Miami officials plan huge rail expansion

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by emathias

All of the above. Miami is considering expanding their heavy rail system (called MetroRAIL in local parlance), their downtown-centric, elevated, automated people mover small rail service (called MetroMOVER), plus considering a new commuter rail line and additional bus rapid transit routes.

But what's the actual ridership potential to South Beach? MetroMover covers some of the areas with the highest daily use potential, and do tourists to Miami really want to take any form of transit to the beach? Honest question, I just never think if taking a train to a beach myself, and I'm a big rail fan.

From the article linked below :

Miami Dade’s current bus routes from the mainland to the beach have among the highest ridership in the region.
Approximately 14,000 bus riders travel the Macarthur causeway alone each day.
The connection between Downtown Miami and South Beach has long been labeled a priority for a rapid transit connection. The first study was commissioned in 1988.

https://miami-grid.com/2019/02/13/th...f-the-baylink/

The proposed Baylink route has been studied & re-studied for 31 years now.
If 14,000 daily bus riders between South Beach & the mainland doesn't make it it clear that a Metrorail extension is warranted I really don't know what else will.

[ardecila]

^ It's the same as airport trains. Many, if not most of the riders are workers and not leisure travelers. Any dense concentration of employment with limited parking can be a solid candidate for transit service.

South Beach is a pretty dense concentration of restaurants, clubs, and hotels which all employ tons of people. The tight confines of the island mean that parking is limited and those service industry workers can't afford it.

Also, it's not clear that Baylink will actually be an extension of MetroMover. It may be a totally separate PRT system (ugh) or a streetcar with some elevated segments.

[Doady]

Miami's bus system gets so few riders, and suffered 10% ridership loss in 2018, there seems little need to upgrade to rail. Even without adding more bus service, the system should have enough capacity to handle such ridership levels. Any rail expansion would just be a waste of money.

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by Doady

Miami's bus system gets so few riders, and suffered 10% ridership loss in 2018, there seems little need to upgrade to rail. Even without adding more bus service, the system should have enough capacity to handle such ridership levels. Any rail expansion would just be a waste of money.

Ridership has declined because of all the funding cuts to the system. Much of the buses run by the hour! A rail corridor through the highly dense eastern side, west to FIU, and the beach is much needed and would be highly used.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Ridership has declined because of all the funding cuts to the system. Much of the buses run by the hour! A rail corridor through the highly dense eastern side, west to FIU, and the beach is much needed and would be highly used.

That's the thing. If they are not willing to provide a decent bus service to grow ridership, then how can more expensive and higher capacity rail be justified? Rail can't exist in isolation. They need to invest in buses to lay the foundation for rail expansion.

To talk about spending money on rail expansion to attract riders while cutting bus service and destroying ridership doesn't make any sense to me.

If the buses run every hour, the logical next step would be to have them every half hour or 20 minutes. Then 10 or 15 minutes. Then 3 or 5 minutes. Then rail. One step at a time.

A rail system fed by hourly bus routes is simply just a waste of money.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by Doady

A rail system fed by hourly bus routes is simply just a waste of money.

Yes, you are absolutely right! It was so full of those people who rode on Metrobus. Every time if the bus is full all the time.

[OhioGuy]

Miami-Dade seeking transit projects for Beach link. Chinese firms need not apply.

Miami-Dade commissioners moved the county closer to building a transit link between Miami and Miami Beach, authorizing a bidding process for the project and approving a ban on participation by Chinese train companies.

“We haven’t done anything substantial for transit in a long, long time,” said Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo. “We need to see a bulldozer rip up dirt and actually do something.”

The bid documents allow for a range of transit options for the four-mile route between mainland Miami, where Genting has owned the former Miami Herald waterfront property for eight years, and the end of the MacArthur Causeway in South Beach. Options being studied by the Parsons engineering firm as part of the county’s 2016 SMART Plan include rapid-transit buses running on dedicated lanes, extending the existing Metromover system, monorail and light rail. The Chinese restriction applies only to trains, not buses.

