Jump to content

South Florida mass transit


Aessotariq

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 235
  • Created
  • Last Reply

County to get second reading on transit hikes

By Tom Harlan

Miami Today

An ordinance that would increase Miami-Dade Transit fares is to have a second reading at Tuesday's county commission meeting after it was modified by the transportation committee and county attorney.

The ordinance as adopted at a first reading March 1 called for an increase in fares to provide about $30 million in additional revenues to operate the transit system, including Metrobus, Metrorail and Metromover, through 2006.

Changes by the transportation committee and county lawyer decreased the estimated revenue to about $25.4 million.

The item was forwarded to a March 10 regional transportation committee public meeting, where recommendations were added to reduce the proposed base fare from $1.60 to $1.50 and keep a special transportation-services fee at $2.50.

The county attorney's office made additional adjustments, according to a March 28 memo, to comply with a federal transit administration rule on reduced fares that says rates charged to elderly and handicapped persons cannot exceed one-half the normal rate at peak hours.

The recommendation called for a reduced fare of 80 cents to be trimmed to 75 cents to comply with the regulation. The impact of the revision is about $300,000 for the 17 months outlined in the ordinance.

Link to article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More information on Scripps Here:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/...ipps/index.html

this will give you an idea of where the meccar farms site is.

image_1387301.jpg

Here are the details on the Tri-Rail proposal.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/cont...ps/012404a.html

Transit authority mulling tri-rail for scripps site

January 24, 2004

The agency that operates South Florida's commuter trains wants to be a player in the development of The Scripps Research Institute's campus in northern Palm Beach County.

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority agreed Friday to send a proposal to the state for a joint study on providing Tri-Rail service to the research park. A proposed development plan includes the extension of PGA Boulevard and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road to the property, but that would not be sufficient to handle the projected volume of traffic to the campus, authority board member Jeff Koons said. "This would create an opportunity for a lot of people living in South Florida to work at Scripps," said Koons, a Palm Beach County commissioner. "We can make it convenient for anyone in South Florida."

Details of the study need to be worked out, but the idea is to run passenger trains on the CSX Transportation tracks from Mangonia Park - Tri-Rail's northern terminus - west to PGA Boulevard, where a new spur would run to the Scripps property.

The authority also wants to buy land on the campus to build a transit village. It would lease the land to a private developer and use the proceeds to subsidize operating costs. A similar public-private partnership will be used to build a new station and 70,000 square feet of office and retail space in Boca Raton.

"We need the cash flow off the deal to help pay for the service," Koons said.

At Friday's meeting, the authority also talked about meeting with Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade officials to gauge interest in continuing to study the possibility of passenger rail service on the Florida East Coast Railway track, which runs through downtowns from West Palm Beach to Miami.

Before engaging in negotiations with the railway, the value of the corridor needs to be appraised. The authority is seeking $5 million from the Federal Transit Administration for the project.

But authority Chairman Michael Masanoff questioned whether the agency can really afford to operate on the FEC line. The cost of building a second track, safety improvements at rail crossings and maintenance would run into the billions. The money might be better spent upgrading east-west bus connections on the existing line, Masanoff said.

"We do not have the ability to get unlimited dollars," he said. "I'd like to see the range of numbers we're looking at so I know if we can afford to chase it."

The railway has agreed to talk about allowing passenger service from Miami to Jupiter and eventually north into Martin and St. Lucie counties, as long as it does not interfere with its freight operations. The Florida East Coast Railway runs 25 to 30 freight trains a day through South Florida.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's another bit from an article in the Post.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/cont...pps/012204.html

...Whichever details prevail, County Commissioner Jeff Koons said, he'll push for mass transit to be part of the package. It's just a short 2 miles from the eastern edge of the Vavrus property to Tri-Rail's terminus in Mangonia Park. He'd like to see an extension include Scripps. Trollies should run throughout the campus to the Tri-Rail stop, he said. Connecting Scripps to Tri-Rail will also link it to Florida Atlantic University's Boca Raton campus.

