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South Florida mass transit


Aessotariq

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I'm glad they're finally starting to make this happen. The alignment shown, though is a little scary, in that it isn't the most efficient to travel from one side of the county to the other while zigzagging like that.

I've love to see Broward County just specify one road to become the centerpiece of the county, a grand boulevard if you will, and run this line up that road. Broward Boulevard could easily be that road, and it would still be easy to run the line to the airport and to Sunrise after it was done traversing Broward Boulevard.

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It's a thought... there's just not much to work with. There really isn't a grand east-west boulevard in Broward that would work for the entire county, except I-595. Broward Blvd is technically in "north Broward", since it's north of the New River Canal (which I-595 follows), which acts an an unofficial dividing line between north and south. (in fact, you can sort-of see the north-south divide by observing the break in the grid: there is not a single east-west highway that crosses the canal at any point along its length.)

For South Broward commuters who currently use I-595 (especially those who use it to commute to Miami for work), a Broward Blvd alignment puts them at a disadvantage. The Sunrise alignment happens to be convenient because of Sawgrass Mills and the Office Depot Center.

One thing this map didn't show how the eastern zig-zag will serve as a transfer station for Tri-Rail as well... Here is the map of the proposed system:

browardtransit2hj.th.png

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This applies to both places, so I hope it's ok to post twice...

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/st...25/daily51.html

http://www.go.miamidade.gov

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...

The Miami-Dade County transportation Web portal is at 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...

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Posted on Sun, May. 01, 2005

TRANSPORTATION

Trolley trend wheels into Dade

Miami-Dade Transit, hoping to reach broader audiences, climbed aboard a new trend of converting 30-foot buses into trolleys-on-tires, and according to the transit director, the trolley demand is big.

BY LARRY LEBOWITZ

[email protected]

It's one of the great riddles of American mass transit.

Q: What looks like a bus, sounds like a bus, belches exhaust like a bus and attracts thousands of upscale and white-collar riders who would never be caught dead on a bus?

A: A trolley. Or, more precisely, a bus started up to look like a trolley.

Previously known as a novelty niche vehicle used to shuttle tourists and theme-park patrons, these trolleys-on-tires are rapidly evolving into the coach of choice for transit systems large and small, urban and suburban that are trying to reach broader audiences...

Read more: Miami Herald

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Here's a great map of the Busway, which begins at Dadeland South Metrorail station and now ends in Naranja. The final phase will be from SW 264th Street in Naranja to SW 352nd Street in Homestead/Florida City.

buswaydadelandnaranja3og.jpg

Interestingly enough, the Naranja community along US 1 in the south Dade was rezoned as an Urban Center District in late 2004. The community was basically completely destroyed after Hurricane Andrew; many of the homes there were never rebuilt. This new special designation will help create a new neighborhood by permitting mixed-use traditional neighborhood development (TND). Combined with the Busway extension this new overlay should help realize the creation of a new urban downtown with a small town feel. Its impact could be similar to the ordinance that created downtown Kendall, only on a smaller and shorter scale.

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RE: The Trolleys--I think trolleys look so much better than buses. It's really sad, but we just have a negative stigma about "smelly, hot, dumpy old buses". I'd like to see what the Coral Gables trolley is like.

RE: The Busway--I'd love to see MetroRail extended all the way down to Naranja. Like I said above, people don't like buses, but they love trains. It's nice that we at least have the busway, which will be alot easier to convert into a heavy rail line.

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Miami-Dade Transit, along with Parsons Transportation Group, will be holding several public meetings, beginning today, to discuss the NW 27th Avenue (North Corridor) Metrorail project. Planned discussion includes station design, impacts on neighborhoods, guideways, artwork, etc.

Full press release can be found here: http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/p...trorail_Ext.pdf

For the next several weeks, public meetings will be held at facilities near the proposed stations, including (all streets are NW):

119th Street (Miami-Dade College North Campus)

135th Street (City of Opa-Locka)

163rd Street (St. Thomas University/Palmetto Expressway)

183rd Street (Miami Gardens station, proposed Miami Gardens Town Center)

199th Street (Dolphins Stadium, Calder Race Course)

215th Street (County Line Road, transfer to proposed Broward busway)

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Tri-Rail's double tracking is making progress across its 72-mile system. The latest double-tracked segment to be completed is in southern Broward County, from slightly south of Stirling Road and due south of Hollywood Blvd, a near 3-mile segment. The Sun-Sentinel reported that trains will be temporarily delayed by at least 20 minutes while the authority performs tests on the track and the signals. The entire project across the entire Tri-Rail system is expected to be completed by 2006.

Here is a diagram showing the completion status of the double-tracking. The blue areas (Segments 1,2,3) are complete, and Segments 4 and 5 are under construction. The blue rectangle drawn in Segment 4 shows the new 2.6 mile segment just completed.

trirailconst0520054id.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is mildly depressing

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/st...tml?t=printable

Railway study has yet to get on track

A tri-county study to run passenger trains along the Florida East Coast Railway has yet to leave the station.

It's been six months since consultant Gannett Fleming was tapped for the work, but so far no contract has been signed to consider carrying commuters along the continuous, contiguous corridor running from Miami to Jupiter.

