thing that a community should do is state to the planners that we would like you to place this where it impacts the least property," he said. "If there's going to be a consideration of a rail, that they should place it in a public right of way."

The Metropolitan Planning Organization -- the county's transportation planning agency -- will meet in the spring to choose between buses or light rail and whether the service will be at-grade or elevated. The board also will have to indicate a local source of revenue to cover the cost of operation before the project is submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for approval.

One possibility is a countywide sales tax, similar to the half-penny sales tax that Miami-Dade County voters approved for transportation in 2002.

Officials seem to be leaning more toward light rail, which can cost up to $34 million per mile. By comparison, bus rapid transit systems cost less than half as much.

In recent years, the Federal Transit Administration has shown favor with bus-based rapid transit systems when it awards funds because they are cheaper and the results and the number of riders are comparable to light rail.

But Weidner said cost shouldn't be the only consideration. "You have to balance the cost issue with the mobility issue. What's going to get people out of their cars? Is that bus rapid transit or is it an elevated train?" he said.

The federal government requires a dedicated funding source for operating costs and a 50 percent or higher local match for any federal funds awarded for construction. A preliminary study says the entire line will cost an estimated $19 million a year to operate.

Link to article (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-ctransitjan30,0,2990915.story?coll=sfla-news-broward)

alvarez now has earned my respect... stand up to those damn county commisioners, way to go carlos!

and broward is not puttin their shit together, prob just with a bus lane, but hey, gotta start somewhere, way to go broward!

transits starting to gain more respect around south florida

why are they increasing the fares on public trans?

so they can afford to run the trains and busses.

^^how much is it going up??

Nothing has been implemented yet, but they're going to have to do something to make up the operating shortfall.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10861276.htm


MIAMI-DADE

Carey-Shuler wants increase in transit fares

After 15 years of static fares, a county commissioner proposes a 20 percent increase in bus and rail fares expected to generate an additional $15 million this year for the transit agency.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com

County Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler is proposing the first Miami-Dade Transit fare increase in 15 years to help resolve the agency's financial woes following the mayor's veto of a bailout plan.

Carey-Shuler is urging County Manager George Burgess to increase regular bus and rail fares by a quarter, to $1.50, sometime this year. That 20 percent increase would generate $15 million more this year for the transit agency, she said.

Fares have remained static -- $1.25 for regular adult riders, 60 cents for students and other discounted passengers -- since Dec. 1, 1990.

Carey-Shuler's proposal comes at a time when the manager is preparing a new financial bailout package for Transit. Mayor Carlos Alvarez vetoed the manager's last plan -- which commissioners including Carey-Shuler approved on a 7-6 vote that would have used $143 million in half-cent sales-tax proceeds to settle old Transit operating deficits and anticipated operating shortfalls through 2011.

But Alvarez said using the sales tax to cover old operating problems breaks the fundamental promise at the core of the 2002 campaign: that the new money would generate new rail and bus service.

Fare increases were already likely in the not-too-distant future, so Carey-Shuler's proposal would merely accelerate the timetable. Transit was budgeting a 35-cent increase to $1.60 in 2007; to $2.10 in 2013; and $2.60 in 2017.

Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley said Miami-Dade's fares remain comparatively lower than other big cities: ``The important thing to realize is that other cities and counties that have passed a surtax, they've had fare

^^that's not too bad.......by mid-year, philly's transit fare is supposed to go up to $3, that's just ridiculous!!!

Orlando passes MIA as state's busiest airport

Among Florida airports, Miami International fell to second place in volume behind Orlando in 2004. The change demonstrated Orlando's rapid growth and Miami's high costs.

BY GREGG FIELDS

gfields@herald.com


Orlando International Airport overtook Miami International last year in passenger volume, reflecting Orlando's strong growth in tourism and conventions and Miami's inability to attract low-cost airlines.

Final figures for 2004 showed Orlando handled 31.1 million passengers, compared with MIA's 30.1 million. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, the nation's fastest-growing major airport, handled 20.81 million passengers.

Miami is losing ground, in part, because its high costs are driving fast-growing discount airlines to other airports. And with growing cost overruns now mounting to $256 million in a massive $4.8 billion capital improvement program, Miami's landing and user fees are likely to go even higher. The airport expansion is one of the largest public works projects in the country.

''Miami continues to have fairly high-cost products compared to secondary airports like Fort Lauderdale,'' said Stuart Klaskin, an aviation industry consultant. ``That's a big challenge.''

MIA operates at a cost of $14.66 per departing passenger, versus just $4.24 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood.

''We must reduce costs,'' Carlos Bonzon, Miami-Dade's interim aviation director, said in a speech this month. ``I am here to assure you we will reduce our costs.''

Also, the airport has suffered from a reputation for poor service, particularly as it struggled to implement new security regulations following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Trenae Floyd, public affairs manager of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. Many of the post-9/11 rules targeted international travelers, which are nearly half of MIA's business.

''The declines are partially due to the hassle factor,'' Floyd said. ``The majority of the federal regulations that have been imposed since 9/11 have targeted Miami's brand, which is international tourism.''

In 2003, MIA had bested Orlando by a count of 29.59 million passengers to 27.31 million.

The figures include the number of passengers who arrive and depart from each airport. So someone making a round trip, for instance, would count twice.

The difference in the airports' performances is, simply, growth rate. Orlando's volume surged 14 percent last year, while Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood soared 16.1 percent. MIA, by contrast, saw passenger volume climb 1.92 percent.

''This increase of almost four million passengers reflects the strong growth we have seen in tourism and business travel to Central Florida,'' said C.W. Jennings, executive director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

''This escalation in travelers is also indicative of the emphasis placed by the airlines to offer more flights from our award-winning facility,'' Jennings said.

In December, for instance, Orlando saw a total of 152 flights added by its carriers.

Klaskin, the aviation consultant, said a truer measure of the South Florida market would be to combine Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and MIA, in which case passenger volume far surpasses Orlando.

''The combination is the only fair reading of South Florida's vitality,'' he said.

In the future, MIA will continue to struggle with its high debt burden, which raises costs. And attracting the nimble, low-fare carriers that are powering the industry today will be a challenge.

''In Miami, you've got an 800-pound gorilla called American Airlines,'' Klaskin said. ``And they're very aggressive.''

In Fort Lauderdale, American was one of five airlines whose passenger traffic expanded by more than 25 percent last year.

''Much of the growth has been with low-cost carriers, but the major carriers have done well, too,'' said Jim Reynolds, a spokesman for the Broward County airport. ``What's happened is, people coming into South Florida are more and more choosing us as the gateway airport.''

Miami International is working with incumbent carriers to provide more affordable fares, Floyd said.

American Airlines' new ''simplified fare'' program, which lowers last-minute fares and offers them with fewer restrictions, is one example.

Floyd said the airport is also working with local and congressional leaders, as well as federal regulatory agencies, searching for ways to streamline the security processes that are tying up travelers.

''We therefore expect to see a rebound in our international traffic at the end of the year,'' she said.

Herald business writer Ina Paiva Cordle contributed to this report.



ya, but when you put MIA and ft lauderdale together, which like the article says they should be grouped, they still kik orlando's ass

m.i.a been going down and down since 9/11

MIA really has to do something to drive down those prices... or ft lauderdale is gonna pass MIA too... even with all these expansions (at least those will do something to help with the reputation for poor service)

Right... One of the reasons Iberia took its main hub out of MIA is from the increased procedures their international passengers had to go through to transfer to a different flight. If they can find a way to streamline the screening process for people using the airport only as a transfer hub but not actually entering the United States, we could see the numbers go back up.

Orlando's growth is from domestic flights, which is something they have always been strong at. Fort Lauderdale is currently getting all the low-cost domestic flights in our area.

MIA isn't solely dependent on passenger traffic -- it has a thriving cargo and freight business. They have this market cornered in Florida, and they can make up for the losses if they continue on their existing path.

It's funny...I live in South-Dade, I fly alot (more than 3 times a year), and I seriously can't remember the last time I've used MIA as a departure or arrival airport (it's been years, I always use FTL, cause their prices are soo much better!!!

me too, whenever i fly anywhere i always fly out of ft lauderadale, not out of choice, but the cheapest tickets we get, we always seem to be leaving out of ft lauderdale, but my dad did take an ata flight to chicago out of MIA a month or two ago and it was cheap as hell, so MIA isnt entirely lost cost carrier-less

true the deals are always ft laud, lol like if u go to travelocity, itll say like save 100 bucks, fly from ft laud, ok, i will

with all the work goin on at MIA, will that only make prices higher or lower and make it ever more impossible to compete with other airlines?

MIA really has to do something to drive down those prices... or ft lauderdale is gonna pass MIA too... even with all these expansions (at least those will do something to help with the reputation for poor service)

FLL isn't passing MIA any time soon.

FLL can't handle more than 25M or so passengers a year, and local NIMBYs have successfully blocked all expansion plans, including a very much needed new runway. jetBlue has already told FLL that, because of lack of space, they are going to have to split their South Florida operations between FLL and MIA, and expect an announcement on jetBlue service to Miami sometime in mid-2005, probably with service starting in September.

MIA has seen their worst days, things are looking better.

I personally can't stand the congestion at FLL. It's not that easy of an airport to use, and getting there is a hassle. I will pay an extra $50-60 to fly out of MIA, though I realize I am in the minority.

jetblue coming to miami ,ha in your face ft.l

score, low costs at mia, ata already has a few flights there, sounds great...

score, low costs at mia, ata already has a few flights there, sounds great...

ATA ended service to Miami in January and is ending service to Fort Lauderdale in March. It is part of their bankruptcy reorginization. They are ending service to over a dozen cities.

MIA's only low fare domestic airline is airTran. Though Martinair Holland is a lowfare trans-Atlantic airline with daily flights to Amsterdam.

Miami-Dade commissioners sustain transit funding veto


Miami-Dade commissioners have sustained Mayor Carlos Alvarez's veto of a controversial plan that would have used upward of $143 million in half-cent sales tax proceeds to cover old deficits and anticipated shortfalls at Miami-Dade Transit.

The original bailout plan by County Manager George Burgess only passed on a 7-6 vote.At least two commissioners who voted against Burgess' bailout plan would have had to switch sides in order to reach the two-thirds supermajority required for an override.

The seven commissioners who supported the Burgess proposal: Bruno Barreiro, Barbara Carey Shuler, Sally Heyman, Barbara Jordan, Dennis Moss, Dorrin Rolle and Katy Sorensen.

The six who voted against it: Chairman Joe A. Martinez, Transportation Chairman Carlos Gimenez, Jose Pepe'' Diaz, Natacha Seijas, Rebeca Sosa and Javier Souto.

Responding to some of the advice from the mayor's veto message, Burgess is working on a new proposal that would cover the old deficits dating back to 2001, before voters approved the tax, through 2011 when tax proceeds and other revenues are expected to balance the books at the historically underfunded agency. The new bailout plan is expected to go back to the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust, which oversees spending of the half-cent tax that voters approved in 2002, before returning to the county commission and the mayor.


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11022467.htm

im luving alvarez more and more every day...

thanks to Aessotariq @ UP


Posted on Tue, Apr. 05, 2005

Dade wants federal money for rail lines

Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart brought an influential colleague to town to see the Miami Intermodal Center -- the linchpin in several Metrorail projects.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com

It will go down on the expense ledgers as a mere helicopter tour and briefing for a visiting dignitary.

But one day, if Metrorail expands as far west as Florida International University and as far north as Dolphins Stadium, Monday's visit by an influential member of Congress will be part of the city-building lore of Miami-Dade County.

U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Miami, recently appointed to the House Transportation Committee, brought subcommittee chairman Thomas Petri, R-Wisc., to Miami where a phalanx of local and state leaders asked for his help in building three new Metrorail lines at a cumulative cost of $2.2 billion: the 2.6-mile Earlington Heights-Miami Intermodal Center spur; the 9.5-mile north corridor along Northwest 27th Avenue and the 10.1-mile east-west segment from FIU to the airport.

''This is absolutely crucial to the transportation future of this community,'' Díaz-Balart said after a briefing at Miami International Airport.

Miami-Dade is asking Petri, chair of the surface transportation subcommittee, to back a piece of special-interest legislation that could ultimately help Miami-Dade Transit win funding for all three lines.

The county wants to receive credit for a $100 million state grant that is being combined with $240 million in local sales-tax revenues to build the 2.6-mile spur from the current Earlington Heights station into the MIC, now under construction near the airport.

Because the MIC-to-Earlington Heights spur is being built without federal money, Miami-Dade needs special permission to credit some of the $100 million state contribution toward its financing proposals for the north and east-west lines.

The county is hoping to build the $843 million north corridor and the $1.38 billion east-west segment with half of the money coming from the federal government, 25 percent from the state and the balance from the half-cent sales tax Miami-Dade voters approved in 2002.

While the three lines may appear to be separate projects on paper, transit boosters argue that the MIC-Earlington Heights spur is crucial to the success of both the north and the east-west corridors.

The intermodal center will provide a consolidated rental-car facility as well as a central station where taxis, local and intra-city buses, Tri-Rail and Metrorail will converge for airport passengers and workers.

A $260 million monorail will shuttle passengers between the MIC and the airport. On the airport end, a station will be built between the Flamingo and Dolphin garages, near the third-level moving walkways that connect all terminals.

The rental-car facility is slated to open in 2007, the central station and the monorail in 2009, and the Metrorail line into the MIC by 2011.

While not committing to any course of action, Petri seemed amenable to Miami-Dade's desire to receive credit for the $100 million state grant.

''I am willing to say I share the objective of everyone here,'' Petri said. ``The best way to skin the cat is a question of judgment.''

While such a move is extremely rare, the Miami-Dade Transit request is not without precedent:

San Francisco and Las Vegas both received special permission to ''credit'' grants from one rail project to the financial benefit of another that was seeking federal financing.

The biggest problem Monday for state and county leaders was the surprising lack of an evident problem.

On a day when they wanted to show how badly Metrorail expansion is needed, traffic around the airport flowed smoothly on the Dolphin Expressway, the Airport Expressway and even Le Jeune Road, as Díaz-Balart, Petri and a small contingent hovered overhead.

Joked County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, head of the transportation committee: ``I guess we should have staged some accidents, after all.''

Link to article (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11315375.htm)

YESS, I'm glad the MIC core is finally about to commence construction (if it hasn't already), I remeber it was such a cool building (exterior and interior) from the renderings I saw. Maybe we could get the renderings here, if anyone could find em:)

compound this with the new cool extension at MIA, the new massive rental car facitlity, "monorail", the new futurstic ballpark, a whole new skyline....the Dolphin expressway is gonna be one hell of a drive:D

Its funny-- when you least expect it traffic is bad-- and when you want it to be bad, its good.

People always get fugged up right here ... "Oh yeah, I gotta get over ..."

http://miamitom.com/gallery/Miami-05-23-2004-PM/aca?full=1
http://miamitom.com/albums/Miami-05-23-2004-PM/aca.sized.jpg

From what I've heard about the Tri-Rail, it isn't that bad especially with the improvements underway. I haven't ridden it yet though cuz I don't like the idea of the Tri-Rail not running past 10. But then again, areas north of Miami isn't really dense enough to make the Tri-Rail self-sufficient 24/7.

The Miami-Dade bus... wow, I LOVED IT! I feel dorky for saying this, but compared to the buses in Houston, it's heaven on earth. LOL. I mean... LED display, comfy seats, everything being colorful, and its own convenient busways. The first and only time I've ridden the bus was from Dadeland down to Country Walk (Coral Reef MAX). I'm not sure what the other buses are like. Can anyone post pictures of the insides of the bus? The Coral Reef MAX was really clean and nice... (but I do agree that many bus stops should be better for the patrons that need to wait in the sun)

An interesting idea is this... extending 817 to Florida Turnpike and naming it Dolphin Expressway II? :-D

Oh and um... sorry more had to be said (i forgot to post it before)

Tri-Rail should be monorail or something. something HIGH SPEED. If Miami, Broward and Palm is ever going to think itself as a megalopolis, there gotta be a faster way to go from Homestead to Palm Beach Gardens. Or at the very least, from Downtown Miami to Downtown West Palm Beach (which is still like a 2 hours drive and god knows how long it would take using mass transit!) Speed is the answer to make these people move around more and associate themselve regionally instead of being cooped up in their own counties.