Koons, who is the county's representative on the Regional Transportation Authority board, said he'll call on the organization Friday to make a Tri-Rail extension to Scripps one of its legislative priorities.

It's unclear how such an extension would be financed or how much it would cost. Koons said developers would benefit, so they should pay.

"Developers of the residential portion of Vavrus would have to come up with the money," he said.

The question of whether to hire a master developer for the Vavrus land went before the Business Development Board's executive board Wednesday when the board met in closed session, as usual...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mangonia Park Station, which is the current northernmost station already has two platforms, which shows that they're planning on running train north out of there. One platform isn't used, because that station only has southbound trains now. But It'll be nice to see the north county get train service.

I'm wondering if PalmTran is considering new bus service in that area, since most Tri-Rail stations require a bus transfer to actually get anywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would hope so -- would be foolish not to. I was looking at a Palm Tran map, and there is service along PGA Blvd, but currently nothing west of Military Trail, and the proposed Scrippssites are northwest of them, totally inaccessible by bus at this time.

On another note, the Tri-Rail expansion into Martin and St. Lucie counties is an exciting prospect -- 120+ miles of continuous service, and if service is added to the FEC tracks along US 1 as has been discussed, five county seats (three of them with major downtown CBDs) will be connected with regional service for the first time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been wondering if they'll still call it Tryi-Rail, even after two new counties get service, lol.

In a transit-related story, I read today in the OnBoard SFRTA newsletter that MetroRail is indeed revamping their trains. They showed a pic, which was a proposed new train, with a rounded front, like Euro style rail. It'll be nice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its good to see that Metrorail is getting new cars. Tri-rail taking a line, west of the turnpike, in Palm Beach County and connecting a spur to Scripps is a great idea. TOD's being built around the stations will help spread urbanity into an area that up to this date, is pretty much sprawl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted on Sun, Apr. 03, 2005

SUNRISE [bROWARD COUNTY]

Transit route plan on schedule

Despite some concerns from residents along 136th Avenue, a mass-transit route is moving on schedule. Construction could begin in about a decade.

By EVAN S. BENN

[email protected]

A mass-transit project that would give commuters a new way to travel between western and eastern Broward County is moving according to schedule, despite some complaints from Sunrise residents.

The county's planning board agreed last November on an east-west route that would connect the Office Depot Center in Sunrise with downtown Fort Lauderdale and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

This month, members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization will decide whether to use an express bus or a light rail along the 21-mile route.

A bus system would cost less than a light rail, which transportation officials said would cost about $920 million. A light rail could carry up to 23,000 daily riders, compared to about 16,400 a day on buses.

Federal grants, as well as state and county money, are expected to pay for the project, said Scott Seeburger, the state transportation department's project manager for the proposed route. The county also would be responsible for operating expenses.

The route will link to Tri-Rail's commuter trains that run north and south. Planners hope to begin building the system in about eight or nine years, Seeburger said. The route is expected relieve congestion along busy Interstate 595.

Florida Department of Transportation engineers in March released a study of the project that recommended the route along 136th Avenue, I-595, U.S. 441, Broward Boulevard, Andrews Avenue and U.S. 1.

They presented the study at a public forum Thursday night in Fort Lauderdale.

Some Sunrise residents who live near 136th Avenue have complained that they only recently learned about the planned route.

Several have pointed fingers at Irwin Harlem, the city's assistant deputy mayor, who also serves on the county's planning organization. He did not attend the meeting last November when the planning group approved the new route.

To help alleviate residents' concerns, city leaders and state transportation officials set up a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday to explain the plan. The meeting will be at the Sunrise Civic Center, 10610 W. Oakland Park Blvd.

Also, people can check on the progress of the project and read the state's March report online at http://www.centralbrowardtransit.com.

Link to article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Monorail? Sweet... Now, if we could just get some light rail going (Baylink, wink wink), Miami will have one of the most diverse public transit arsenals in the country...