Bidders on the Beach link must propose price, transit mode, and station locations in Miami and Miami Beach. They also have the option of submitting plans for an extra station on the MacArthur at Watson Island, home to Jungle Island, the Miami Children’s Museum, and a planned residential and commercial complex. They can provide private land to the project, as well as use existing county transit stations for connections. Genting wants to build a new station on the old Herald land, where it also has planned a casino resort.

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by eleven=11

nice update on north east corridor line but don't see that happening soon
BIG news for 2018/2019 will be tri=rail going to downtown Miami
and the new metro trains.

TRI-RAIL CONDUCTS WALK THROUGH OF MIAMICENTRAL STATION, BUT STILL HAS NO IDEA WHEN IT WILL OPEN
September 10, 2019

Staff and contractors working for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority visited the new Tri-Rail station at Virgin MiamiCentral for a walk-through tour of the facility – but still they have no idea when it will be open.

The station has been largely complete since the beginning of this year, but the rail lines connecting to it have remain closed due to red tape. The Federal Railroad Administration wants a safety system called Positive Train Control installed before service can begin.

There is still no estimated start of service date yet, Tri-Rail said yesterday on social media. Virgin Trains (formerly Brightline) must complete the PTC work on their rail line before SFRTA can apply to access the tracks to get into the station.

When Tri-Rail does open at MiamiCentral, commuter train service from downtown Miami will be offered to West Palm Beach. A new line called Coastal Link could also be added, running through the more densely populated eastern areas of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm beach counties.

Photos from the walk through yesterday:





https://www.thenextmiami.com/tri-rai...-it-will-open/

[bobdreamz]

Miami Dade approves Metrorail expansion for North Corridor extension that will run to Broward
NOVEMBER 01, 2019 11:07 AM

A key transportation board of elected officials unanimously endorsed an elevated Metrorail system on Northwest 27th Avenue to Miami Gardens, rather than monorail, magnetic levitation or other options studied by state consultants for the roughly 10-mile route.

Miami-Dade’s elusive promise of a northern Metrorail route remained alive Thursday on a familiar support system of long-shot possibilities, including Washington agreeing to pick up about half of the $1.9 billion construction tab.

But there’s no contest in riders. Metrorail would average 16,200 a day, including 7,500 new users, WSP said, while the other modes would serve half that or fewer.
As such, per-passenger costs overwhelmingly favor Metrorail, the only mode that would offer one-seat rides from Brickell to a future Unity Metrorail station at Northwest 215th Street.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...236868003.html

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by bobdreamz

Miami Dade approves Metrorail expansion for North Corridor extension that will run to Broward
NOVEMBER 01, 2019 11:07 AM

A key transportation board of elected officials unanimously endorsed an elevated Metrorail system on Northwest 27th Avenue to Miami Gardens, rather than monorail, magnetic levitation or other options studied by state consultants for the roughly 10-mile route.

Miami-Dade’s elusive promise of a northern Metrorail route remained alive Thursday on a familiar support system of long-shot possibilities, including Washington agreeing to pick up about half of the $1.9 billion construction tab.

But there’s no contest in riders. Metrorail would average 16,200 a day, including 7,500 new users, WSP said, while the other modes would serve half that or fewer.
As such, per-passenger costs overwhelmingly favor Metrorail, the only mode that would offer one-seat rides from Brickell to a future Unity Metrorail station at Northwest 215th Street.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...236868003.html

Instead of a train to Miami-Beach, we are gonna get a train through the most ghetto areas of Miami....shame!

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Instead of a train to Miami-Beach, we are gonna get a train through the most ghetto areas of Miami....shame!

In fairness don't forget the political opposition on the beach to extending any kind of rail to SoBe when the half penny sales tax was passed in 2002.
By the way Metrorail already goes through da ghetto !

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Instead of a train to Miami-Beach, we are gonna get a train through the most ghetto areas of Miami....shame!

Hey, at at least those areas are working class and have a lot of land that could be developed. Better that area first than a more expensive area for now.

[Nouvellecosse]

Isn't it usually better to build transit to areas where people really need it and are more likely to use it rather than to areas where most people can easily afford private transportation?

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Hey, at at least those areas are working class and have a lot of land that could be developed. Better that area first than a more expensive area for now.

Wow! More expensive! Don't like that. Please make it cheap! Low prices!