Miami International Airport will always be the airport to beat in South Florida (well I'm not sure how the airport in Palm Beach is doing). Fort Lauderdale's airlines are facing a lot of delays and there's a problem with that. People don't want to fly planes if they know it will always be delayed (unless if it saves you that much money). But these delays is going to eventually cost Fort Lauderdale and make some airlines prefer Miami. Fort Lauderdale really needs a third runway, but with the local opposition (considering that the airways run close by the neighborhoods), I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

Miami is lucky to have their runaways in the middle of their property instead at the ends (at least I think that's where the runaways are -- it's where I see them when I look at the satellite maps). The cargo buildings in the northern side of the airport seem to serve like a sound barrier because I haven't heard anything about Virginia Gardens and Miami Springs complaining about the noise.

Glad you enjoyed your trip, jdnn. Even gladder you had a good transit experience.


Tri-Rail should be monorail or something. something HIGH SPEED. If Miami, Broward and Palm is ever going to think itself as a megalopolis, there gotta be a faster way to go from Homestead to Palm Beach Gardens. Or at the very least, from Downtown Miami to Downtown West Palm Beach
Right now there is a proposal in the works to operate Tri-Rail service along South Florida's second set of tracks, the Florida East Coast (FEC) railroad tracks, which follow a north-south path similar to the CSX tracks in use by Tri-Rail. FEC runs parallel to US 1, and if they are finally put into operation, all of South Florida's major downtowns will be connected directly. FEC has been hesitant to allow this because they fear it would interrupt their freight operations. By doing some double-tracking as is currently being done on the CSX tracks, service will be frequent and convenient. Since the FEC corridor runs through an area with a higher population density than CSX, there is a higher chance that the service may operate past 10pm. Because of all the at-grade crossings across the three counties, there is a limit to how fast trains can operate through heavily populated areas. A high speed rail solution would need an elevated guideway.

The cargo buildings in the northern side of the airport seem to serve like a sound barrier because I haven't heard anything about Virginia Gardens and Miami Springs complaining about the noise.
There also happens to be an enormous noise wall that extends along the western portion of the northern perimeter of the airport (NW 36th Street).

An interesting idea is this... extending 817 to Florida Turnpike and naming it Dolphin Expressway II? :-D
817 is NW 27th Ave north of NW 135th Street... Which road were you actually referring to?

Tri-Rail should be monorail or something. something HIGH SPEED

Not going to happen anytime soon. I think I read somewhere that it would cost about 100 billion dollars to build a dual-track high-speed elevated rail line from West Palm Beach to Miami. That's "billion", with a "b".

In all honesty, we could have something almost as good, a lot sooner, for a lot less money:

* Extend Tri-rail (double track, welded rails, and all) north to Fort Pierce.

* Continue as single track (with room to add second track later) along the Turnpike's right of way to somewhere south of Kissimmee. 100% dedicated to passenger rail and non-freight (ie, they might run trains for non-bulky/massive cargo, like UPS/FedEx/USPS packages in between passenger trains or late at night to get more use from the track). At 150mph, with a 10 mile double-track section at the halfway point, they could run a train approximately once per hour in each direction (timing them to meet at the midpoint within the same window of time).

* Double-track the rest of the way to a Orlando, with stations in Kissimmee (with monorail direct to Disney, built on public right of way at Disney expense... a fair trade-off IMHO), I-drive (convention center, with light rail up I-drive ending at the new Mall or somewhere like that), and airport (once again, with some kind of fixed transit continuing to downtown Orlando). Yeah, Orlando's got a lot of subway-building to do to catch up with Miami...

then, run service with the following schedule:

MIA -> WPB -> Fort Pierce -> Orlando/Kissimmee-Disney -> Orlando/I-Drive -> Orlando/MCO (everyone in between MIA and WPB would take Tri-rail to WPB or Fort Pierce, free with ticket to Orlando).

To minimize delays, passengers with checked baggage can't exit until Orlando, and passengers checking baggage in Kissimmee or I-Drive can't exit until the Airport. Heading in the return direction, passengers checking baggage at the airport, I-Drive, or Kissimmee can't get off until WPB or MIA, and passengers can't check baggage at WPB.

Running the trains at 80-100mph in the cities, and 120-150mph inland, with stops < 5 minutes each, the total travel time would still save about an hour over driving for people heading to the primary destinations in Orlando, and would be an attractive option if fares were reasonable (say, $40 per day of unlimited travel, with additional days $29/ea if bought at the same time) and service were reasonably frequent.

The flat daily rate is intentional. If you think about it, it really doesn't make much difference to the operating expenses whether someone goes back the same day, because mostly empty cars are still going to be shuttled back and forth throughout the day anyway. If someone decides to commute to Orlando from Miami for 3 days in a row instead of staying at a hotel there, that's one more ticket the rail line has sold that it wouldn't have sold otherwise. It's not a problem if people arrive in a steady stream throughout the day, then all try to head home on the last train, because trains (unlike planes) can let empty cars stack up in Miami and Orlando throughout the day, then run as a massive long train home for the final trip of the day.

817 is NW 27th Ave north of NW 135th Street... Which road were you actually referring to?

According to the map I just saw earlier, 817 is the northern part of the Palmetto. :-) I was referring to that... and since it's an east and west corrider in its northern side of the loop, if it was extended to florida turnpike, then i'm sure it would resemble a lot like the dolphin expressway and serve as a major east and west route with easier accessibility to western miami (instead of having to go down on the palmetto from there and then going west and up on 75 to Miramar). It seems to me that people using the northern part of the Palmetto only uses it to get onto 95 (or to go south, knowing that the western part of the palmetto later bends southward) and not because they're trying to go to western or eastern miami dade.

I think i sounded confusing here because it's kinda hard to explain which way a highway bends because it depends on which way you're going.

Not going to happen anytime soon. I think I read somewhere that it would cost about 100 billion dollars to build a dual-track high-speed elevated rail line from West Palm Beach to Miami. That's "billion", with a "b".

In all honesty, we could have something almost as good, a lot sooner, for a lot less money:

* Extend Tri-rail (double track, welded rails, and all) north to Fort Pierce.

* Continue as single track (with room to add second track later) along the Turnpike's right of way to somewhere south of Kissimmee. 100% dedicated to passenger rail and non-freight (ie, they might run trains for non-bulky/massive cargo, like UPS/FedEx/USPS packages in between passenger trains or late at night to get more use from the track). At 150mph, with a 10 mile double-track section at the halfway point, they could run a train approximately once per hour in each direction (timing them to meet at the midpoint within the same window of time).

* Double-track the rest of the way to a Orlando, with stations in Kissimmee (with monorail direct to Disney, built on public right of way at Disney expense... a fair trade-off IMHO), I-drive (convention center, with light rail up I-drive ending at the new Mall or somewhere like that), and airport (once again, with some kind of fixed transit continuing to downtown Orlando). Yeah, Orlando's got a lot of subway-building to do to catch up with Miami...

then, run service with the following schedule:

MIA -> WPB -> Fort Pierce -> Orlando/Kissimmee-Disney -> Orlando/I-Drive -> Orlando/MCO (everyone in between MIA and WPB would take Tri-rail to WPB or Fort Pierce, free with ticket to Orlando).

To minimize delays, passengers with checked baggage can't exit until Orlando, and passengers checking baggage in Kissimmee or I-Drive can't exit until the Airport. Heading in the return direction, passengers checking baggage at the airport, I-Drive, or Kissimmee can't get off until WPB or MIA, and passengers can't check baggage at WPB.

Running the trains at 80-100mph in the cities, and 120-150mph inland, with stops < 5 minutes each, the total travel time would still save about an hour over driving for people heading to the primary destinations in Orlando, and would be an attractive option if fares were reasonable (say, $40 per day of unlimited travel, with additional days $29/ea if bought at the same time) and service were reasonably frequent.

The flat daily rate is intentional. If you think about it, it really doesn't make much difference to the operating expenses whether someone goes back the same day, because mostly empty cars are still going to be shuttled back and forth throughout the day anyway. If someone decides to commute to Orlando from Miami for 3 days in a row instead of staying at a hotel there, that's one more ticket the rail line has sold that it wouldn't have sold otherwise. It's not a problem if people arrive in a steady stream throughout the day, then all try to head home on the last train, because trains (unlike planes) can let empty cars stack up in Miami and Orlando throughout the day, then run as a massive long train home for the final trip of the day.

The problem is traffic in South Florida that are produced by people living in South Florida. We shouldn't be worrying about Orlando yet until they become a part of our Megalopolis. Haha.

Well, something to think about... the rebuilding of Katy Freeway (I-10 segment in Downtown Houston to West Houston (Katy)) costs well over $2 Billion. And yes... with a 'B.' Billion.... And it doesn't even cover 100 miles like from Miami to WPB. If high speed rail costs $100 billion dollars between Miami and West Palm Beach, it'll only cost more later on, but the need would become inevitable to cover such a large distance and to make the counties work more efficiently together. Perhaps they could just focus on Miami and Fort Lauderdale for now, but high speed is a necessity especially when traffic will have no hopes of slowing down. And most likely double decking the highways would cost over $2 billion, judging from what's going on with the Katy Freeway.

Well, the thing about high-speed vs kind-of-high speed is that the most expensive segment to build (the one between West Palm Beach's airport and MIA) is only about 70 miles. At 70mph + 5 minutes for a stop, that's about 50 minutes (give or take; I didn't pull out a calculator...). At 120mph + 5 minutes for a stop, that's about 33 minutes. At 180mph + 5 minutes for a stop, that's about 25 minutes. Once the double-tracking is completed, it'll be easy to do 80-100mph all the way if they build passing lanes around all the Tri-Rail stations, and occasionally make a Tri-Rail train wait 2 or 3 minutes at a station for an Orlando-bound train to pass.

Under the most optimistic high-speed rail scenario, it's going to take at least two hours to get to Orlando anyway. Under a cautiously-optimistic Acela-speed scenario (80-100mph between MIA and WPB, 120-150 the rest of the way), it wouldn't take more than three. Ultimately, that hundred billion dollars is the cost of shaving 25-40 minutes from the trip. How many tickets would they have to sell at even $100 each way just to amortize that hundred billion in less than a century? Let's face it... people won't even pay THAT much... at least, not Floridians who make occasional trips between Southeast Florida and ORlando. Make the tickets $40-50 per day, unlimited travel, and they'll be running full trains every hour or less, because that's cheap enough for people to just spontaneously get up on Saturday and say, "I feel like going to the mall in Orlando this afternoon" or "Hey, let's go to South Beach tonight...".

How did Acela happen in the Northeast? I do believe something similar could happen in South Florida, but not anytime soon, at least not until Palm Beach county has more than 2,500,000 people living in "Metro" West Palm Beach. But that's probably not too far away either.

Driving by car 70 mph from Miami to West Palm Beach takes more than 50 minutes. According to Google Maps, it would take 1 hour and 11 minutes for a 69 miles ride in a car from downtown to downtown.

If the rail going only 70 mph do take 50 mins, then that's already 20 mins faster. And if the rail earns a right of way along its tracks, with higher speed, people would definitely ride the rail, provided that there's a good bus system or trolley system connecting the stations. Having roads go around the rail and such would probably cost far less than $100 billion unless if there is a need to acquire private land to make it happen. $100 billion seems like the price it would cost to have the entire track elevated. So generally, I do think it's possible (and feasible if the length goes up to Palm Beach especially along the proposed corridor that would connect downtowns). We can't guarantee that people would ride the rail to Orlando. But considering the traffic in our area and the growing acceptance of rail within the city limits, we can make a safer guarantee that people would ride the rail here especially considering that the proposed corridor is what most of the people are asking for (connections to downtowns and popular parts of towns where the areas are actually pedestrian friendly for a large part of the corridor). The only thing is that it would take forever for them to double-track it since they've still not completed the double tracking of the existing Tri-Rail corridor. With the number of condos near the proposed rail corridor all along South Florida, I am sure there would be a warm welcome to the Tri-Rail in the area. We would definitely see more people riding it!

Sometimes some things are worth it if you know people come. Some other things are worth it if the people are already there. In this case, we've tried the sooner but not the latter (at least, not yet). But since the people are already there in the area, then certainly many people would think it's a worthy investment of their tax money.

Or if people are really stupid... they'll complain about wasting tax money on projects they'll "never use" until they need it in farther west Miami-Dade, and guess what... once they realize that they need it, one of the first proposed rail lines or traffic zone that would need to be fixed/improved or upgraded would most likely be along that proposed rail corridor but it would be at a higher cost if they wait to build it.

Just to clarify... the $100 billion cost was to elevate the track a-la Metrorail the entire way from West Palm Beach to Miami.

Personally, I think the biggest thing they could do to encourage inter-county commuters to use TriRail would be to buy a bunch of Amtrak's old sleeper cars and renovate them into private bathroom suites and sell them like timeshares to commuters (ie, you'd be renting suite #13, car #2703, Monday through Friday between 7:40 and 8:15 am, for example). Then people could crawl out of bed, drive to the station, and spend the hour trip doing the stuff they would have had to do at home anyway. Or alternatively, buy a few dining cars and have the morning Breakfast Buffet ;-)

According to the map I just saw earlier, 817 is the northern part of the Palmetto. :-) I was referring to that...
Okay, I know what you're referring to now... The Palmetto Expressway is SR 826 for its entire length, but you are referring to the east-west portion up to "the Big Curve". State Road 817 is NW 27th Avenue (also called University Drive three miles north in Broward County), which has an interchange at the east-west portion of the Palmetto. Your map might be overlapping the 817 route number on top of the Palmetto.

I have thought about this myself many times, however, this type of westward extension would be next-to-impossible now, since that entire area is now built up by Miami Lakes. People's backyards happen to front the Big Curve. Also Miami-Dade County's Urban Development Boundary prohibits development west of I-75 in that portion of northern Miami-Dade County, so it is not legally possible to extend the Palmetto Expressway west to the Turnpike.

and since it's an east and west corrider in its northern side of the loop, if it was extended to florida turnpike,
What would be more practical now would be to build a full interchange where the Turnpike and I-75 cross, in order to allow full movement in all directions. Then the Turnpike would become an easy east-west route that would serve both northern Dade and southern Broward counties. Currently the existing interchange only allows southbound I-75 to southbound Turnpike and northbound Turnpike to northbound I-75 movement. At the time the interchange was built, there was not enough traffic there to justify a full interchange, but FDOT has a future expansion plans in the works. "When" is the question.

then i'm sure it would resemble a lot like the dolphin expressway and serve as a major east and west route with easier accessibility to western miami (instead of having to go down on the palmetto from there and then going west and up on 75 to Miramar).
826 westbound is generally used by Dade commuters. To get to Miramar, currently motorists coming from I-95 would take the Turnpike at the Golden Glades Interchange and get off at either NW 27th Avenue/University Dr or NW 57th Avenue/Red Rd northbound, which places them smack-dab in Miramar.

In southern Dade when the opportunity was available, I-95 should have been run all the way to Florida City, rather than end in downtown Miami, which would have provided a route that would have relieved the Turnpike, 836, and 874. That is a major woe for South Dade residents.

It seems to me that people using the northern part of the Palmetto only uses it to get onto 95 (or to go south, knowing that the western part of the palmetto later bends southward) and not because they're trying to go to western or eastern miami dade.
This is mostly true, because the majority of Miami's employment sector is due south. In Miami, most movement is north-south because of our unusually long yet narrow metropolitan area, and then you occasionally have to trek east or west to arrive at your destination. Case in point: If you are ever driving along the east-west Palmetto during the evening rush hour, the NW 57th Ave and NW 67th Ave exits (both major north-south arterials) always have traffic backed up onto the through-lanes of the expressway. These are people going home. They use the east-west segment to get to their exit, then they must travel north/south again.

I think i sounded confusing here because it's kinda hard to explain which way a highway bends because it depends on which way you're going.
Local traffic reporters use "Palmetto northbound" , "...southbound," "... eastbound," "... westbound," etc., and that automatically tells you which segment you're talking about. Plus when you hear interchange names, all the exits on the east-west portion will be avenues (Avenues go north/south), and all the north-south exits will be streets (Streets go east/west).