Metrorail - HRT

Metromover - technically PRT?

Proposed Baylink and streetcar circulator - LRT

Proposed Monorail

Busway - BRT

* I guess the city already has Monorail if you want to count the one at Metrozoo. But since thats been down each time I've gone, I don't mind leaving it off ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed... very diversified. I hope I live long enough to ride on all these new systems... :rolleyes:

It looks like Baylink is on the backburner for now, while Metrorail gets expanded... The City of Miami Streetcar line coming up though.

Metromover's usually referred to as an APM -- automated people mover. I think the Herald reporter was mistaken; the airport-MIC connector is more likely to be an APM, not a monorail.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted on Wed, Apr. 06, 2005

TRANSIT

Bus ride going up 25 cents

The Miami-Dade Commission reluctantly raised mass transit fares by a quarter Tuesday, something that hasn't happened since George H.W. Bush was president.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

[email protected]

For the first time in nearly 15 years, Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday agreed to a 25-cent fare increase for Metrobus and Metrorail riders.

Starting May 1, the regular adult fare will rise to $1.50. Discount fares for students and others will increase to 75 cents.

''We have not adequately funded our transit system over the years, and we need to plug the hole a little bit now. It's the right thing to do,'' said Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler, who sponsored the fare increase.

The increase will not affect thousands of passengers who already ride for free: the elderly who qualify for the Golden Passport; low-income veterans who qualify for the Patriot Pass; Medicaid and Social Security recipients.

The increase also will not affect disabled customers using the Special Transportation Services program. Those fares will continue to be $2.50 per trip.

The last time commissioners voted to raise fares was in 1990. Manuel Noriega was sitting in a cell awaiting drug trafficking charges; labor union leader Lech Walesa was about to become president of Poland; a gallon of regular unleaded cost $1.19 in North Miami; and the median home price in Miami-Dade was $96,300.

VOLATILE ISSUE

Fare hikes have always been a politically volatile issue at County Hall.

Several commissioners said they didn't want to dig deeper into the pockets of those who can least afford it, the working poor and middle class people who rely on public transportation.

''I can't support balancing the budget of this department on the backs of the working poor of this community,'' said Commissioner Javier Souto.

Fare hike supporters, like transportation committee Chairman Carlos Gimenez, said it was a matter of fairness to commercial and residential property owners who wind up subsidizing more of the transit system as fares fail to keep pace with union salaries, inflation and the cost of living.

Underscoring Gimenez's point, financial analyst Mayra Bustamante said fare-box collections in 1990 accounted for 32 percent of Miami-Dade Transit's entire budget.

Prior to the fare increase, that figure has slipped to around 25 percent, she said.

Voting for the fare increase: Carey-Shuler, Gimenez, Chairman Joe Martinez and Commissioners Barbara Jordan, Dorrin Rolle, Sally Heyman, Katy Sorenson, Dennis Moss, Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz and Natacha Seijas.

Voting against: Souto, Bruno Barreiro and Rebeca Sosa.

PUSHING FOR INCREASE

Carey-Shuler started pushing for the fare increase in February, shortly after Mayor Carlos Alvarez vetoed a plan that would have used $143 million in half-cent sales tax proceeds to pay off old transit deficits and cover anticipated shortfalls through 2011.

Alvarez said using the sales tax to pay off old deficits breaks the promise to voters who supported the tax in 2002 that the new money would be dedicated to expanding the system.

Transit is currently running annual deficits in the range of $20 million to $23 million a year. Director Roosevelt Bradley said the additional fare revenue will generate approximately $6 million toward the bottom line this year and $18 million in fiscal 2006.

`SLOW THE BLEEDING'

While it won't totally offset anticipated deficits, it will help ''slow the bleeding,'' Bradley said.

''It's a Band-Aid, not a tourniquet,'' Martinez said.

Commissioners are still waiting for County Manager George Burgess to submit a plan to repay the old deficits, reduce the projected shortfalls while continuing to keep all the promises for new rail projects, bus service and road improvements from the 2002 campaign.

