South Florida mass transit

[urban addict 20324]

Yea, they should blame themselves for the noise. Train tracks don't move, but people can.

[streetscaper]

Wow..tivo..the higher quality video is really good..thanks!!

[Aessotariq]

^

[Brickell]

From Miami Today FYI, this little tidbit:

RAIL USE RISES: Weekday ridership of Tri-Rail, the rail service linking Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, rose 6.8% in December from December 2003 after a 22.5% jump in November from November 2003, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority reports. The average number of weekday riders in December was 8,891 persons

[Aessotariq]

^^ Good news... that should prove there is demand for it.

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Thu, Jan. 27, 2005

MIAMI BEACH

County could take over shuttle

Plans to have the Miami-Dade Transit Authority take over the city's Electrowave shuttle service will be discussed at a Finance and Citywide Committee meeting today.

BY NICOLE WHITE

[email protected]

City Commission members will discuss a possible county takeover of the Electrowave shuttle service at today's joint meeting of the city's Finance and Citywide Projects, and Land Use and Development Projects committees.

Talks of the takeover by the Miami-Dade Transit Authority had been scuttled on three previous occasions amid concerns the city had not provided adequate notice to the public. The meetings canceled earlier this month were by the Finance, and Transportation and Parking committees, and the Transportation Management Association.

Today's meeting received advance notice in local newspapers and on the city's website, www.miamibeachfl.gov.

''I think the administration heard it loud and clear they are now checking and verifying that every meeting is duly advertised,'' Commissioner Jose Smith said.

Smith, who is also the chairman of the Finance Committee meeting, canceled the Jan. 6 Finance Committee meeting because of the deficient public notice.

Under Florida's Sunshine Law, adequate public notice must be provided for all meetings at which one or more city official is likely to attend.

The law encourages local governments to distribute notices of weekly meetings to residents and members of the media through newspaper ads, municipal websites or by posting notices throughout City Hall.

City officials have been dissatisfied with the Electrowave service for years and have been especially weary of using $1 million annually from the city's parking fund for the service.

Early last year, the city initiated talks with the county to take it over.

The service, implemented in 1998, runs along Washington Avenue, between the South Pointe neighborhood below Fifth and 17th streets.

The county has offered to extend the route along Alton Road, and add stops at the Publix supermarkets at Dade Boulevard and in the Sunset Harbor neighborhood.

Gerald Schwartz, chairman of the Transportation Management Association, which operates and manages the Electrowave, says ridership is at an all-time high: 750,000 in 2004, the highest it's been since the city implemented the 25-cent fee.

Schwartz told The Herald earlier this month that his group cannot understand the city's push to entrust the county's Transit Authority with the work, especially in light of recent revelations the agency is running an $18 million deficit and will not have enough money for many of the transportation initiatives voters asked for when they approved the half-penny tax in 2002.

Today's meeting will be held 2:30 p.m in the City Manager's conference room on the fourth floor of City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. Call the city's information line at 305-604-CITY for more information.

Link to article

[Brickell]

well we knew it would probalby happen... but the plan is official now.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10753710.htm

Voter-approved sales tax amended to ease deficit

The Miami-Dade Commission approved a controversial plan that uses millions in sales-tax receipts, approved by voters for 'new projects,' for transit department operating deficits.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

[email protected]

Miami-Dade County Commissioners narrowly approved Thursday County Manager George Burgess' controversial amendment to the 30-year transit-tax spending plan that voters passed in 2002.

The proposal calls for using $143 million in sales-tax proceeds to settle old operating deficits at Miami-Dade Transit and to cover anticipated shortfalls through 2011.

With a 7-6 vote, even commissioners on the winning side reluctantly supported the plan, which rectifies serious flaws that weren't anticipated when former Mayor Alex Penelas and commissioners sold the half-cent sales tax to Miami-Dade voters as ``New Money, New Projects.''

''I may hold my nose in doing it, but I'm going to vote for it,'' Commissioner Dennis Moss said.

Opponents, led by newly elected Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, blasted county staff for failing to come up with other cost-saving alternatives.

''I know people don't want to hear it up here, but we're doing a little bait-and-switch,'' Gimenez said. ``We're taking their money, which was said was for future projects, to pay for an existing system that should have been fully funded when those people went to the ballot box in 2002.''

Burgess defended his plan as a creative way to rectify decades of underfunding at the Transit Department so the county can better compete for billions of dollars in matching federal funds to build at least three Metrorail corridors promised to voters.