They should *definitely* "finish off" the half-interchange at I-75 and the Turnpike Extension to connect southbound I-75 to eastbound Turnpike, and westbound Turnpike to northbound I-75.

Another project that would be invaluable, and I think actually made it as far as being shown on maps as "coming soon" for a few years, would be extending the Turnpike Extension east from its current end at the original Turnpike (between Golden Glades and the county line) to I-95, US-1, and preferably a causeway. In fact, I think the causeway running along Aventura Mall's southern border was supposed to BE the eastern end of that road (notice it looks like a mini-expressway).

If they wanted to make the "we hate expressways, Metrorail forever!" crowd happy, they could even throw them a cookie and incorporate a Metrorail line into the road structure to connect the future northern end (stadium) to Aventura Mall -- ready to intersect with a future north-south line along US-1. A station between the stadium and the mall would probably be an expensive waste, though...

Yeah, I-75 & TNPK Extension half interchange is just like the TNPK & 408 interchange in Orlando. But now they're completing that interchange to allow drivers to go in any direction from any direction on 408 and the TNPK.

Anyone know how good the Busway to Cutler Ridge is doing w/re to ridership, efficiency, etc, and if they got the idea from another city? Also, was it that much cheaper to build the busway instead of extending an at-grade Metrorail line? (I guess it would still have to be elevated b/c of all the intersections and red lights that would hold up traffic)

Having at-grade Metrorail track would defeat the entire purpose of heavy rail. The fact that it doesn't interact with vehicular traffic at all is one of the best things they could do for reliable and frequent service, as well as safety. The Busway is currently being extended to Florida City, and the ridership is relatively high, given its connection with the Dadeland South Metrorail station. The Busway has been successful in bringing in riders who "voluntarily" use the service, i.e., they have a car but the service is convenient enough to be a useful alternative. Eventually the intention is to convert the Busway into heavy rail, but the funds aren't there yet. Right now that money is tied up in the north-south and east-west lines.

TNPK & 408 interchange in Orlando.
I am glad to hear they're finally going to do that... Now they just need to connect the Greeneway and the Turnpike and they'll be all set.

Planners in Broward prefer use of light rail for east-west mass transit

By Michael Turnbell
Transportation Writer
Posted April 15 2005

Broward planners chose light rail over buses Thursday to serve a $1 billion east-west mass transit line, opting for a pricier but more appealing system they hope will draw more commuters and help ease traffic.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization also voted to direct the state to build as much of the system as possible in an exclusive path that doesn't interfere with drivers.











Both decisions give the Florida Department of Transportation the green light to apply for federal funding later this spring.

They also signal engineers to start fine-tuning details such as the locations of stations and which parts of the route will be elevated, placed next to roads or share lanes with traffic. Construction would begin about 2012.

One of the biggest questions -- how to pay for it -- remains unanswered, although a group of Broward business leaders says a sales tax for transportation is the way to go.

Project officials must also find a way to deal with persistent concerns from Sunrise residents who support mass transit but say 136th Avenue is the wrong place for it.

"The noise [from traffic] is impossible," said Maxine Marshall, who moved to the area 21 years ago when 136th was a dead-end road with little traffic. "If it's on 136th, I want it totally off."

Early analysis suggests the county would have a better shot at winning federal money for a bus rapid transit system because the costs per rider for rail are much higher. But in picking light rail, planners said trains would serve the county's long-term needs better than buses.

Newer bus rapid transit systems use fancy buses that look like trains, but "when you come right down to it, it's still a bus and people won't get on it," said Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Christine Teel in championing light rail.

"I think it's the right thing for us to do," said Broward Mayor Kristin Jacobs. "We must think about moving people instead of cars."

The 21-mile route begins near Office Depot Center and runs along 136th Avenue, Interstate 595, State Road 7, Broward Boulevard, Andrews Avenue and U.S. 1 and ends at the airport.

Along I-595, light rail would either run in the median of the interstate under a system of elevated toll express lanes, or be elevated between eastbound I-595 and eastbound State Road 84 or south of State Road 84.

A mostly elevated light-rail system would cost $1 billion and require about $29 million a year in local tax money to build and operate, state estimates show. That's if the federal government contributes half the cost and the state contributes 25 percent. It would take $83 million a year in local money if the county receives no federal or state funding.

Jim Cummings, a South Florida Regional Transportation Authority board member, said Broward's biggest businesses support raising the county sales tax to come up with the local share. A penny increase in the sales tax would raise about $260 million a year.

Cummings said he plans to make the sales tax pitch to the Broward County Commission in the next two weeks to get the issue on the ballot in 2006. He said the bulk of the tax money could be used to pay for light rail and other major transit projects, with 20 percent given back to each city and town to spend on transportation projects within their own borders.

"There are 1 million more people going to move here by 2030," Cummings said. "That's enough cars to stretch from the northern tip of Alaska to the southern tip of Florida. Ladies and gentlemen, where are we going to put all those cars?"

Cummings said the county can't afford to waste more time because it is competing against dozens of cities around the country lining up to apply for a small pot of federal transit money.

He said a $1.46 billion light-rail line in Hillsborough County wasn't funded in the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2006 budget sent to Congress earlier this year because it lacked a local financial commitment from the county.

U.S. 1 Busway expands by five miles

Starting Sunday, the South Miami-Dade Busway extends from Dadeland South to Naranja. By mid-2007, it will reach Florida City.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com


Loathed by thousands stuck in the daily morass on U.S. 1, the parallel South Miami-Dade Busway expands an additional five miles starting this weekend.

The new segment will extend the bus-only lanes from the current terminus, at Southwest 112th Avenue and Southwest 200th Street in Cutler Ridge down to Southwest 264th Street in Naranja, adding five stops along the way.

Unlike other areas of the county where large numbers of riders are transit-dependent ''captives'' with no other way to get to work, many Busway patrons have access to a car but choose to take the bus. Park-and-ride lots on the original stretch are often bursting beyond capacity by 7:30 most weekday mornings.

Twenty-five buses per hour will be using the Busway during the northbound rush in the morning and southbound in the evenings, said David Fialkoff, director of service planning at Miami-Dade Transit.

''We're realigning several routes in the area, moving them off of U.S. 1 and onto the Busway between 216th and 264th streets,'' Fialkoff said.

On a good day, the 8-½-mile trip on the original segment from Dadeland South Metrorail station to Cutler Ridge can take as little as 25 minutes. It's a rare day when drivers on the parallel lanes of ''useless 1'' cover the same distance in similar time.

According to Florida Department of Transportation studies, as many as 74,000 vehicles per day use U.S. 1 in the area.

Transit planners are hoping the new segment will not cause as many accidents and bottlenecks as the original did shortly after it opened in February 1997.

Many southbound motorists were ignoring the ''No Right Turn on Red'' signs on U.S. 1. These drivers mistakenly assumed that the parallel Busway also had a red light.

Transit reduced the safety issue by cutting into the Busway's intended efficiency, requiring drivers to slow down to 15 mph when crossing the intersections.

MORE INFORMATION
To see all of the changes to the Miami-Dade Transit bus schedule starting next week, go to http://miamidade.gov/transit and click on ''More bus service improvements'' or call 305-770-3131 or 305-891-3131. THE PASSENGERS
After a two-year dip in the early part of the decade, average weekday ridership is climbing on Busway routes.
2004** 14,941
2003 13,122
2002 11,562
2001 11,585
2000 12,292
1999 12,047
1998 11,026
1997* 10,095
1996 7,130
** computed from first three quarters data
* original Busway segment opened February 1997
Source: Miami-Dade Transit

Four people have been killed in Busway-related accidents since 1997 and 105 accidents have been recorded involving Transit buses.

''We don't anticipate as many problems this time,'' said Transit construction officials Rafael ''Ralph'' Cutie, ''because most of the intersections don't draw the same kind of traffic as the major intersections in the original part of the Busway.''

Several of the new stops were designed with residents and merchants in Goulds, Princeton and Naranja.

Boosters say the urban villages will preserve surrounding green space and maintain some of the area's historic, rural flavor, while ensuring that long-neglected, mostly minority communities benefit from growth.

The station at Southwest 220th Street in Goulds will feature an old-fashioned railroad depot design to meld with the Storeporch District. Orange flooring will signify the Naranja stop at Southwest 264th Street.

Signs have been improved at stops throughout the corridor, said Transit planner Surinder Sahota.

''This was a big complaint we heard a lot before,'' Sahota said. ''The new stops have signs hanging way below the rooflines of the new stations so the riders can see them while seated in the buses.''

Bid packages for the third and final 6.5-mile segment from Naranja to Southwest 344th Street/West Palm Drive in Florida City are due later this month. Construction is currently anticipated to be completed in May 2007.

The budget for the entire 11.5-mile extension is now at $105 million, up $18 million from the 2003 estimates. The majority of the increase is due to environmental remediation that was required after large pools of arsenic were discovered in the area last year.

Depending on future growth patterns and shifting political priorities, the Busway could one day morph into a Bus Rapid Transit corridor, with ''stations'' elevated over the major intersections to avoid the stop-and-go phenomenon on U.S. 1 or a full-fledged Metrorail line.


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11437641.htm

Broward voters could decide on sales tax hike for transit system

By Buddy Nevins
Political Writer
Posted April 27 2005

Voters likely will be asked next year to raise the sales tax to pay for a futuristic transit system linking west Broward with downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Broward County commissioners on Tuesday took the first steps toward scheduling a referendum in November 2006 to approve increasing the sales tax to seven cents from six cents per dollar in Broward.

Further approval appears certain. Broward Mayor Kristin Jacobs called the transit system the commission's "No. 1 goal."

The new tax would raise $260 million a year, which would be earmarked exclusively for transportation. The additional sales tax would make the county eligible for millions of dollars more in matching money from Washington and Tallahassee.

The entire project is expected to take decades and cost "billion of dollars," Vice Mayor Ben Graber said. "You're looking at astronomical amounts of money."

Jim Cummings, a builder and leader in the business community's effort to get mass transportation, said the money was worth it.

"We need to get people out of cars," Cummings said.

The Broward system would eventually link with the Metrorail transit system in Miami-Dade County and any transit system eventually built in Palm Beach County, said Cummings, a member of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

"For it to work it has to be regional," said Ralph Marrinson, the owner of nursing homes and another business leader pushing the tax for transit.

The Broward Workshop, a group of 80 business leaders, and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce back the tax idea, which the county has studied for years. Cummings said business leaders would help the county promote the plan to the public.

Because the rapid transit system would roll mainly through central Broward, the business leaders suggested a way to entice voters in other areas of the county to vote for the tax. They recommended funneling 20 percent of any money raised to cities for local projects, such as bike baths, that could take the load off roads.

The extra penny sales tax for transportation might not be the only tax hike voters will be asked to approve next year. The School Board is considering a referendum for another extra one-cent tax for education.

If voters approve both tax increases, the sales tax rate in Broward will be eight cents on the dollar.

The transit system that planners envision is more like the monorail at Disney World than the clunky, noisy elevated trains in parts of New York City. The quiet, aerodynamic vehicles with huge wraparound windows would zip from park-and-ride lots along a 21-mile route beginning near the Office Depot Center in Sunrise and running eastward along some of Broward's busiest streets and highways.

Plans have the transit running on a route that would not interfere with street traffic. It goes south along 136th Street to Interstate 595, then east to State Road 7, north to Broward Boulevard and then east along Broward Boulevard into downtown Fort Lauderdale. The tracks would go south on Andrews Avenue and U. S. 1 to the airport.

Many residents along these streets in Sunrise, Plantation and Fort Lauderdale learned about the proposed route only recently and have been complaining, leading commissioners to promise on Tuesday that no transit routes are set yet.

"I'm supportive [of the transit]," Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion said. "I just don't want to be put in a box on location."

Eggelletion represents central Broward, an area that would be heavily affected by the elevated transit system. It is expected to spark redevelopment along its route, dramatically changing the neighborhoods it runs through.

Commissioners said unless the route is carefully chosen before the election, angry residents may sink the tax increase at the polls. Residents can see the proposed route on centralbrowardtransit.com.

Lou Hendrix is among those upset by the proposal. Her home in the New Orleans Estates neighborhood of Sunrise would be affected by transit running along 136th Street.

Hendrix predicted that unless the route was changed, her neighbors along that street would fight the tax increase.

"Not only would we oppose the tax, we will oppose any federal approval of the transit," Hendrix said.

Political Writer Buddy Nevins can be reached at bnevins@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4571.



WHAT'S NEXT

Commiss-ioners Tuesday unanimously asked the county attorney to draft a resolution calling for an election on the proposed tax.

They will vote on the resolution.

A refer-endum would be scheduled before mid-2006.

Having at-grade Metrorail track would defeat the entire purpose of heavy rail

Only if roads cross the track at grade. An ideal compromise between the cost of a full-blown honest to god subway and fully elevated line would be for MDTA to extend Metrorail all the way west from its current end at Palmetto Station to 107th avenue at grade, with concrete culverts built at the location of future road crossings so they'd just have to pile dirt on both sides to create a mini hill for the road to pass over. It's cheaper to run roads over heavy rail than vice-versa because they have control over the train height and required clearance, so they can build the culverts just as big as they need to be for the trains to pass through. If they run the trains over the roads, they need at least 18-24 feet of clearance to accommodate the tallest vehicle likely to pass below. Since there's nothing out there right now anyway besides weeds, the inevitable buildings that will come later can be built to back up against the tracks (possibly with alleys... but for god's sake NOT real roads that can never be widened later... alongside the tracks and fence). I think this is how most of Washington's subway is built in Virginia south of Reagan Airport (not quite subway, but mostly at ground level with lots of culverts at road crossings)

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/04/25/daily51.html


Transportation portal comes online in Miami-Dade

Two launches that may cheer commuters: Miami-Dade County has started a transportation portal with information on road conditions, flights and public transportation; while upgrades to the State Road 874 toll plaza mean that highway may process an additional 1,000 vehicles an hour.

The Miami-Dade County transportation Web portal is at go.miamidade.gov (http://go.miamidade.gov) . The partnership of 11 transportation and tourism-related agencies includes Miami-Dade Transit, Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Web site features links to Metrobus and Metrorail schedules, paratransit transportation services, how to sign up for a SunPass and People's Transportation Plan updates. Links are arranged by four basic categories: air, land, sea and accessible services. Also, recognizing travelers may cross county lines, links include Broward County Transit, the Florida Department of Transportation and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

Broward is so behind when the issue of mass transit arises...will it take another million people before they seriously address the issue?

Broward is so behind when the issue of mass transit arises...will it take another million people before they seriously address the issue?

You're soooo right!!
Broward already has 1.8Million citizens compared to Miami-Dade's 2.3Million.

They have plans for light rail but it will be years, if ever before they start construction.

Smaller metros like Portland and Sacramento are way ahead of Broward with their light rail transit.

We need transit oriented development b4 SoFlo becomes L.A.

There's still something terribly wrong with the Miami Airport site. It hasn't been working for a very very long time (months).

I wish we had one huge elevated light rail or monorail system for the entire Tri-County area. I'll keep dreaming, but in the meantime any transit investment is worth it.

I think South Florida is very similar to the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of population, having many downtowns, three major airports, regional sports teams and liberal citizens. We could learn a lot from their transit system BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) that serves the entire area and really reduces commute times.

I have a cousin who lives in Walnut Creek, CA (just outside of Oakland) and works in Downtown San Francisco. She told me that it takes two hours to get to work by car, an hour of that waiting to cross a crowded bridge into the city. She drove a few times but prefers to park-and-ride the BART which only takes 20 MINUTES to get from her neighborhood to D'twn San Fran.

As South Florida grows to a size similar to the bay area we will need one unified transit system.

South Florida
Miami area
Ft. Lauderdale area
+West Palm Beach area
Total metro population nearing 6 Million

Bay Area
San Francisco area
Oakland area
+San Jose area
Total Metro nearing 6 Million

Both metros are about 60 miles long and on the coast.
Both metros have great weather and millions of tourists.
Both metros have three central cities with their own suburbs and airports and seaports.
Both metros have natural barriers that prevent endless spawl.
Both metros are anchored by one primary, major city, SF and MIA.
Both metros are considered among the most diverse in the country.

But for some reason the Bay Area seems way more urban than South Florida. They obviously have many prestigious universities and cultural institutions but we're growing extremely fast.