Link to article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted on Mon, Apr. 11, 2005

STREETWISE | BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

Transit seeks lane change for buses in traffic

In its never-ending -- some might say quixotic -- quest to convince more of us to get out of our cars and onto its buses and trains, Miami-Dade Transit is pushing the Florida Legislature for special permission to use the breakdown lanes when traffic is moving at a snail's pace on limited-access expressways.

Transit's in-house lobbyist, Lyn Harris, has been working the back halls of Tallahassee with a handful of well-connected folks from the Florida Department of Transportation trying to attach a rider -- all puns intended -- to a major appropriations bill.

It looks like a former county commissioner, state Sen. Gwen Margolis, will sponsor the bill to allow buses to operate in the breakdown lanes when regular traffic is moving at 35 mph or less -- which means a decent chunk of the Monday-Friday daylight hours on the Dolphin and Palmetto expressways as well as Interstate 95.

Bus drivers would not be allowed to speed past the mainline traffic by more than 15 mph. They would be required to yield to merging, entering and exiting traffic. The law would apply only to Miami-Dade Transit vehicles; no handi-vans, jitneys, tour, school, rental or church buses.

If it gets through the Legislature, Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley says the bill could provide another weapon in the ongoing effort to make the express buses more attractive.

On good days, the 95Xs take thousands of North Miami-Dade, Broward and South Palm Beach County residents from the Golden Glades park-'n'-ride lot into downtown Miami via I-95.

On bad days, when 95 resembles a massive parking lot, Transit dispatchers seek permission to divert the buses onto Northwest Seventh Avenue or other north-south escape corridors that are moving, at least in a comparative sense.

Will this convince more people to forsake their cars and take the bus? Perhaps a trickle.

But the evidence indicates it won't happen overnight. How many people have given up their solo commutes because the price at the pump has hit $2.25 a gallon and shows no sign of decreasing anytime soon?

Convenience and freedom continue to reign.

Speaking of hellish north-south commutes . . . Starting July 31, Transit will kick off a new express bus route designed to help Southwest Broward and Northwest Miami-Dade commuters along the Interstate 75 corridor.

The $64,000 question: Will this provide an attractive enough alternative for those folks who are spending a soul-sucking predawn half-hour or more just trying to get out of their Miramar, Pembroke Pines and Southwest Ranches subdivisions and onto I-75?

Transit Director Bradley says the still-to-be-named route -- currently on the books as the ''intercounty connector'' -- will be modeled on the 95X, which runs every five minutes during peak hours between the Golden Glades and downtown Miami.

NEW ROUTE

The new route will start at Pembroke Lakes Mall, follow I-75 southbound to Miami Gardens Drive, and then head south via Northwest 67th Avenue to the Palmetto Metrorail station.

The planning and scheduling gurus are still ironing out exact stop locations, route numbers and headways. This was one of the dozens of new routes Miami-Dade officials promised in the People's Transportation Plan half-cent sales tax campaign of 2002.

And for folks on the south side . . . Transit is preparing to open the next five-mile segment of the South Miami-Dade Busway on April 24 from Cutler Ridge Mall down to Southwest 264th Street/Bauer Drive in Naranja.

The original busway, from the Dadeland South Metrorail station to Southwest 200th Street, was a lightning rod for controversy when it opened in February 1997.

Cross streets stacked up with cars as drivers struggled to get across the busway and onto South Dixie Highway. Traffic signal synchronization was a nightmare. Patience and decorum, never in long supply around these parts, totally went out the window. Car versus bus accidents skyrocketed. It got so bad, at one point the locals took to chucking rocks at passing buses, triggering at least one accident.

Hopefully, the Transit and DOT traffic planners learned a few lessons from '97 and there won't be as many opening debacles.

AVOIDING DEBACLES

Drivers who live in the area better be ready to make some serious adjustments, though, especially at the major cross streets.

The final six-mile segment, from Southwest 264th to Southwest 344th/Palm Drive in Florida City, is slated to open next year.