SUPPORT FOR PLAN

Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who supported the manager's plan, pointed out that the county would be in worse shape without the tax: ``What would we do if we did not have the half penny? We would be in total chaos.''

Burgess' plan:

[Aessotariq]

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

[Urban_Legend]

Ooh, I hope this Broward East-West Line works out! It would be great to take Tri-Rail to an actual station, rather than some "downtown shuttle". And the commuter traffic from the suburbs is horrible. Just think, you can go to an event at the Office Depot Center, and then hit Las Olas afterwards, all with transit!

[Aessotariq]

Whizzing by knowing I-595 is at a standstill is a great prospect.

[Aessotariq]

Tri-Rail bridge project derailed over construction dispute

By Michael Turnbell

Transportation Writer

Posted January 31 2005

Construction of a high-level bridge that will let Tri-Rail commuter trains soar over the South Fork of the New River without waiting for boats has stopped in its tracks in a dispute over bridge standards.

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri-Rail, wants to use fly ash to build concrete bridge supports. Fly ash, known for its ability to fortify concrete, is a byproduct of coal burning.

But CSX, which is responsible for maintaining and dispatching trains on the Tri-Rail corridor, doesn't approve of using fly ash in bridge construction.

CSX halted almost all bridge work on Nov. 17.

A month later, the railroad allowed the contractor to resume work on smaller aspects of the $53 million project. But major bridge work remains suspended.

The issue should be resolved in a few weeks when CSX, Tri-Rail and the Florida Department of Transportation reach an agreement to turn over maintenance and dispatch duties to the RTA, said Dan Mazza, Tri-Rail's engineering and construction director.

Despite the construction delays, Mazza said the bridge should still be finished by March 2006. Tri-Rail has pledged to begin running rush-hour trains every 20 minutes by then.

Without the higher bridge, trains would have to use the existing drawbridge, which is kept open for boats and closes when trains pass.

The 3,700-foot-long span will be between the drawbridge that now serves freight, Tri-Rail and Amtrak trains and the southbound lanes of Interstate 95. At 55 feet, it will be high enough for boats to pass underneath without being raised.

Approaches to the higher crossing will begin on either side of the river, from just north of State Road 84 to near Davie Boulevard.

Tri-Rail and Amtrak trains will switch to the new dual-track bridge when it opens. Freight trains, which can't make the steep grades of the new bridge, will continue to use the drawbridge.

Link to article

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Wed, Feb. 02, 2005

MIAMI-DADE TRANSIT

Mayor might veto bailout

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez is 'scrutinizing' a proposal to use money from the transportation sales tax to cover the transit department's deficits.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

[email protected]

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez is considering whether to veto the controversial plan to use $143 million from the half-cent transportation sales tax to cover a decade's worth of deficits and anticipated operating shortfalls at Miami-Dade Transit.

Commissioners ratified County Manager George Burgess' plan on a 7-6 vote on Thursday.

''The mayor is carefully scrutinizing this item because he has serious reservations,'' Javier Alberto Soto, the mayor's transition chairman, said Tuesday.

The mayor, who took office in November, has until Monday to decide whether he will use the transit-tax controversy to flex his political muscle for the first time.

Soto said Alvarez has philosophical problems with the measure, but has not made a final decision.

''The mayor is troubled by the departure from the original program that was articulated to the voters of Miami-Dade County in the [People's Transportation Plan] campaign,'' Soto said.

If Alvarez eventually chooses the veto, the commission's close vote will be to the mayor's advantage.

To override, two of the six commissioners who voted against the plan would have to publicly change sides on the hotly debated issue.

The six who voted against the plan were Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz, Carlos Gimenez, Chairman Joe Martinez, Natacha Seijas, Rebeca Sosa and Javier Souto.

Burgess' plan calls for commissioners to use $143 million in proceeds from the half-cent sales tax to cover $64 million in deficits that started in the weeks before the November 2002 election, and another $79 million to cover shortfalls that are expected to continue through 2011.

In return, the manager has promised a series of steady general-fund and local gas-tax increases over the next 30 years to reverse the historic underfunding of the transit agency. Those moves, Burgess said, will generate more than $200 million to transit's bottom line over the next three decades.

But opponents say the plan constitutes a ''bait-and-switch'' with voters who were promised that the new sales-tax money would go toward new projects, not act as one of several key revenue streams at the transit authority.

Lending fuel to their ire: County budget analysts slashed $10 million from Transit's general-fund receipts in the months after the tax vote passed, accelerating the budget pressures at a time when the agency was rapidly expanding bus service, purchasing equipment and making new hires.