Their BART system connects the major downtowns, cultural institutions, sports venues, airports and most of the suburbs...take a look at the BART website http://www.bart.gov/index.aspand system map
http://www.bart.gov/images/map500.gif
There are other rail transit systems that go all over San Fran and San Jose

Do you guys/girls think this comparison makes sense?

L.D.Gator :) , pardon me for a correction in your adding, but if you add 2.3 with 1.8 and 1.2 you get 6.3 MILLION Bro for the South Florida Metro, its okay, I just love My Metro area for being over 6 Million as I said that figure many times before. We are still one of the fastest growing Metro areas in the Country of the U.S.A. :cheers:
Please Edit your last post here and correct that 5.3 Million, I can't stand being a million less, lol. :)

I wish we had one huge elevated light rail or monorail system for the entire Tri-County area. I'll keep dreaming, but in the meantime any transit investment is worth it.

I think South Florida is very similar to the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of population, having many downtowns, three major airports, regional sports teams and liberal citizens. We could learn a lot from their transit system BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) that serves the entire area and really reduces commute times.

I have a cousin who lives in Walnut Creek, CA (just outside of Oakland) and works in Downtown San Francisco. She told me that it takes two hours to get to work by car, an hour of that waiting to cross a crowded bridge into the city. She drove a few times but prefers to park-and-ride the BART which only takes 20 MINUTES to get from her neighborhood to D'twn San Fran.

As South Florida grows to a size similar to the bay area we will need one unified transit system.

South Florida
Miami and suburbs................2.3 Million
Ft. Lauderdale and suburbs....1.8 Million
West Palm Beach and suburbs.1.2 Million
Total metro ......... 5.3 Million

Bay Area
San Francisco area
Oakland area
San Jose area
Total Metro around 6 Million

Both metros are about 60 miles long and on the coast.
Both metros have great weather and millions of tourists.
Both metros have three central cities with their own suburbs and airports and seaports.
Both metros have natural barriers that prevent endless spawl.
Both metros are anchored by one primary, major city, SF and MIA.
Both metros are considered among the most diverse in the country.

But for some reason the Bay Area seems way more urban than South Florida. They obviously have many prestigious universities and cultural institutions but we're growing extremely fast.

Their BART system connects the major downtowns, cultural institutions, sports venues, airports and most of the suburbs...take a look at the BART website http://www.bart.gov/index.aspand system map
http://www.bart.gov/images/map500.gif
There are other rail transit systems that go all over San Fran and San Jose

Do you guys/girls think this comparison makes sense?

I completely agree...our metropolitan area is one....we should have something similar to the Port Authority of NY & NJ with our airports, seaports and transportation (rail/highways) under one govermental agency.

L.D.Gator :) , pardon me for a correction in your adding, but if you add 2.3 with 1.8 and 1.2 you get 6.3 MILLION Bro for the South Florida Metro, its okay, I just love My Metro area for being over 6 Million as I said that figure many times before. We are still one of the fastest growing Metro areas in the Country of the U.S.A. :cheers:
Please Edit your last post here and correct that 5.3 Million, I can't stand being a million less, lol. :)

Readd it. it's 5.3 million. :-) But we're still growing fast, and probably faster than the Bay Area (not too sure)

L.D.Gator :) , pardon me for a correction in your adding, but if you add 2.3 with 1.8 and 1.2 you get 6.3 MILLION Bro for the South Florida Metro, its okay, I just love My Metro area for being over 6 Million as I said that figure many times before. We are still one of the fastest growing Metro areas in the Country of the U.S.A. :cheers:
Please Edit your last post here and correct that 5.3 Million, I can't stand being a million less, lol. :)

2.3+1.8+1.2 does equal 5.3 but I changed the numbers for both metros to "nearing 6 million" because the 5.3 million comes from a 2003 estimate so I guess it's safe to say nearing six million because we will be there soon if we aren't already. :) Anyway what do you think about a unified transit authority?

L.D.Gator :) , I'm sorry again, no more booze for this man, you did add it right, I'm half blind, lol and YES !! a unified transit authority is great, but how much more money will it cost ? :sleepy:
I'm glad you helped me out on that mistake, thanks, and I 'm guessing we will hit that 6 million by 2009. :cheers:

We already have one, in a sense.

Back in 2003 the state created the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which superceded the former Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority, the operator of Tri-Rail. Under the new statute, SFRTA is able to operate a transit system across the three counties. Currently its focus is on expanding Tri-Rail and on coordinating the intraregional operations of the three existing county transit agencies.

Posted on Thu, May. 12, 2005

MASS TRANSIT
On track?

The Miami trolley, expected to move further along the legislative track today, is still far from the station

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com


While serious financing questions remain to be answered, Miami city commissioners are expected to roll a little farther down the tracks today toward creating a sleek $132 million streetcar system from downtown to the Design District.

Rolling along some of the exact routes where trolleys thrived 80 years ago, the air-conditioned, modern streetcars would link the booming condo canyons, shops and cafes north of downtown with museums, parks, nightclubs and performing arts centers that are planned or under construction.

''This is an absolutely crucial part of the big picture for the future of the city,'' said Commissioner Johnny Winton, whose district would benefit the most from the streetcar. ``We have to get our transportation systems in place in front of the condo boom, or we could wind up with serious gridlock that could kill it all.''

Within a quarter-mile, or a 10-minute walk, of the proposed 6.75-mile track: 60 development projects with a combined 14,400 residential units and 2.64 million square feet of retail and office space planned or under construction.

Powered by overhead electrical lines, the streetcars would run every 10 minutes along fixed-rail guideways in designated lanes shared with other vehicular traffic. Stops are planned every two to five blocks.

LOTS OF RIDERS

If the optimistic 2008 opening date remains on target, forecasters are projecting 3,000 riders a day at the beginning, ramping up to 8,100 a day by 2025. With the exception of a few spaces needed to build loading platforms at the stations, on-street parking impact would be minimal.

The Miami streetcar is in keeping with a growing trend: Young professionals and empty-nest baby boomers are flocking back to inner cities to pursue urban lifestyles and avoid hellish commutes on increasingly clogged highways.

Transit experts say socioeconomic factors are underpinning streetcar successes -- especially in Sunbelt communities that came of age when car culture was king.

The same young white-collar professionals who would never hop on a bus might be willing to leave their luxury rides in the high-rise condo garage for a safe, clean, efficient streetcar running the same route, said anthropologist Beverly Ward of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida.

In Toronto, which developed a streetcar similar to the one proposed for Miami, officials estimate as many as 60 percent of the customers are so-called ''choice'' riders who never used buses along the same streets.

Planners have tentatively placed three stops on the central boulevard of Midtown Miami, between 29th and 36th streets, where 3,000 high-rise condo units, 900 apartments, street-level shops, cafes and 100,000 square feet of offices are being built on the old Buena Vista rail yards.

While its boosters are hoping streetcars will be rolling sometime in 2008, the system is far from a done deal.

Commissioners today are expected to authorize managers to forge ahead with an array of complicated financing scenarios for the construction tab of $132 million plus another $3.5 million a year for initial annual operating expenses.

Miami officials were hoping to issue bonds to leverage the city's cut of the half-cent sales tax -- currently $10 million a year -- to underwrite a large chunk of the system.

Now, they are looking at the sales tax along with city bonds, plus other local, state and federal funding sources -- including one that doesn't even exist yet, but is currently being proposed on Capitol Hill, said city transportation official Lilia Medina.

Medina said the city is considering creating an independent authority, or a joint operating pact with Miami-Dade Transit or possibly hiring a private firm to design, build, operate and maintain the entire system.

LINK TO BAYLINK

In the downtown business district, the streetcar route would run parallel to Miami-Dade Transit's elevated Metromover, and connect with Metrorail at Government Center. The route was intended to seamlessly integrate with Transit's proposed BayLink system connecting downtown Miami with South Beach via the MacArthur Causeway and circulating in both cities.

But BayLink has been beset by intramural political squabbling on the Beach and is a second-tier transit priority at County Hall.

The bottom line: BayLink is, optimistically, at least 10 to 15 years away, meaning the city might have to fork over more upfront money for tracks, cars and maintenance garages -- costs that planners were originally hoping to share with the county transit agency.

Those details don't concern streetcar boosters such as Winton.

He's already dreaming about Phase Two, which would extend the line through Buena Vista East, Little Haiti and the Upper East Side neighborhoods to the northern city limits.

If the city can get a trolley up by 2008 (relatively soon), I would be really happy...I'm not getting excited yet though.

If the city can get a trolley up by 2008 (relatively soon), I would be really happy...I'm not getting excited yet though.

Yea, I won't hold my breath either. Mass transit plans have a way of taking decades to materialize. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

this really would b great... but like every1 else, im not really gettin my hopes up

I still think they should forget the Trolley and extend Metromover north to Midtown, then eventually north along Miami Avenue, NE 2nd ave, or the FEC Railroad next to Biscayne Blvd to 54th street, then north to 81st street along the railroad ROW, and east to the beach... as a NON-FREE service. The biggest mistake MDTA ever made was making Metromover free "outright", instead of "free to Metrorail riders" like it was originally. They should raise the cost of riding Metromover to whatever Metrorail costs and have free transfers between Metrorail and Metromover.

Now that it's free, they have smelly homeless people riding it all afternoon just because "it's there, it's free, and it's air-conditioned" -- precisely why making ANY mass transit free outright is just a bad idea.

Not to mention the fact that it makes sense to extend the 'Mover. How many hundreds of millions of dollars did they already blow extending it north to Omni-land through what was (a decade ago) hardcore ghetto & war zone with neither the realistic likelihood NOR even the EXPECTATION that the area would ever become nice? I think 3 of the stations are STILL boarded up. At least now, they have a chance to leverage the money they spent a decade ago and make it useful.

Plus, the northern part wouldn't necessarily be as expensive as the part through Brickell, downtown, and Overtown, because they could build some of it (fenced in) at ground level alongside the FEC railroad tracks (going up and over any roads that cross the tracks). Between 39th Street and 54th Street, there's almost a mile-long stretch without a single crossroad.

I agree that making the metromover free made it a bum magnet. I also agree that extending the existing systems is better than creating all new systems.

STREETWISE


A lot of hopes are riding on new transit hub

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

streetwise@herald.com


This is one of those rare South Florida transportation stories with serious happy-ending potential.

It features political foresight, logic and bureaucracies setting aside competing agendas for the common good.

Really.

The $1.4 billion Miami Intermodal Center will feature a consolidated rental car facility now under way east of Le Jeune Road, and a still-to-be-built Central Station where taxis, local and Greyhound buses, Metrorail and Tri-Rail will converge.

A lot of hope and tax dollars are riding on the center: It's supposed to dramatically reduce traffic congestion inside the airport and create a transit hub like nothing seen before in Florida.

Ten years from now, when the MIC is bustling with commuters, tourists and airport employees (and, hopefully, bearing a more interesting name) nobody will even notice how the decisions of 2005 spared them plenty of sweat and shoe leather.

Until recently, Metrorail and Tri-Rail passengers were going to have to trek more than 1,000 feet across moving walkways, bridges and escalators to catch a new $260 million people mover into the airport. That's a long hike -- more than three football fields -- especially if you're lugging kids, suitcases or duffel bags stuffed with consumer electronics.

But under a new, improved scenario, Metrorail, Tri-Rail and the people mover will be located on different floors in the same general area, cutting walking distances down to approximately 200 feet.

''What we had before was the Miami Not-So-Intermodal Center,'' said City Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, chairman of the Transportation Committee. ``Now, we truly have an intermodal facility -- everyone under the same roof and connecting at reasonable distances.''

USER-FRIENDLY

Gimenez and other commissioners pushed engineers, planners and consultants with the Florida Department of Transportation, Miami-Dade Transit, Tri-Rail and the airport to concoct a more user-friendly solution.

In the new scenario, Tri-Rail will arrive at ground level. Two escalator levels up, Metrorail will arrive from the north via the Earlington Heights station off the Airport Expressway.

One more level up, outbound airline passengers will be able to catch the people mover into the airport. The people mover will drop them at the moving walkways located between the Dolphin and Flamingo parking garages.

Everybody wins in this scenario, starting with the passengers. The DOT can forge ahead with final design on Central Station, modeled after Manhattan's Grand Central Station. Tri-Rail no longer has to abandon its current station for a new one on the north side of 25th Street.

And as long as readers are willing to forget that it has taken Miami-Dade leaders a quarter-century to finally bring Metrorail into the community's No. 1 economic engine, Transit might be the biggest winner of all.

The new lineup provides wiggle room for Miami-Dade Transit to swing Metrorail out the south side of the MIC and over Le Jeune Road to the future east-west corridor.

This is the dream scenario: One train leaving Florida International University will run through the MIC and then up Northwest 27th Avenue toward Dolphins Stadium and the Broward County line. The next train also leaves FIU and passes through the MIC, but swings downtown on its way to Dadeland.

The rental car center is slated to open in 2007. The people mover and Central Station are scheduled to be ready in 2009, but the timetables are slipping for both elements. Transit is optimistically aiming to complete the MIC-Earlington Heights Metrorail spur in 2011.

SPEAKING OF THE MIC . . .

Rookie U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez tucked a key proviso into the six-year, $295 billion transportation bill the Senate passed last week that could give Miami-Dade a huge boost toward financing Metrorail's north and east-west corridors.

Transit plans to build the 2.6-mile, $340 million spur from Earlington Heights to the MIC with all local money: $240 million, or 70 percent, from the half-cent sales-tax and the balance from a $100 million state grant.

Because the spur is being built without federal money, the county is asking the feds to credit some of the state's contribution toward the financing for the other lines.

The county is trying to build the north and east-west corridors with 50 percent from the feds, 25 percent from the state and 25 percent from local sales-tax proceeds.

The exception Miami-Dade seeks is rare but not unprecedented. San Francisco and Las Vegas both received special permission to ''credit'' grants from one rail project toward financing for another seeking federal funds.

The Miami-Dade language is not contained in the version of the transportation bill the House passed in March. But Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Miami, has been shepherding support for it from key Transportation Committee chairs.

It's still unclear when the House and Senate leaders will appoint conferees to hash out the differences.

Got an idea for a future Streetwise column? Contact transportation writer Larry Lebowitz at streetwise@herald.com or call him at 305-376-3410.

oh man...I hope we get the federal funds...I can't wait till they start building the Central Station too!

It is good to see that Miami has begun the process of correcting it's error of not completing the initial plans for Metrorail which I supported in the 1970s. Sure the cost overruns were steep, on Phase One--but still nothing compared to the cost of 30 years of gridlock. While I call Miami my hometown, I have been blessed to live in other cities which were mass transit heaven (San Francisco), to other cities in which the mass transit system was actually worse than Miami (Houston).

I have maintained for decades that the only American cities that will thrive and prosper in the 21st century are those that have figured out that mass transit is the way to go.

I have never fully understood the thought process that goes into city planing in Miami. Why, for instance did Metrorail planners deem it more important to have Phase One run from downtown Miami to DADELAND MALL??? I guess they thought that was more important than say...an east-west line that connected MIA to downtown, the Port of Miami, etc.

Then there is the bizzare decision to place "Joe Robbie Stadium" in the middle of nowhere. I am sure you can blame the Dade/Broward comprimise on the location---but comprimise is often the root of many a white elephant. Take for example the Miami Arena...close enough to mass transit to call it a viable location, but built so small that it was outdated from it's inception.

Now I am pleased to hear there are new plans in the works for a new Marlins Stadium. It's about time. I am also pleased to see that the locals have finally gotten their act together and agreed to pony up and help this most amazing franchise. Yet, once again...those rednecks in Tallahasse have exhibited their anti-Miami bias. This is a franchise that has won two World Series titles in it's short history! Yes, you could make a claim that the first was a result of buying it with free agents (it wasn't), but I would counter that if it is so easy to buy a World Series, then why haven't the Cubs bought any? Any why do the White Sox get a pass all the time? They are as hapless as the Cubs. But I digress. The Marlins were decimated by H. Wayne....yet managed to survive John Henry, and Jeffrey Loria and rebuild into a World Champion. Every honest person who reads this post will admit to thinking that the one title in 1997 was all any of us could ever imagine--never thinking that a second title was only 6 years away. We would have bet our lives, our wives, our children--AND our farms that we would relocate--or be contracted before another World Series was won!!!!