But the deal on the table is smaller in scope than what was originally planned to tackle South Florida's growing congestion crisis, largely because the original scope of work had not been clearly defined, he said.

Backers had hoped for a two-year study that would cost $6 million and weigh rapid bus systems; the advantages of light rail, heavy rail and streetcars; and the impending extension of Tri-Rail to Jupiter. Station locations would be mapped out. Public hearings would be held. Federal transportation dollars allocated to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties should pay for the study.

And, at the end of the study, it may be determined that passenger rail won't work after all.

"What many people think is the obvious solution may not be the best solution," he said.

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At this point I cannot see how a second parallel track would not be beneficial to the entire corridor. It runs through the most urban, most populated parts of the region and through all the three major downtowns. And it would finally give Northeast Dade a decent alternative to Biscayne Boulevard, already at capacity, in a faster timeframe.

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I would love to have a station in downtown Delray! In the city's "master plan" (which was really just a charette that got nothing accomplished and a waste of time, IMO) they've planned for a station on Atlantic Avenue.

I wish Tri-Rail could have just used the FEC tracks in the first place. It would be so much more convenient than the tracks that run parallel to I-95. Now I'm wondering if it'll be redundant to have two rail services so close to each other.

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Looking back, that probably would have been a better idea, however, at the time Tri-Rail was created it was done so as a temporary alternative to get around the major construction on I-95. After unexpected ridership numbers, it became a permanent fixture on the South Florida landscape. Its biggest asset has to be the intersection with Metrorail, which goes to downtown Miami. On a second note, it would be interesting to see how much Tri-Rail transfers increase the ridership of Metrorail during the weekday.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust, the oversight board for that oversees Miami-Dade County's 0.5% PTP transit sales tax, has released is quarterly progress report.

Among the highlights:

Metrorail/Metromover:

  • Miami Intermodal Center to Earlington Heights station (the first vital link)

    • 2.6 miles in length. Estimated cost: $340 million

    • State of Florida will contribute $100 million, Miami-Dade County will fund remaining $240 million.

      Only project that will not need federal matching funds

    • $18 million consulting contract awarded in March 2005 for final design and preparation of bid documents

    • Notice to Proceed scheduled April 2005

    • Projected completion date: August 2010

    [*]North Corridor

    • 9.5 miles in length.

    • $12.9 million consulting contract awarded in January 2005 for preliminary engineering on project.

    • County is finalizing planning phase for submittal to Federal Transit Administration for federal matching funds. "Record of Decision" from FTA is expected early 2006.

    • Projected completion date: December 2012

    [*]East-West Corridor

    • 16.8 miles in length.

    • Segment 1, from Florida International University to MIC is 10.1 miles. Estimated cost: $1.38 billion

  • Consultant hired for planning work and preliminary engineering necessary to apply for matching funds.

  • Project completion date: September 2014

[*]Vehicle Rehabilitation

  • Metrorail

    • In bidding process for contractor to rehab Metrorail cars. Contractor selection expected by December 2005.

    • First rehabilitated Metrorail vehicles expected to be in service by February 2007. Project completion date of entire project: February 2010.

    [*]Metromover cars

    • Miami-Dade Transit in price negotation process with Bombardier Transportation for purchase of 12 new vehicles.

  • 1,210 new Transit employees hired since passing of PTP sales tax

  • Miami-Dade County to receive $1 million in state matching funds, which will be used to install canopies at Metromover stations on the inner loop. County will fund remaining $1 million from PTP tax.

  • Miami-Dade Public Works in process of acquiring an Advanced Traffic Management System, to replace its existed antiquated Traffic Control System, which manages all traffic signals in the county. A contract will be decided among four top bidders to complete this upgrade.

  • Various road resurfacing projects completed or in progress throughout the county.

  • Coral Gables and South Miami in negotiations to extend Coral Gables Trolley service into South Miami.

  • Several other cities are working on extending or creating circulator routes within their municipalities

The full report can be found here: Miami- Dade CITT, 90-day report: 2nd Quarter: FY 2004-2005

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I also heard that TV monitor were going to be added to all Metrorail stops to give more accurate arrival departure times, does anyone know if this is true?

Also, I believe they should create more opportunities for companies to advertise on metrorail platforms as the do in other cities. I think MDTA is really messing that one up and is missing out on huge potential revenue sources. If these TVs are installed they could allow companies to advertise as you wait. I saw it on London Buses, its a great idea which even gives News/Weather Updates to passengers.

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About the monitors: I believe this is correct... Will have to get back to you on that... The Metromover stations already have them, so I don't see why not.

I think the monitors will be much more necessary when MDT starts interlining and having trains that stop at the same platform but diverge to different destinations. My most recent experience with other train systems is the DC Metro, and its LED displays have a countdown timer for when the next train is arriving... The displays are especially helpful for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, since they would miss any voice announcements on a loudspeaker. Another need feature of the DC platforms is there are lights installed on the platform itself, in front of the trains, and they flash when a new train is arriving. Very neat ADA-related stuff. :)

I agree with you about the advertising, and I think you will see more of it at platforms in the near future. MDT is actually focusing on another revenue stream that is much more lucrative -- real estate. All of these transit-oriented developments such as Datran Center, Dadeland Station, etc., are all built on county-owned property, which it then leases the to private developers to build TODs and collects the revenue..

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