Burgess and Transit officials counter that without the sales tax, Miami-Dade would not be able to compete for billions in matching federal funds to build, operate and maintain several new Metrorail branches that were an integral part of the 2002 campaign.

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Sun, Feb. 06, 2005

Mayor vetoes controversial tax plan

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

[email protected]

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

[Brickell]

I'm still not sure what to think of this mess, but I say good for Alverez for stepping up to the plate for the people. Hopefully they find a solution to funding problems.

Does this mean that full expansion is a go?

[Aessotariq]

I'm still trying to figure it out. They still have to find a source of funding to get MDT back in the black, so we're basically back to where we started. They still have not found a way to resolve the accumulated operating deficit. The revenue will have to come from somewhere, whether it be fees, fuel taxes, property taxes, or some type of state or federal aid. The question will be, what budget from which department gets cut or what tax gets raised?

Part of this is also a political exercise: an amendment to the county's charter that passed a few years ago severely weakened the powers of the Mayor and transferred power to the Commission. He's trying to get an amendment to the charter to restrengthen the Mayor position onto the ballot. We'll see how that goes. Power is very imbalanced at this point, and the Commission Chairman is arguably more powerful than the Mayor. Right now If he collects enough signatures by the deadline, it could be on the ballot by March, or if not, by November.

[Brickell]

This one might hurt in the short term, but it's much needed.

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

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

[email protected]

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 increases as well.''

[Aessotariq]

Last I was in Atlanta, it cost $1.75 to ride MARTA.

[Brickell]

I just hope they have fare cards when they increase the fare to non-quarter prices... like 1.60, 2.10, etc. Why add dimes to the mix?

[Aessotariq]

My sentiments exactly... A move toward smart cards or accounts would be ideal. It would be great if I could reload my account online or from a kiosk and not have to worry about carrying change. Here's a thought that's more far-fetched: how about a transit system that accepts Sunpass?!?

[Brickell]

that's an intersting idea...

RFID pins you could wear.

The government will be able to track you everywhere you go!

Ok, too much Art Bell...

[Aessotariq]

That's what Wal-Mart wants, doesn't it? RFID tags that don't deactivate when they leave the store... It must be good then...

reminds me of the Matrix, actually...

[Urban_Legend]

^There was an episode of South Park that portrayed Walm-Mart as the Matrix, lol. It was kinda creepy, and after watching it, I felt compelled to shop in mom-and-pop stores.

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Fri, Feb. 11, 2005

Raise transit fares

OUR OPINION: AFTER 15 YEARS, IT'S TIME TO INCREASE COST TO RIDE BUSES, RAIL

Yes, it's time for the Miami-Dade County Commission to raise the transit fares -- precisely as Commission Barbara Carey-Shuler proposed this week. It has been 15 years since fares were increased, a generous stretch for transit users by any measure.

Ms. Carey-Shuler proposes a modest hike of 25 cents, raising regular bus and rail fares to $1.50. This 20-percent increase would bring $15 million to Miami-Dade's transit agency, which badly needs the extra revenue. A $1.50 fare is still comparable to transit fares in other metropolitan areas of similar size.

What's more, commissioners have to respond to County Mayor Carlos Alvarez's recent veto of the commission's raid on transit-tax dollars to bail out the transit agency's budget deficit. Mr. Alvarez said using transit-tax money to cover old operating debts broke the promises about new and expanded services made during the 2002 campaign to get the half-penny transit tax approved. Commissioners are going to have to find other, more-acceptable funding means. For starters, increasing fares is the most sensible option.

It would also be smart of the commission to discontinue offering free transit rides to all senior citizens. These free rides may play well politically but this isn't a fiscally sound policy for a transit agency that needs to keep up with increasing service demands and maintenance on buses and rail lines. The loss to transit's coffers isn't huge, but, like most urban-transit departments, Miami-Dade's has struggled -- and lately failed -- to stay in the black. Senior citizens should pay full fare unless they qualify as low-income residents who, with students and other discounted passengers, get reduced-fare rates of 60 cents.

Fare increases already are part of transit's budget planning, with a 35-cent hike scheduled for 2007 and incremental increases in 2013 and 2017. The commission should approve the 25-cent fare increase now.

Link to article

[Urban_Legend]

I hope they won't lose ridership over the price increase. I doubt it....

[Aessotariq]

the ones who depend on transit because they don't have an automobile obviously won't have a choice...