This Marlins franchise is willing to kick in far more than any other publically funded stadium so far (with the exeption of San Franciso), and yet they can't even get a $30 million tax exemption. Are you trying to run the Marlins off to Las Vegas, Mr. Senate President???

I love Little Havana! I grew up there. I have many friends there. I love the old erector set stadium---the old horseshoe! Yet Little Havana is not the place to build this stadium. Miami has a world class skyline, a world class waterfront--and anyone who has ever visited Pac Bell Park in San Francisco knows that there is only one obvious place to build a stadium for the Marlins....on the bay!

Back to Metrorail. The new plans for added lines are a good start. They include some of the same old lines that Phase 2 and 3 were supposed to, and some lines even go a step further (27th Ave., etc). Yet it doesn't go far enough. More lines! Get with the program Sobe!! There will never be a better opportunity to fully realize Miami's dreams than right now. Building is booming. The skyline is bigger every time I go home. Now I want a world class mass transportation system to match. Build more people mover lines and have stations in every new skyscraper that is built. Build a steet car system on Biscayne Blvd. and down Brickell Ave. that will attract tourists, and yet be practical to local business people and residents.

Miami is to be congratulated for the Miami Intermodel Center--truly a 21st century "Grand Central Station"!! Keep up the good work Miami. And you residents, you taxpayers and voters...please know that these expenses will make Miami the place to be for decades to come--on into the 22nd Century.

Embrace the fact that Miami is not an "american city". It is not a "northen" city either. It is the Capital of Las Americas! It has the potential to be one of the most important cities in the world. Those of us who love it so much already think it is, but the truth is we have a long way to go. And it's not just skyscrapers, mass transit, and stadiums that make a city "world class". It is how it embraces the arts, public space, the environment...and so much more. But it also requires an attitude. Not a bad attitude, but a disposition to knowing that what makes great cities great is diversity. It is a shame that Miami suffered so much loss during "white flight" of the 70s and 80s. There is room in Miami for everyone.

Thanks you for taking the time to read my post.

Dios le bendiga, todos!!!

theEmbarcadero

Great Post Embarcadero!
We all love Miami, and it is best to never take our blessings for granted.

This afternoon, I gave a downtown tour to clients (who just returned from Beijing), they have traveled the world, and have homes in several cities in the US and abroad.
They were impressed by the city today, and the promises of tomorrow. The tour driver was flawless and took a very interesting route too! It was a Metromover tour, from Brickell Station to Omni Station, and back.
They were thoughly impressed with the layout and the accessability to there new purchases! Their daughter, who lives in Manhattan was impressed by the cleanliness, the lightness (compared to underground subways) and the feeling of being above the ground "like a bird" instead of underground "like a worm" of the Metromover.
They are the new Miami lovers!

I remember riding the metrorail when I went to visit my sister in Miami..waaay back in the day early/mid 90's....I haven't seen a map of the system since then...How many improvements have been made in the last 12-10 years?

I remember riding the metrorail when I went to visit my sister in Miami..waaay back in the day early/mid 90's....I haven't seen a map of the system since then...How many improvements have been made in the last 12-10 years?

I think a whole one stop has been added in about the last 30 years. The metro-mover has been made free though.

I remember riding the metrorail when I went to visit my sister in Miami..waaay back in the day early/mid 90's....I haven't seen a map of the system since then...How many improvements have been made in the last 12-10 years?
Third of a kind :) , just opened two years ago, the new 2 mile extension to Medley on the west side of the palmetto ( s.r. 826 ) at the n.w. 74th Street exit. Okeechobee station was the last stop for the last 21 years until the new extension got done in 2004. :cheers:

Everyone :) , Dig deeper into those change pockets coming JULY 3rd, 2005. TOLL Increases at all MDX expressways from 1.00 to 1.25 on the Dolphin s.r. 836, the Don Shula s.r. 874 and the Gratney s.r. 924 expressways, and the Airport s.r. 112 goes from .75 to 1.25, a .50 increase, wow, pay up for future growth here in the ever-growing Miami-Dade county of more cars and trucks filling our highways in the next 5 years. :cheers:

wow, pay up for future growth here in the ever-growing Miami-Dade county of more cars and trucks filling our highways in the next 5 years. :cheers:

Do MDX tolls go into a general fund, or are they earmarked exclusively for building/widening MDX roads? If the increase was planned a few years ago to raise funds for Central Parkway, and Central Parkway is officially nuked, what are they going to spend the money on now? Double-decking 836? Extending 112 west to the Turnpike in a trench, with 36/41 st cantilevered over it? I hope to god they aren't allowed to blow the funds on stupid projects that make *zero* economic sense, like building dedicated ramps to mass transit stations (like the ones on 95 @ 112 and 95 @ Broward Blvd that NOBODY ever uses, just to give two painfully obvious examples) :(

All tolls collected by MDX stay within MDX to fund MDX roads and projects. MDX highways do not receive any state funding and must support themselves entirely by user fees (tolls). This includes construction, maintenance, payroll, administrative costs, etc. Before MDX's inception in the 90s, the state (Turnpike) collected the revenues and spread it around the entire state. Dade's highways were not receiving a fair share of the revenue, so its roads fell into disrepair.

Since MDX took over, it has been playing catchup. 836 has been widened, that new toll plaza with full-speed Sunpass lanes was built, signage has been upgraded, etc. Tolls hadn't been raised in a very long time and didn't keep up with inflation. The increases were done gradually in 25-cent increments on 836, from 50 cents to the new 1.25.

SR 112 will not be extended west, as there was adamant opposition by Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens the last time this was attempted. Right now MDX is in process of extending 836 west to NW 137th Avenue. The new westbound 836 to southbound Turnpike ramp was recently completed.

I've also heard plans of putting up more sound barriers throughout the system. Tiddlywinks in overall cost, but it's something. The plan down in kendall is to move the Don Shula toll plaza north of the killian exit. That's a money grab and will probably lead to even more traffic on Kendall Dr.

Did anyone at FDOT ever bother to do another cost-benefit study of extending 836 west to 137th that took into account the existence of the new interchange at NW 12th street, and NW 12th street's enhancements that made it accessible and useful to people living west of the Turnpike?

I mean, back when I lived in that area (circa '97), it would have seemed like a big deal, because there was no good way to get from the area around 137th ave north of 8th street to, say, International Mall. But it seems like the new interchange they built for Dolphin Mall made about 90% of the original justification moot, especially when you consider just how much earthmoving and rebuilding they've had to do to make its extension westward possible.

The 836 westward extension is designed to get traffic off SW 8th Street west of the Turnpike, and to decongest the Turnpike between 8th St and 836.

all doesnt matter... cause we should be takin that money and puttin it in more metrorail instead of more damn highways

County penny tax could face vote in 2006

In 2006, Broward voters may be deciding whether they think traffic will be bad enough over the next 25 years to consider paying for improvements with a one-cent increase in local sales taxes.

BY ERIKA BOLSTAD

ebolstad@herald.com


commissioner

Broward voters could decide in November 2006 whether they want to pay an additional penny in sales tax for transportation upgrades, such as a commuter train along Interstate 595 and faster express bus lines on major county streets.

The tax would be modeled after the half-cent sales tax increase passed by Miami-Dade voters in 2002 to pay for expansions to the Metrorail system and other transportation improvements.

It would generate an estimated $260 million a year for transit projects, and would bump up Broward's sales tax rate to seven cents for every dollar spent, the same as in Miami-Dade.

Broward County commissioners will officially vote next week whether to go forward with the tax on the 2006 ballot. Most were leaning toward putting it on the ballot -- as long as it's clear exactly what voters would get.

''I'm not willing to go slow, at all,'' said Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs. ``I think we need to put this item on the ballot for 2006, and we need to count backward.

``What does it take, what is our staff going to have to put in, in order for this issue to be successful?''

On the county's wish list: $5 billion to nearly triple the number of buses to more than 700, and 90 miles of new commuter rail lines over the next 25 years.

The commission's move parallels recent proposals in other major U.S. cities, where growing congestion and fierce competition for federal tax money have prompted local officials to find new ways to raise money for mass transit and road improvements.

The county's consultants pointed west, where voters in the seven-county Colorado region around Denver approved a sales tax hike to pay for a $4.7 billion plan to build 127 miles of new commuter rails.

IMPETUS

Although Broward commissioners have been talking about a transportation tax for some time, their decision was reinforced Tuesday after a consultant unveiled a 326-page transportation report outlining what the money could buy.

The report includes a warning that by 2030, the average speed of Broward traffic would drop to 32 mph from 38 mph if the county makes no transportation improvements.

But commissioners want to be clear about exactly what the tax would pay for.

They want their staff to come up with detailed proposals they can present to voters, including a list of which projects would come first.

USER CONSIDERATIONS

As county officials move forward, they also need to make sure that working people and residents of minority neighborhoods -- already more likely to use mass transit -- would be the first to benefit from the sales tax money, said Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion.

''If I don't see a rail system benefiting those folks that are suffering dealing with public transit today . . . I will not support any system,'' Eggelletion said.

``I will go out and I'll speak against it and campaign against any sales tax if those folks don't benefit first.''

The commission still has a number of unanswered questions in its tax proposal, such as whether any sort of oversight board would administer or monitor the money.

In Miami-Dade, for example, the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust oversees the half-cent sales tax.

The trust agreed to a plan that will allow Miami-Dade Transit to spend more than $180 million in sales-tax proceeds over six years to settle old deficits, pay debt service on buses purchased before the election and cover other operations.

That disheartened many Miami-Dade residents, said Broward Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger, and Broward needs to ensure it doesn't use the new tax money to pay for old projects.

'BAD MODEL' IN DADE

''Dade County passed a transit tax, and then started taking money away from the transit tax for other things, which I think is already setting a very bad model, and I think it's also making the public be a bit wary about it,'' Gunzburger said.

The Broward County sales tax proposal could run into a competing school tax proposal: the Broward School Board is also considering ways to raise more tax money to comply with the voter-approved class-size amendment, which sets strict limits on the number of students who can be assigned to each teacher.

The School Board voted Tuesday to form a committee of community leaders to discuss how and when to ask voters for more money.

They're most likely to ask for renewal of a 20-year bond referendum for school building. The bond issue could raise $350 million.

JOINT EFFORT?

Superintendent Frank Till said he plans speak with County Administrator Roger Desjarlais about teaming with the county to raise money.

''I don't know how they think they can pass a penny tax without education being included,'' said Broward School Board member Carole Andrews.

Herald staff writer Steve Harrison contributed to this report.

Does anyone have the link to that Seaport tunnel animation? Can't seem to find that bad boy anywhere.

all doesnt matter... cause we should be takin that money and puttin it in more metrorail instead of more damn highways

amen to that and can we get streetcar or baylink before i die please!!!!

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/050915/story5.shtml

County, Miami to beautify stretch of I-95

By Deserae del Campo
The City of Miami and Miami-Dade County are collaborating on a landscape improvement project to beautify a strip of Interstate 95.
"The area we are looking at is just south of I-395 leading into downtown Miami," said Alyce Robertson, community image manager for the Miami-Dade County Image Advisory Board, consisting of representatives of several cities, the county commission and the Florida Department of Transportation. "Tourists driving into the city will see the downtown skyline and the trees and landscape in the foreground."
The designated area is from Northwest 11th Terrace toward I-395 and the southbound exit of I-95 at Northwest Eighth Street.
The project is being designed by the Landscape Project Committee.
The Department of Transportation is funding the enhancement project for $52,000.
Once the project is complete, the county will pay Miami $20,000 a year for four years to maintain trees on the interstate. After five years, the city will pay for maintenance.
Roots for the City Inc., a non-profit organization in Overtown, is involved in the project's design and implementation. Marvin Dunn, a community psychology field expert at Florida International University, also is working on the project.
Ms. Robertson said she wanted to Mr. Dunn on the team because she was impressed with his gardens in Overtown.
Mr. Dunn built his gardens, at Northwest Third Avenue and 14th Street, eight years ago and uses them for his course curriculum.
"My students choose between 36 community hours working in the gardens or completing a research paper," said Mr. Dunn. "I think I've only had eight students turn in the paper in all eight years."
Mr. Dunn said trees for the I-95 project would probably be donated. He said he has received donations from nurseries and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
"We want to duplicate the greenery on I-95 while also employing people from Overtown to maintain the landscape," Mr. Dunn said.
The Miami-Dade Infrastructure and Land Use Committee is to hear a resolution Friday authorizing the county and Miami to participate in the landscape project.
A similar resolution was passed Sept. 8 during a Miami City Commission meeting.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Dennis C. Moss created the Miami-Dade Image Advisory Board in 2002. "Our goal is to maintain our transportation gateways," he said. "We live in a very beautiful community, and it needs a little makeover."

Coral Gables to expand its FREE trolley system. If only it extended to South Miami (or at least connected with the defunct South Miami Trolley)....

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/050922/story4.shtml

Gables close to expanding trolley service

By Claudio Mendonça
Coral Gables is on the verge of expanding routes and buying new cars for its trolley system as demand continues to surge.
When Donna Fries boarded a trolley Friday, she became the 1 millionth passenger on the system since its inception in November 2003.
Trolleys currently carry 3,200 persons daily, running 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays.
The city has ordered feasibility studies on expanding the system from the University of Miami's industrial engineering department and David Plummer & Associates Inc., a transit-consulting firm. The Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization is paying 80% of the cost of the studies, the city 20%.
"Trolleys are one of our principal goals," said Mayor Don Slesnick, who expects new cars and expanded routes by October 2006.
Six trolleys are in use, and Mr. Slesnick is considering adding two to four. Trolley manager Ed Cox said the cost of new trolleys would be split between the Florida Department of Transportation and the city.
"When trolleys began running, we were estimating 1,000 riders per day," said Mr. Cox, who added that the city is exploring several possible expansions.
One option, Mr. Slesnick said, is to extend service south to the University of Miami near the Douglas Avenue Metrorail station. That route would stretch along Ponce de Leon Road to Metrorail's University station.
Another area needing service is the north side, where the mayor said the north-south route could approach Southwest Eighth Street. Another option is to take the trolley east to the McFarland section of the Gables approaching George W. Carver Elementary School.
Tim Plummer, a consultant for David Plummer & Associates, said the company should start the three-month study within two weeks.
The advantage of trolleys, Mr. Cox said, is that they cut traffic congestion. Since trolleys began running, the city has seen 800 fewer cars a week on its streets, according to a city Public Works Department study.
Trolleys, said Mr. Cox, also offer a free ride and promote better air quality, and patrons don't have to dealing with parking meters. "It is a viable and efficient service for residents."
Trolleys are subsidized by the county People's Transportation Plan, funded by a one-half-cent sales tax. According to Mr. Slesnick, of the $1.2 million annually allocated to Coral Gables from the tax, half goes to the trolley service.
A survey last year found that 52% of trolley users were Gables residents and 24% non-resident students. The findings also showed 83% of riders left their cars at home.
Trolleys have been run in Coral Gables since the 1920s. In the city's first venture, they ran as cable cars until 1935. In June 1988, another trolley returned on rubber tires at a 25-cent fare. The current system is the third trolley incarnation.

score... that thing is damn convenient and kinda spiffy... and its a great sign to see people other than miamis poor using mass transit outside of miami beach... i was on it a while ago and there were guys in suits on it, something ive never seen on a bus as long as ive riden...

:ancient:

Does anyone have the link to that Seaport tunnel animation? Can't seem to find that bad boy anywhere.
That was a wild :okay: picture there ROARK :bowtie: , I saw that pic in the Herald about 20 years ago :laugh: , a I-395 exit off Watson Island making a huge loop around the Helicopter port and then decinds into a hole before the Government Cut with a seawall on top with a four lane tunnel with make believe trucks and cars with a monorail train going under the Cut and ending up on the Port of Miami in the middle of the Port Island with the proposed opening happening around the turn of the century with a price tag of around 200 - 300 Million back then, Today that fiqure could reach over 1.5 Billion :omg: . Its just too late , and the price is rising each year !!! :runaway:

My prediction: they'll eventually abandon the tunnel plans and build an elevated 4-lane road from port boulevard to 395 above the FEC railroad tracks (columns straddling just inside both sides of the railroad's right-of-way, road deck cantilevering about 10-15 feet beyond the railroad ROW on both sides). With some attention to design aesthetics, they could light it up, make it look kind of funky/artistic, and save about a half billion dollars for something more useful, like building overpasses for US-1 over sw 136th street, sw 152 st, and the busway itself over all the roads it crosses so it won't f**k up traffic like it has since the regrettable day it opened. God forbid, maybe they could even resurrect Central Parkway (one of the few projects they had planned that would have actually made a noticeable difference to Miami's endless hellish 24/7/365 traffic jams).