Link to article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Elevated lane for mass transit part of options offered to unclog I-595

By Michael Turnbell

Transportation Writer

Posted April 14 2005

For residents who live along Interstate 595, getting to work in 20 years might mean walking across an air-conditioned bridge over the highway to a sleek bus or train running in the median.

Drivers could buy their way out of congestion by paying a toll to use a system of elevated express lanes built on top of the transit line.

Both ideas are part of the Florida Department of Transportation's vision for easing east-west commuting woes with a combination of road and transit improvements along I-595, a highway that became obsolete only a few years after opening in 1989.

Early discussions focused on building an elevated track for buses or light rail trains on private land south of eastbound State Road 84 and putting the express lanes at ground-level in the median.

But state planners say land costs could be reduced by elevating the express lanes and moving the transit line to the median or a sliver of state-owned land between the eastbound lanes of I-595 and S.R. 84.

"There are some things we can do to maximize use of existing right of way and reduce the overall impacts of the project," said Steve Braun, a state engineer overseeing the project.

"One of the challenges of putting transit in the median is finding a way to get people there."

Construction wouldn't begin until 2011 at the earliest and would likely take a decade to complete.

Most of the residents who attended a public meeting on the project Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale were more concerned about the noise that an expanded highway might bring rather than how it would improve their commute.

Robert Krycki said the roar of airplanes taking off from the airport is the only thing that drowns out traffic passing by his Lauderdale Isles home north of I-595. But he acknowledged the highway must be improved.

"From 4:30 to 6 during the week, westbound traffic is at an absolute standstill," Krycki said.

The state is considering four options for I-595. Each includes:

Reversible express lanes for long distance commuters between I-75 and S.R.7.

Completing S.R. 84 between Davie Road and S.R. 7.

"Collector-distributor roads" between I-95 and Davie Road that move entrance and exit ramps away from the main flow of traffic, similar to lanes that parallel I-95 between I-595 and Broward Boulevard.

Braided ramps that take entering traffic over or under exit ramps.

A mass transit line from Office Depot Center to downtown Fort Lauderdale and the airport. The I-595 segment would run from Southwest 136th Avenue to S.R. 7.

From there, the options differ in the location of the express lanes and the transit line.

The first option would build the two reversible express lanes at ground level in the median and run an elevated transit line south of eastbound S.R. 84 at an estimated construction cost of $907 million. Land costs would be about $130 million.

The other options would build the transit line on state land. Officials don't have land cost estimates for those options yet but say logic tells them they will be lower since they wouldn't have to buy as much land.

The second option would keep the express lanes in the median but build an elevated transit line between eastbound I-595 and eastbound S.R. 84. Officials estimate construction would cost $882.3 million.

The third option would build three elevated, reversible express lanes in the median and run the transit line underneath. The construction would cost $937.7 million.

The fourth option would keep the elevated express lanes in the median but move I-595's regular lanes underneath and put the transit line between eastbound I-595 and eastbound S.R. 84. The construction would cost $1.1 billion.

I-595 handles about 189,000 vehicles a day at its busiest point east of S.R. 7.

After the state spends nearly a billion to improve the highway, traffic forecasts show I-595 will be more congested than it is today because the county is projected to grow by another 940,000 in 25 years.

By 2034, the state predicts traffic will double to 360,000 vehicles a day west of the turnpike.

Braun, the project engineer, said I-595 will "operate better" because areas that cause traffic backups today will be gone.

The braided ramps, for example, will eliminate the weaving between entrance and exit ramps that are too close. Scott Seeburger, another state engineer, said the express lanes would charge tolls electronically with SunPass, varying the tolls as congestion changes to control the flow of traffic.

If traffic ground to a halt in the regular "free" lanes, Seeburger said, drivers would have the option of a congestion-free ride in the express lanes, provided they're willing to pay a toll for the privilege. "The idea is to keep the express lanes free-flowing," he said.

Link to article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.