The biggest problem with the port tunnel (besides the cost, and the pointless environmental impact studies that nobody really cares about anyway) is that they'll have to make the curve's radius HUGE to safely accommodate the 18-wheelers that will be using it day and night. Even FDOT has finally learned its lesson and is spending lots of money trying to enlarge the Palmetto's loops (god only knows how 18-wheelers EVER managed to get from eastbound 836 to northbound 826 without rolling over...)

On the other hand, if MDTA scrapped Baylink and ran Metrorail out to South Beach down the port's island before going down and under government cut to its first station beneath South Pointe as a proper subway, a PEDESTRIAN tunnel between the Port's Metrorail station and Watson Island might make sense. Though a skyride/tramway, like New York City's cheapest and arguably most fun tourist attraction ( http://www.nycsubway.org/nyc/ritram ), would be a lot more fun :-)

hooo, so cool, I never saw the metro with this prespective !!!! (I am practice my english )

Any knowledge about the tri-rail double tracking up to Palm Beach County? I recently drove on Yamato Road in Boca Raton to the new tri-rail station they're constructing. Apparently, the Boca Raton station will be a hub for the Tri-rail system. There was a rendering at the enterance of the new platform that showed plans for 50,000 sq.ft. of offices and 20,000 sq.ft. of retail all in a large, enclosed 5 story building. On top of air-conditioned platforms and shops for commuters there were 10 to 15 numbered bus slots for buses to make frequent trips to and from the station.

I mention this station for a more important issue: a possible "light-rail"/"monorail of some sort connecting from the station south, over I-95, and to the FAU campus. I have read numerous articles recently about FAU constructing a university hospital (and relocation of the Boca Raton Community Hospital), over 2,000 dorm rooms, and a 40,000 seat enclosed dome stadium. If all goes to plan in the coming years for the university's sake, they will definitely require some sort of direct connection from the Boca Raton station to the FAU campus. (Google Map the city of Boca Raton and you'll see what I mean. Note that on the google map version, it does not yet depict the brand new, state-of-the-art station that tri-rail has constructed. It is located on the south side of Yamato Road and just northwest of I-95.)

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/051110/fyi.shtml

POWERING UP: Miami commissioners have approved $5.2 million to lay underground power infrastructure to help run the city's proposed streetcar system on a 6.8-mile loop linking downtown and Northeast 41st Street in the Design District. Officials hope to have the streetcars going by 2009 at an estimated cost of $132 million.

So, does this mean the streetcar system is a go? Also, is it going down Biscayne Blvd?

Also, is it going down Biscayne Blvd?
For the most part, doubtful. The problem with running it down Biscayne Blvd is that there's just too much traffic, and a trolley would screw with it too much. A route that runs down NE 2 avenue (for example) or the existing FEC railroad tracks(*) is better, because it's still close enough to easily walk to biscayne (less than a thousand feet), but won't screw up traffic flow there, and will additionally encourage more redevelopment further west, between the whole area between Miami Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard.

Yeah, I still harbor fantasies that someday the streets between NE 2 ave and Biscayne Blvd south of 195 will be mostly demolished and replaced by 3 and 4 story rowhouses with rear garages facing the alleys that still exist and haven't been abandoned by the city yet (the City's BIGGEST long-term mistake, IMHO), like the neighborhoods north of downtown Chicago (like Lincoln Park), anchored by stores, restaurants, and offices at both ends along Biscayne Blvd and NE 2nd Ave, gradually becoming more residential as you head west, with Miami Avenue as kind of an arty street with residences, pizza parlors, and galleries :-)

----

(*) One option the City doesn't seem to have considered for future rail service using the existing FEC tracks would be so-called "DMU" trains... basically, the combination of a diesel locomotive and passenger cars in a vehicle that's sufficiently massive and strong to meet FRA rules for mixed operation on the same tracks as freight trains. See www.coloradorailcar.com
The downside is that they're on the expensive side and, under federal regulations, need to be torn down and rebuilt ridiculously often since they're legally classified as diesel engines. The upside is that they're basically trolley cars that can run on unmodified, existing heavy-rail right of ways.

You think there would be cars trying to stay along side this bus to "surf the green lights"? I guess not really since being a bus it would have to stop at just about every corner to let people on or off.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/13328566.htm

Streetwise

STREETWISE BY LARRY LEBOWITZ


Magic bus rigged to control stop lights

By Larry Lebowitz


Imagine a bus designed to operate like an express train, running from Aventura to downtown Miami, or from downtown to Florida's Turnpike on Flagler Street.

The buses would travel in the same lanes as everyone else, but equipped with a bit of technological magic to speed the journey: the ability to extend a green light a tad longer, or even trigger a red light to turn green faster.

A recent study conducted for the Metropolitan Planning Organization makes a compelling argument for Miami-Dade to consider developing a pilot program for rapid buses on Biscayne Boulevard and Flagler Street.

Biscayne and Flagler weren't selected by accident. Routes on those two streets are the most heavily used in the county.

Bus Rapid Transit isn't new to South Florida. The South Miami-Dade Busway operates on special bus-only lanes parallel to US 1. Broward is talking about building a similar system in the center of State Road 7.

This proposal, based on recent successes in Los Angeles, would be different because buses would be running on the same traffic-choked streets that currently exist. No new right-of-way would be acquired. Construction costs would be minimal.

The folks at the Center for Urban Transportation Research who conducted the study for the MPO say it could work this way:

Express buses would make a limited number of stops and depart every five to 12 minutes, depending on the time of day. The Biscayne bus, for example, would only stop 15 times between Aventura Mall and downtown.

Unlike local buses that seem to stop at every corner, these routes would feature stations (remember that train idea) spaced at least a half-mile apart. The stations would be more substantial than a typical bus shelter.

Electronic message boards would flash constantly updated wait times for the next bus. Express buses would be equipped with Global Positioning Systems linked to a central computer that would take into consideration accidents and construction to calculate travel times.

These station features are crucial.

Research shows commuters who wouldn't wait on a street corner for a bus will flock to a train station if the service is reliable.

But the technology is even more important.

Giving buses traffic signal priority at major intersections will speed the bus more than anything else.

The technology is already working in other communities and it's improving all the time.

TIME IS RIGHT

With Miami-Dade poised to update its antiquated traffic-light system soon, now is the time to plan for this next generation of innovation.

It's a traffic engineer's nerdy dream: A Flagler express bus approaches Red Road. The light is about to turn red. The bus sends an electronic signal that triggers the signal to stay green, say, 12 seconds longer, just enough time to clear the intersection.

A few little tweaks to existing road conditions -- such as removing the on-street parking on Biscayne from Edgewater to Morningside -- would also serve to speed the buses, but not at the expense of the current capacity in the regular travel lanes.

These pilot projects could work.

If they succeed on Flagler and Biscayne, the county could try to expand to Kendall Drive and Le Jeune Road.

It's relatively cheap -- $3 million to $5 million for Flagler, $11 million to $13 million for Biscayne -- compared to the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars it takes to build new rail lines over similar distances.

And it would only take 18-to-24 months to roll out, compared to the decade-long process to build a new Metrorail line.

Bus Rapid Transit is reinventing bus service in places with many of the same traffic-choking characteristics as Miami: sprawling, car-dependent communities that developed so fast -- and when gasoline was so cheap -- that planning for mass transit was an afterthought.

A HIT IN L.A.

In Los Angeles, the new Metro Rapid is considered an overwhelming success. Surveys indicate that 14 percent of the Angelenos riding Metro Rapid had never been regular transit users until now.

That's thousands of people abandoning their cars and SUVs to ride a bus everyday.

In mass-transit circles, that's a hell-freezes-over type of number, a sign that SoCal gridlock may have finally reached the tipping point.

The first two Metro Rapid lines drew so many riders that the transit authority has the public support to open up two more lines every six months through June 2008.

So, is South Florida ready to give it a try?

The Miami-Dade MPO is supposed to discuss the report, and consider funding the Biscayne and Flagler experiments, later this week.

When is MDT going to roll out the new train cars for the rail line?

ooohhh... i like that bus idea

You think there would be cars trying to stay along side this bus to "surf the green lights"? I guess not really since being a bus it would have to stop at just about every corner to let people on or off.


The proposed bus will have 15 stops between Aventura and downtown.

Metromover service suspended this weekend

Metromover will suspend service this Saturday and Sunday to make way for construction work on the Loft-2 condominium project near the First Street Mover station, transit officials said.

Free Metrobuses will run parallel to the tracks all weekend -- adding extra routes for Saturday's Boat Parade and Sunday's Miami Heat game, transit officials said. Maintenance teams will inspect the entire Metromover railway while tracks are closed.

Regular service will resume by 8 p.m. Sunday.

Transit officials decided to suspend trains to protect passengers while condo construction cranes lift steel and concrete beams over Metromover tracks and onto the Loft-2 condo site directly next door.

''There's no way for them to get the beams to the site other than to go over our tracks,'' said Transit spokesman Manuel Palmerio.

I've always wondered why no one tried to use the FEC corridor for mass transit. Its all owned by one company and it goes through of all South Florida's densest eastern areas. I guess they have thought of it.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13393956.htm

TRANSPORTATION


Back from the dust heap: eastern commuter rail

Is South Florida willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a passenger rail system on eastern tracks?

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@herald.com


The idea of running commuter trains on the Florida East Coast Railway corridor is rising once more from the dust bins of dream projects that were oft-studied, but never removed from the drawing boards.

''For years, governments have been looking at it with drooling mouths,'' Scott Seeburger, a project manager with the Florida Department of Transportation, said of the 82-mile FEC corridor that runs through 45 downtowns from Jupiter to Miami.

Supporters say commuter trains along the FEC corridor would give millions of South Floridians an alternative to driving and take advantage of a redevelopment boom along the tracks east of Interstate 95 from downtown Miami to Jupiter.

GOOD ALTERNATIVE

Unlike Tri-Rail, which runs along a largely industrial and warehouse corridor dominated by Interstate 95, boosters say an eastern train would provide an accessible alternative that is much closer to where people live and work.

The FEC corridor would also provide local governments with a linchpin to entice transit-oriented homes, shops and offices to redeveloping downtowns.

Several major residential and retail projects, such as Midtown Miami, are already taking advantage of the boom and would be strategically poised if passenger trains returned to the area for the first time since 1968.

Local officials coveted the FEC corridor when Tri-Rail was being developed in the 1980s, but FEC management at the time refused to sell.

WRONG TRACK

That's how Tri-Rail wound up on the CSX Transportation tracks that run on the less populated, and more industrial areas west of Interstate 95 from West Palm Beach to Miami International Airport.

''Right idea, wrong corridor. That's always been the problem with Tri-Rail,'' said Johnathan Nelson, a Miami Beach high school teacher and train enthusiast.

FEC WILLING

Headed by former Miami banker Adolfo Henriques, the new FEC corporate leadership appears to be much more willing to sell a portion of its corridor for commuter rail.

The biggest questions: How much would it cost to buy a portion of the corridor and develop a parallel passenger train that wouldn't damage FEC's ability to run thousands of freight cars every day from Jacksonville to Miami? And who would pay for it?

Some conservative estimates place the price tag on the corridor alone at $500 million to $600 million.

Tack on the construction of 82 miles of track and dozens of stations and the budget quickly swells toward the $1 billion mark.

LENGTHY STUDY

The most recent study, funded by all three counties and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority that runs Tri-Rail, will take several years, said Carlos Cejas, a project manager with the Gannett Fleming consulting firm.

The study will look at all of the types of transit that could be used -- including a commuter rail service like Tri-Rail, bus-rapid transit like the Miami-Dade Busway, or light-rail that can make more stops like the proposed downtown Miami Streetcar -- as well as the projected costs and likely ridership.

Two more public hearings to introduce the study are slated for Thursday in Fort Lauderdale and Monday in West Palm Beach.

Um is it just me or does $1 billion seem to be an underestimation? If the price tag is only $1 billion I say we go for it. Didn't the PAC cost well over $200 million? Broward and Palm Beach County will share the bill with us. So we'd be paying practically the same as the PAC if this estimate were true.

Um is it just me or does $1 billion seem to be an underestimation? If the price tag is only $1 billion I say we go for it. Didn't the PAC cost well over $200 million? Broward and Palm Beach County will share the bill with us. So we'd be paying practically the same as the PAC if this estimate were true.I think the PAC is $472M and counting....

still worth it... imagine the potential... hell of a lot more that the 1 billion projected for the east-west corridor of the metro

still worth it... imagine the potential... hell of a lot more that the 1 billion projected for the east-west corridor of the metro

And a million times more useful than the northern line currently being planned.

They should use those abandoned tracks that run from Dadeland to the airport parallel to 72nd Ave. There was a plan to put light rail on those but the neighbors were opposed. It would definetly aliviate traffic on the Palmetto every morning and I would probably use it every day since I work at the airport. :)

They should use those abandoned tracks that run from Dadeland to the airport parallel to 72nd Ave. There was a plan to put light rail on those but the neighbors were opposed. It would definetly aliviate traffic on the Palmetto every morning and I would probably use it every day since I work at the airport. :)

Amen to that...instead they are building a bike trail which the lobbyist who pushed for the bike trail claimed would reduce traffic as well :weird:

Don't know if anyone saw this already

County panel OKs $2.2 billion in transportation projects


By Suzy Valentine

A Miami-Dade County committee has approved $2.2 billion in state-funded transportation work that's to get into gear in 2007.
The Florida Department of Transportation presented its tentative five-year work program, through 2011, before the Metropolitan Planning Organization Governing Board on Dec. 8. The county is receiving almost half of the $4.5 billion that is to be spent statewide.
Beneficiaries of the funding include the proposed Port of Miami tunnel, the Miami International Airport Central Boulevard project and the State Road 826 interchange at Southwest 40th Street.
Funding allocations include:
•Project support, $406 million.
•Upgrades and maintenance, $181 million.
•Administration, $2.6 million.
•Paybacks on loans, $180 million.
•Local government paybacks, $5.7 million.
•State Implementation Plan loan repayments, $12.5 million.
"The schedule is to seek endorsement from this board," said District Secretary John Martinez, "incorporate our plan into a statewide plan by January 2006 and have this presented to the Legislature in March 2006 with the approval of the Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust in May 2006."
Mr. Martinez explained the status of a planned hub close to Miami International Airport that is to connect several modes of transportation.
"One of the projects included in our tentative program is the Miami Intermodal Center," he said. "The foundation work is on schedule and almost completed. The master planning of the central station is nearing completion and station is to be completed in early 2008."
Port tunnel procurement, Mr. Martinez said, should begin in the spring.
"The Port of Miami tunnel has $177 million, including the $100 million from the (county's General Obligation) Bond program," he said. "We had the port tunnel forum on Monday. We're looking at different ways of financing and whether it's a 10-, 25-, 50- or 90-year lease. Probably procurement will be in April 2006, maybe a little bit later. Completion should be about eight years from then, probably 2014."
In a separate project, Mr. Martinez said he is meeting with the contractor that is working on Northwest 25th Street parking to negotiate cost reductions.
"It came in much higher than budgeted," he said. "I'll be meeting with the contractor to "see if there is any way to go forward with that project. If not, we may have to break it up into two smaller projects to get much better competition. My take is that it is a huge project. A lot of the contractors are very busy with all of the work from the hurricanes. We need to break it into smaller pieces so we can get better competition."
Further work is planned on Biscayne Boulevard.
"We plan improvements between Northeast Fifth and Northeast 87th streets," he said. "Improvements between Northeast 13th and Northeast 15th streets should be in construction in 2006 and it's being coordinated with the people from Miami Performing Arts Center."
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/051215/story4.shtml

I did some further research, specifically into the MIA Central Boulevard and the Port Tunnel.

All of these images were taken from http://www.ursimaging.com/2002onlineportfolio/roadways/CentralBlvd/view1.html

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/Highrises%20and%20Construction/v1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/Highrises%20and%20Construction/v2.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/Highrises%20and%20Construction/v3.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/Highrises%20and%20Construction/v4.jpg

I also found a website created by the FDOT about the Port Tunnel.

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/turnpikepio/PortTunnel/

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a31/BornInTheGrove/Highrises%20and%20Construction/PortofMiamitunnel.jpg

sweet...

Metromover ridership doubles in three years
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/051222/story1.shtml
By Claudio Mendonça
The cost of gasoline and a growing downtown population are swelling Metromover ridership, according to Miami Dade County Transit, which is working to replace some or all of the system's aging people-mover cars.
As the only free transportation in Miami, the mover has grown from 4.7 million riders in 2002 to an expected 9 million this year.
In 2003, 6.7 million rode Metromover, up 42% from 2002. In 2004, 8 million rode. September's average 27,300 daily riders was up 13.8% from two years earlier.
"As more development takes place downtown, we expect Metromover's ridership to increase," said Manny Palmeiro, a spokesman for Miami-Dade Transit. "The price of fuel has also increased the amount of riders in the recent months."
As usage swells, the 1986-vintage Metromover cars, which run between the Omni area and Brickell, need to be replaced, officials say. The county commission's transportation committee has tagged 12 of the system's 29 cars for replacement. A recommendation will go to the full commission for action Jan. 24, said Miami-Dade Transit spokesman John Labriola.
If the resolution passes, Bombardier Transportation USA Inc. would be awarded a contract to replace the 12 cars with an option to replace the remaining 17.
The cost of 12 is $28 million. If the commission opts to replace all 29, it would cost about $72 million.
The transportation committee recommended that the commission approve a contract with the expectation that the first 12 cars would arrive by April 2008.
The Metromover car replacement is the first planned upgrade of the county's transit system. The transit department also plans to restore all of its Metrorail vehicles at an estimated cost of $319 million. According to the agency, completion is due before the opening of a Miami Intermodal Center-Earlington Heights connector in 2010.

when did the price become free? im thinking that it was since then that ridership has gone up...

when did the price become free? im thinking that it was since then that ridership has gone up...

I dont remember paying anything to ride it in 1986, your not thinking of the metrorail are you?

I remember paying for it about 4 years ago. It has changed since then. 3 years might be a good estimate, Nimby.

I rode the MetroMOVER 12/04 and it was free.

any idea when a metromover or light rail of some sort will be constructed in Broward/Ft. Lauderdale? I remember reading something about the east-west connector from the Sawgrass to the airport/seaport. And does anybody know anything about the Maglev trains and whether or not they'll be coming down south?

metromover became free when the PTP & half cent tax was approved by voters.

when did the price become free? im thinking that it was since then that ridership has gone up...Yeah Nimby...I think you are right on!!
The people's transportation plan went into effect in 2002 (methinks) and that is when and why the ridership increased. The notion that more people are riding it because of "fuel prices" is half cocked.
Having said that, when people actually live in the areas served by the MetroMover (two and three months from now...One Miami/Brickell on the River) then I'll bet we really see a surge in ridership.

Also Loft 1 just closed on their units. They live right in front of a metro stop.

Old news from http://www.miamidade.gov/trafficrelief/advertorials/english/august9.pdf (PDF FILE)

Within the next five years, thanks to the
People’s Transportation Plan, state-of-the-art
electronic equipment and high-tech materials
will be integrated into Metrorail and Metromover
cars, bringing both systems up to 21st Century
technology.
Metrorail cars have already been in service for 20
of their 30-year life span. Several of the
Metromover cars have reached their 20-year life
span. Because of extensive daily use, public
transportation vehicles require a complete over-
haul at their midlife, in addition to regular sched-
uled maintenance.

REHAB PROJECT UNDERWAY

Last year, Miami-Dade Transit began preparing
for the complete rehabilitation of Metrorail’s fleet,
which consists of 136 cars. That means every-
thing within the rail cars will be replaced, except
for the outer shells. The cost of rehabilitating the
rail cars is approximately $190 million.
“This project is part of our commitment to provide
our customers with more efficient rail service,”
said MDT Director Roosevelt Bradley.
A new diagnostic system will be added to the
rehabilitated rail cars to make it easier for train
operators and maintenance crews to locate and
correct mechanical problems. This important fea-
ture will save the County time and money in main-
tenance costs.
The rehabilitation project is geared toward having
less failures, less maintenance, and better diag-
nostics. Besides this, rail cars will get a new,
state-of-the art propulsion system. Metrorail will
switch from direct electrical current to alternating
current. By using an alternating-current system,
Metrorail will use less energy and reduce the
amount of maintenance required on the vehicles.
Moreover, the cars will get new brakes, and the
air-conditioning system will be rebuilt.

FUTURISTIC LOOK FOR METRORAIL CARS

Although the rail vehicles’ outer shell will remain
the same, their look and feel will be completely dif-
ferent. All vehicles will have new floors, new seat
covers, and a more modern exterior look. Fifty-six
of the cars will have new end noses, making these
vehicles more aerodynamic. By the time they are
completed, Metrorail’s rehabilitated cars will
resemble European high-speed trains.
Further, to increase security on Metrorail trains,
MDT is looking to install a closed-circuit television
system in all cars. This would allow train operators
and Metrorail Central Control to closely monitor
each car.

NEW METROMOVER CARS

But Metrorail is not the only system getting a com-
plete overhaul. Within the next two years, MDT will
acquire 12 new Metromover vehicles. The vehi-
cles will sport a futuristic look that includes a new
design with slopped front ends.
In addition, these mover cars will have improved
electronic-information displays that not only show
service schedules and stations, but also display
information about landmarks and tourist attrac-
tions close to Metromover stations. The same dis-
play units will relay emergency service-change
information.
Like Metrorail cars, the new mover cars will be
equipped with a video-surveillance system that
will allow the monitoring of activities in the vehi-
cles. Central Control security personnel will imme-
diately report any problem to security officers in
the field, as well as law-enforcement agencies.
Miami-Dade Transit opted to purchase 12 new
mover cars instead of rehabilitating the existing
ones, because it costs almost as much to buy new
ones as it does to rehabilitate older vehicles.

Also... they will start rehabbing the metrorail February 2007 so be on the watchout then! And full completion of rehab of all cars will be due by 2010.

Car-rental hub delayed for two years

By Charlotte Libov
A car-rental hub for Miami International Airport is to be delayed for two years and have scaled-back capacity because building costs have risen and rental-car traffic is expected to be lighter than planned.
The hub is the first phase of the $1.3 billion Miami Intermodal Center, linking all modes of transportation near the airport.
The rental hub had been scheduled to open this year, but Ric Katz, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said it's now set for August 2008.
Revised plans call for 6,800 car spaces, down from 9,500; 30 car-wash bays, cut from 42; and 84 fuel pumps, down from the 120 originally planned.
The hub is "still plenty big," Mr. Katz said. "The footprint is 20 acres, the same as it was. It's still four floors, the same as it was. This is a plenty big building, even if it's been sized down a little bit. It will also be expandable so that if, as we all hope, the demand is there, then we will be able to enlarge it."
The plan revisions reflect that fewer rental firms than originally expected will use the hub. Sixteen have expressed interest, down from the 22 anticipated.
A reduction in expected rental-car traffic, Mr. Katz said, is the main reason the hub was downsized. "When you're building a billion-dollar program, things happen, but most of its postponement had to do with the reduction of rental-car traffic after the attack of 9/11."
A transaction fee levied on car renters is to help fund the project. The fee, now $3.50, is to rise to $4 when the rental hub is ready.
Rising construction costs also played a role in the downsizing. Ordinarily, scaling back might cut costs, but that has not occurred, Mr. Katz said, because of the rising cost of materials, primarily concrete and steel imported from China.
The intermodal center attracted $433 million in loans from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, a program in which the US Department of Transportation aids major surface projects of regional significance. The Florida Department of Transportation is to repay the loan.
According to Mr. Katz, the rest of the intermodal center's phases are on track, "perhaps not from 1993, when we first began planning," but in more recent timetables.
The rental-car hub must be finished two years before the completion of Central Station, which is expected to open in 2010 and unite all the region's modes of transportation.
That year also is expected to see the opening of the Earlington Heights extension of Metrorail and of a people mover to take airline passengers from terminals to the intermodel center.
Construction of the rental hub began in 2003, and most underground work is finished. The foundation is nearly complete, Mr. Katz said, and above-ground construction is expected to begin soon.
Roadwork also is well underway, he said. "Just doing the roadwork alone would be considered a major, major undertaking, but that is dwarfed by the rest of the project."

IMHO, making Metromover free was a big, HUGE mistake. For all intents and purposes, Metromover WAS "free" to anyone going to or from Metrorail, and the quarter it cost to ride for a local trip was only an issue if you only had a wallet full of twenties. Now that it's free, smelly homeless people ride it all day because it's air conditioned and available.

Even worse, since Metromover has now become a loss-leader, the likelihood that it might EVER be extended north a few more stops to reach Midtown is practically nil... it would cost billions, and generate zero revenue. I think a more sensible structure would be:

Stations served by the "Inner Loop" -- $1, with transfers to Metrorail at Gov't Center and Brickell set at the difference between the dollar and the normal fare.

Other stations -- whatever the normal cost to ride Metrorail is, minus the $1 charged at GC/B to transfer to Metrorail, plus the cost of a normal transfer. So someone taking 'Mover from Midtown to Government Center to ride Metrorail would basically pay Metrorail's normal fare plus the normal transfer charge.

IMHO, making Metromover free was a big, HUGE mistake. For all intents and purposes, Metromover WAS "free" to anyone going to or from Metrorail, and the quarter it cost to ride for a local trip was only an issue if you only had a wallet full of twenties. Now that it's free, smelly homeless people ride it all day because it's air conditioned and available.

Even worse, since Metromover has now become a loss-leader, the likelihood that it might EVER be extended north a few more stops to reach Midtown is practically nil... it would cost billions, and generate zero revenue. I think a more sensible structure would be:

Stations served by the "Inner Loop" -- $1, with transfers to Metrorail at Gov't Center and Brickell set at the difference between the dollar and the normal fare.

Other stations -- whatever the normal cost to ride Metrorail is, minus the $1 charged at GC/B to transfer to Metrorail, plus the cost of a normal transfer. So someone taking 'Mover from Midtown to Government Center to ride Metrorail would basically pay Metrorail's normal fare plus the normal transfer charge.

in 2000 my first apt. in miami was at 2nd ave and 2nd st ne behind what is now the loft. the mover was always full of homeless cuz getting a quarter wasnt that hard and you could ride all day with no hassles cuz no one would pay out the quarter to ride.
the $1 idea is ridiculous in the sense that no one would ride it for that theyd just walk or drive from biscayne to gov't ctr./brickell metrorail stations. plus we are paying the quarter via the 1/2 cent tax anyways so though there are probably losses i dont think they are that substantial, and with the news that baylink and the intermodal center are all experiencing massive multiple year delays i think we should bask in the fact that we have transit at all especially since its free.

Making it free was the best idea...

.25 didn't even cover the cost that it took to collect the money so it was actually creating a bigger loss than now when it is free. $1 is absurd and it would still have low ridership like it had 3 years ago...lucky for us ridership has doubled in those three years, this is important because it signifies that more people are opening up to the idea of Mass Transportation as an alternative...

IMO, we should offer all people who travel North-South the opportunity to ride Tri-Rail for free for one month...this would allow people to give the Mass Transit system a try and hopefully convince some of them that Tri-Rail is a viable alternative to sitting in your car, stationary for hours on I-95...Its ridiculous to see how many people sit there just because they do not want to ditch the automobile...quite sad...

I like that idea. Mass transit month. Maybe they can do it when they start breaking ground for the new extensions. They can get a little bit of excitement going behind the extensions.

Making it free was the best idea...

.25 didn't even cover the cost that it took to collect the money so it was actually creating a bigger loss than now when it is free. $1 is absurd and it would still have low ridership like it had 3 years ago...lucky for us ridership has doubled in those three years, this is important because it signifies that more people are opening up to the idea of Mass Transportation as an alternative...

IMO, we should offer all people who travel North-South the opportunity to ride Tri-Rail for free for one month...this would allow people to give the Mass Transit system a try and hopefully convince some of them that Tri-Rail is a viable alternative to sitting in your car, stationary for hours on I-95...Its ridiculous to see how many people sit there just because they do not want to ditch the automobile...quite sad...

From what I've heard about tri-rail giving people free rides to try out mass transit would probably turn them off from mass transit forever and assure that no new projects are ever funded. Tri-rail shares its tracks with frieght and therefor stops running for hours at a time with no warning and sometimes doesn't run at all with no warning.

Well then first we need to press our transit officials to solve these problems...How can we expect people to rely on a Mass Transit network if it has such major faults...I agree, That needs to be solved before a Free Transit program can be implimented to try to convert drivers into riders...

But lets face it, Traffic is only going to get worse and roads cannot continue to be expanded, its not logical or financially sound decision making...we need to force drivers off the road by funneling money into mass transit projects rather than highway improvements. I think we need to push lawmakers to seriously consider the FEC corridor for Public use and Public Use only.

We also need to integrate the Tri-County Transit systems so that passengers can seamlessly transfer from buses or hopefully, one day, rail networks.

Its a work in progress, I understand that, I am a transportation engineer, but our first obstacle is getting the vehicle mindset out of South Floridians...This is also why I am against the massive parking Garage Pedestals on Buildings in Miami, it just further encourages vehicular traffic in the area where Mass Transportation would be the most successful...Hopefully Miami 21 will begin to correct some of these blatant issues with the way we are planning our cities...

Relief for the Kendall clusterfuck is coming? Say it aint so!

Posted on Mon, Jan. 23, 2006
TRANSPORTATIONPlans take Tri-Rail south, westCiting existing traffic woes -- not future needs -- officials are pushing for a no-frills commuter rail line into southwest Miami-Dade that would open next year.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

llebowitz@MiamiHerald.com

Local transportation officials are pushing to build a new Tri-Rail extension 20 miles into the heart of southwestern Miami-Dade County -- a line that would provide a new commuting option for hundreds of thousands of suburbanites.

Dozens of critical details are still in flux. For one, nobody has approached CSX Transportation to see if the company would be willing to lease or sell a freight line that runs through the heavily populated area. But proponents hope to start running a bare-bones system, with the next generation of diesel-powered trains, as soon as April 2007.

The line would run from Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, past Metrozoo, the Snapper Creek rest area on Florida's Turnpike and the Miami Dade College-Kendall campus en route to Tri-Rail's Miami Airport station.

Commuters could ride two stops beyond MIA and transfer to Metrorail to complete the journey downtown, according to plans being developed by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and Miami-Dade Transit.

''I really think it's doable -- and doable in short order,'' SFRTA executive director Joseph Giulietti said. ``I think we'll draw ridership out there from Day One.''
Miami-Dade Transit would be responsible for maintaining the tracks and constructing concrete slab platforms on property already controlled by the county.

''We're not talking about a lot of creature comforts,'' said Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley. ``We just want to get the service out there, get it up and running. We think the ridership will be there.''

The project is being pushed by County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, who represents the west Kendall area.

HELP FOR COMMUTERS

'I've always called Metrorail `Metrofail' because it doesn't go where people actually live,'' Martinez said. ``This line we're talking about here would run right through the Kendall suburbs. And these people need help right now.''

Martinez knows firsthand.

If he leaves his home in the Hammocks by 7:30 a.m., he's lucky to make it downtown by 9:20 most mornings. The return trip isn't much better for hundreds of thousands who live in Country Walk, Richmond Heights, Kendale Lakes and other densely populated areas on both sides of the Don Shula Expressway and Florida's Turnpike.
Preliminary engineering studies on the tracks and possible platform locations are underway. A price tag is forthcoming, Transit Deputy Director Albert Hernandez said.
Unlike the busy 71-mile corridor that Tri-Rail shares with CSX and Amtrak from Jupiter to Miami, the single-track line under consideration is comparatively quiet. CSX runs, at most, one or two trains a day down to a lumberyard and building-supply wholesaler in Homestead.

CSX spokesman Gary Sease said neither Tri-Rail nor Miami-Dade has approached the rail company to open talks for a possible short-term lease or purchase of the line.
Martinez is pushing for trains that would depart every half-hour during the weekday rush.

That might be an overly optimistic goal unless the county and Tri-Rail are willing to spend an unknown sum to upgrade the existing freight tracks so they would meet minimum federal safety standards for passenger service that would move fast enough to meet Martinez's wish.

The new rail line is far from a done deal, especially given the complicated political history of competing commuter rail and mass-transit dreams in South Florida.
Martinez has been pushing for a Tri-Rail expansion into Miami-Dade on a different set of freight tracks since he was elected to the commission in 2002. But he, Giulietti and others have been repeatedly thwarted in their attempts to win support for an extension parallel to the Dolphin Expressway from the airport to west of the Turnpike.
County managers and transit boosters feared that even a bare-bones Tri-Rail operation in that area would siphon away riders needed to secure hundreds of millions in matching federal construction funds for Metrorail's long-planned East-West expansion.

That Metrorail line -- from the airport to Florida International University -- would cost $1.3 billion and could open in 2014 at the earliest.
Martinez wants something that can happen faster and cost less. ''My attitude is, the traffic's bad now. People are stuck now,'' Martinez said. ``We can't wait five or 10 years to see if we can qualify for federal funds and then build [the Metrorail East-West line]. We can get thousands of cars off the road right now. And we can do this a lot cheaper than Metrorail.''

Tri-Rail is slated to receive the first two trains for the new service -- known as Diesel Multiple Units, or DMUs -- from the Colorado Railcar Co. in early February.

A DRY RUN

To build support, Martinez is hoping to invite a large number of elected leaders and transportation officials to take a dry run on the new trains in late February or early March. Three more trains are slated for delivery in July.
The double-decker DMUs are the wave of the commuter-rail future, Brad Barkman, Tri-Rail director of operations, said. Tri-Rail currently runs a series of 130-to-150-seat passenger coaches behind a 3,000-horsepower locomotive with no seating capacity.
By comparison, the DMUs are 1,200-horsepower vehicles that can carry 188 passengers. That means a typical three-car DMU train -- one 218-seat passenger coach sandwiched between two power units -- could carry up to 494.
The trains are ultimately destined for Central Florida, where state officials are trying to kick-start a 61-mile, four-county commuter rail service tentatively slated to start in the fall of 2009.

The state purchased the five trains for $22.9 million, the vast bulk of the funding earmarked by Rep. John Mica, a Central Florida Republican who chairs an influential transportation subcommittee.
Giulietti said Tri-Rail has permission to keep using the trains if the Central Florida rail line isn't ready by then.

And if the Kendall area rail line draws riders, Tri-Rail and Miami-Dade Transit would both apply for federal funds to purchase additional cars and make track and station improvements.

I doubt it would be much relief. Most Kendall residents aren't going Downtown to work, they are going to Doral, Coral Gables, Dadeland, or Blue Lagoon none of which would be helped. Blue Lagoon would be close but the tracks go on the wrong side of the 836 (pedestrians crossing the expressway would be fun to watch, though it wouldn't be too hard since the cars never move).

I like the idea. It is relatively cheap, and will provide a heck of a lot of convenience to those that do work downtown or even further north like ft. lauderdale. While many people in Kendall do work in places outside of downtown, Im sure we could find atleast one train of people every half hour in kendall that work downtown. This may end up being a huge tease to the kendallites (what are people that live in kendall called?) who have been promised a metrorail line to one of the dadeland stations... in only 30 something years.

For most people in Kendall, my guess would be that it's still quicker to take one of the Max's to Dadeland North. It would be a nice ride to the airport (MIC I would hope), Hialeah and points farther north. For this Kendallite, it'd be once in a blue moon.

Here's a report on the Southlink that includes DMU on part of the proposed route.
http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/mpo/docs/MPO_southlink_alternatives_200505.pdf

any mass transit is a blessing in my book... lets get going on this!

Considering SoFlo has the shittiest and least-used mass transit system in the nation, I think it is a wise attempt of tri-rail to extend their service to the south (let alone to the north). I recall talks about extending it north in PBC upto Jupiter (it currently ends in Mangonia Park/West Palm Beach). Some in PBC would agree that it would receive little ridership (very similar to the scenario in Kendall). But in the long run it would be a cheaper, quicker, and more effective mode of transportation to move people from north to south and/or back.

A real solution to the traffic problems would be multiple east-west routes in Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Imagine an intermodal center similar to the one UC @ MIA at Fort Lauderdale, Boca, West Palm... Kendall! I think the biggest reason Tri-Rail and the rest of Mass transit is so poorly used is because it only truly serves people who live within a 5-10 minute walking distance from it. Buses, trollies, and taxis are not going to cut it. People want a direct link from point A to point B and maybe (just maybe) a transfer to point C. Someone from Kendall trying to get to Fort Lauderdale Airport doesn't want to take the metro-rail to MIA, transfer to the Tri-Rail, go north to Ft. Lauderdale, and then take a shuttle to the airport (and for those of you wondering, I've met plenty of people who come from Kendall to fly out of Fort Lauderdale). OF COURSE THEY'LL WANT TO TAKE THEIR CAR(S)!

Take a look at cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, or NEW YORK; they've got unbelievable mass transit programs. Subterranean options aside, there are plenty of widespread rail networks connecting all of the communities in the region and easily taking them where they want to go. Which would you rather do: drive from Weston to Miami International (avg. time: 1 hr to 1:30 hrs) or hop a train at the Weston Town Center and be at the airport in 10 to 15 minutes? the choice is obvious to me, and I know a system like that would be very widely used. Imagine not having to get on a single bus (let alone 3 or 4) to get to the destination you're destined for. I have a vision and hope you all understand where I'm going with it.

MORE MASS TRANSIT OPTIONS, LESS ROAD WIDENING PROJECTS, NO MORE MAROONE!!!

can we have more mass transit and less road widening but keep maroone... i luv them, miami just wouldnt be the same

Considering SoFlo has the shittiest and least-used mass transit system in the nationDr. Bud Hodgkinson, Director of the US Census under Gerald Ford and now the President of the Center for Demographics, told me that of the 340 Metropolitan Statistal Areas counted in the United States, South Florida ranks 34th in transportation. "Places Rated 2000" is the bible for corporate relocators, and the findings are roughly the same. Miami is ranked 17th in overall Places Rated.
So, the guys that travel and study and research these issues would disagree with what some people will expound as the common wisdom.Considering SoFlo has the shittiest and least-used mass transit system in the nation

its crappy... but not the crappiest, and we can take comfort in that

Im 20... and i have yet to ride either a metro or a transit bus...

... i will though.

You've never riden metrorail or a transit bus? How long have you lived in Miami?

Posted on Wed, Jan. 25, 2006
TRANSPORTATIONWater Taxi deal closerBroward County and Water Taxi are closer to a contract that will keep the water bus company afloat, but county officials won't offer any more operating money until a contract is finalized in two weeks.BY ERIKA BOLSTADebolstad@MiamiHerald.comBroward County will keep its partnership with the Water Taxi business, but commissioners balked at advancing any more cash to owner Bob Bekoff until they conclude contract negotiations.
Bekoff said he will find a way to keep the business afloat over the next two weeks, although he said it won't be easy without the $30,000 he sought from commissioners.
He also agreed Tuesday to a two-year contract with the county, which has the option of terminating the deal after the first year, with six months' notice. The termination clause was initially a deal-breaker for Bekoff, until he realized he would walk away Tuesday without a contract if he didn't comply.
''I don't see any reason why we're not going to get there in the next several days,'' Bekoff told commissioners.
But he had tested the patience of even his most ardent supporters on the County Commission.
Negotiations with Bekoff stretched to nearly two hours Tuesday afternoon, and some commissioners were clearly frustrated that they were being asked to give Bekoff more money. They also said they want the option to open the contract to other bidders after two years.
Two weeks ago, county commissioners agreed to pay as much as $75,000 toward Bekoff's operating costs while they negotiated a new contract. That money is now gone, Bekoff said.
'Now, `Give us another two weeks. Give us another $30,000,' '' said Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger. ``That's not the way you do business. It's not a business model that any school of business would say is a proper way to do business.''
Under the agreement that Broward officials are working on with Bekoff, the county would receive all the revenue from the operation. The county would then cut checks to Water Taxi for labor and benefits, operating overhead and direct operating expenses such as fuel, dockage and insurance. That includes Bekoff's management fee, which hasn't been negotiated yet. In past years, Bekoff said he has had a salary of about $200,000. The county and the Water Taxi business would share any profits.
Bekoff's public-private partnership with the county makes his water buses part of the county's transit fleet, and they have a route of about 20 stops along county waterways. They became part of the county's overall transit system in 2001 when Broward helped Bekoff upgrade his fleet. Broward County Transit owns 10 of the 16 water buses and leases them back to Water Taxi. A recent county audit showed that without federal transportation grants, Water Taxi was operating at an annual loss of between $900,000 and $1.1 million.
But because the passengers are counted toward the overall number of people who use mass transit in Broward, they help the county land federal transportation grants. Just how much is at issue. County officials said Tuesday it was about $260,000. Bekoff said he believes it is closer to $750,000.
The county and Water Taxi also are defending a lawsuit filed by an advocacy group for the disabled; the organization has sued, saying the boats are inaccessible to people with disabilities.

its crappy... but not the crappiest, and we can take comfort in thatI ride the Metromover all of time, and I don't think that it is even slightly crappy. One terminus is in right at my office, and most of my daily meetings are somewhere on the line. For Heat games, it's awesome.

You've never riden metrorail or a transit bus? How long have you lived in Miami?
I was born in Mercy Hospital (hence the s/n). I did not say i've never riden metrorail. I've riden metrorail plenty of times... as well as metromover. I'm saying that i've never riden Metro Bus or Miami Transit.

Dr. Bud Hodgkinson, Director of the US Census under Gerald Ford and now the President of the Center for Demographics, told me that of the 340 Metropolitan Statistal Areas counted in the United States, South Florida ranks 34th in transportation. "Places Rated 2000" is the bible for corporate relocators, and the findings are roughly the same. Miami is ranked 17th in overall Places Rated.
So, the guys that travel and study and research these issues would disagree with what some people will expound as the common wisdom.

Roark, I want to note that when I said "SoFlo has the shittiest and least-used mass transit system in the country" that I was in fact referring to "South Florida", not just the city of Miami. And even if Dr. H found that SoFlo is 34th in transportation out of 340 metro areas, that is still pretty low when you realize that South Florida is the 6th or 7th largest metro area in the country. And perhaps Miami is ranked 17th in overall places rated, but WTF does that have to do with state-of-the-art transportation. Our level of mass transit doesn't even reach functional. If the 31-square-mile city of Miami is anticipating to gain 100,000 residents in the next 10 to 20 years, and the rest of south florida is anticipating an additional 3.6 million residents in the next 30 years, then do you think that we're doing enough now to improve the outlying problems in our transportation?

Here's a few ideas:
- Extending Metrorail: it currently only serves those residents in Miami-Dade County trying to get around "Miami-Dade County" and is only within pedestrian commuting distance of perhaps maybe 14% of the residents. If you've got 105,000 drivers commuting into Miami each day just from Broward County alone, it would be a wise idea to extend metrorail service into various parts of central and western Broward Counties.
- Rapid Bus Transit: it's currently in service in Miami and is doing a great job. What about Broward and Palm Beach? It's been on the boards for years, but the counties haven't seemed to do anything about it. If there were multiple east-west RBT connectors thoughout Broward and Palm Beach counties (say along Hollywood/Pines Blvd, Sunrise rd., Oakland Park blvd., Atlantic Blvd., Sample Rd., Palmetto Park Rd., Glades Rd., Lake Worth Rd., and Okeechobee Blvd... just to name a few), commute times for those who use it would decrease 20 to 30 minutes (or more).
- Maglev: this genius concept of a high-speed magnetically levitated "bullet train" running up and down our coastal-corridor to Cape Canavral and Orlando (and even Tampa). Imagine getting from Miami Beach to Disney World in 1 hour... some may call this nothing more than a fictional utopia. I call it an untapped investment that city, county, state, and national leaders have taken too little interest in.
- Double Tracking the FEC Railway and/or providing an elevated rail option above it: This railway insisted upon by Julia Tuttle and constructed by Henry Flagler is the soul reason anyone even lives in South Florida. For the railway that used to take people TO South Florida, I suggest it be retro-fitted to get people AROUND South Florida. Much of the Urban Coastal Corridor (give or take 30%) is within a 15 minute walk or 5 minute drive of the railway. Imagine how popular the tracks would be if the SFRTA allowed customer-rail service on them.

To conclude about my remarks that SoFlo has the shittiest and least-used transit in the nation, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that the city, county, and state governments haven't done enough to recognize what may become a large problem.

On tomorrow's edition of Transportation with DShoost88: Hydrogen Powered transit options!

- Maglev: this genius concept of a high-speed magnetically levitated "bullet train" running up and down our coastal-corridor to Cape Canavral and Orlando (and even Tampa). Imagine getting from Miami Beach to Disney World in 1 hour... some may call this nothing more than a fictional utopia. I call it an untapped investment that city, county, state, and national leaders have taken too little interest in.
Sounds like a plan. I've always been interested in Magnetic Levitation as a means of transportation here in Florida. What I fear, though, is if such a project is proposed, the price tag that will come with it; not only to construct, but to maintain.

On tomorrow's edition of Transportation with DShoost88: Hydrogen Powered transit options!
oooooooooooooooooooo I can't wait! :colgate:

If they had a Tri-Rail stop at 87th Avenue and made a point of having one shuttle waiting at the station for each incoming train that directly serviced 87th avenue north to (what used to be before they renamed it) the Koger Center, another that went straight to Southcom before heading west on 41st street (possibly looping back via 25th to cover more ground), and another shuttle or two that weaved through the area between 87th and the Palmetto between 58th street and 836, it could potentially become VERY popular with people living "way down south" (152nd and below). It takes one of my co-workers (who lives by Krome and 184th) about 45 minutes to crawl to the office (by 21st and 87th) in the morning, and usually takes him even longer to get home. I know for a *fact* he'd be one of its first and most enthusiastic riders... and suspect his plight isn't exactly uncommon.

On a different topic, Maglev is going nowhere fast. Even if they manage to get the construction cost down to something sane, there's still the operating cost to consider. Pumping enough current through electromagnets to levitate a hundred tons isn't exactly a trivial expense. For Maglev to really be worth the cost, they'll have to build them as airless subways running through a vacuum so they can hit 700mph or more without getting derailed by the shockwaves caused by exceeding the speed of sound.

I'd be perfectly happy with fairly conventional 125mph rail service running on the kind of track that now exists in the completed double-tracked portions of Tri-Rail in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties (even Amtrak trains can hit 120mph on good, straight, welded track). If they had nonstop service from Miami to Orlando, West Palm Beach to Orlando, and a third one that served one or two stops in Broward + Boca before continuing nonstop to Orlando, the entire trip would only take ~2 hours @ 125mph anyway. If they spent billions of dollars more, and charged 2-3X as much for tickets so they could build a 180mph TGV-style train instead, it would shave a whopping half hour or so off the end-to-end travel time. To accommodate Disney travel patterns, they could have the late-night (after 9pm) southbound trains leave Orlando every 10-20 minutes, but stop in all 3 counties [rationale: people heading to Disney for the day will head north early, mostly filling two or three hourly trains, but will come straggling in over a much longer span of time at night & don't want to have to watch the clock for a specific scheduled train & won't mind the extra stops if a new southbound train leaves the station every 15-20 minutes anyway]. The final key to its success would be having rental car agents on the trains themselves, so you could take care of the paperwork and get your keys while still en-route -- enabling passengers to just get off the train, walk to the parking lot, and drive away in their rental car without having to wait in line, take a shuttle bus, or any other inconvenience.

^Didnt we/they vote down (i voted for) a maglev or hi-speed rail connection from miami-tampa-orlando by a vast majority in 2004. i remember it beign an item on the ballot and thinking how cool itd be to make that triangle an intense rapid connection that cut 3-4 hour travels in 1/2.

ya... but they overturned it claiming it would entirely destroy the entire state of florida as we know it!!! it was very miami herald