MIAMI – Could cities outside of Miami get their own versions of the Metromover system?
Could Homestead residents one day hop on a train connecting them all the way to Broward and beyond, instead of navigating traffic-choked roads?
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Maybe.
In a meeting that one Miami-Dade County commissioner said could “go down in history,” members of the county’s Transportation Planning Organization governing board voted Thursday afternoon to commission separate studies that could eventually lead to new options for how some county residents get around.
The board includes county commissioners and officials from Miami-Dade’s cities.
They’re asking for a study into adding additional automated people mover systems — similar to the Metromover — to up to five different areas around the county. They’re also revisiting an old idea: utilizing freight railway tracks for commuter rail.
Both options were discussed under the umbrella of the county’s Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit, or SMART, program.
“Imagine being able to ride commuter rail throughout our county and start to alleviate the real problem we have with traffic,” Miami-Dade District 11 Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who sits on the panel, said. “I really feel that this is a step toward the future.”
New people movers?
Under the first resolution passed Thursday, a consultant will be tasked with identifying “the top five (5) feasible areas” in Miami-Dade County to build automated people mover systems or “similar technologies.”
“This technology may provide a safe, convenient, and effective connection to major transit corridors and hubs within Miami-Dade County,” the agenda item reads.
Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo, who chairs the board, mentioned the possibility of building such a system in his city, potentially connecting to Tri-Rail or Metrorail stations as a bus alternative.
“If there’s a people mover or something of the like in the future of the city of Hialeah, I’d like to be able to lay it out to my residents,” Bovo said.
Board members didn’t mention any other hypothetical locations during the meeting.
The study is budgeted at $120,000 with a 12-month deadline, according to official documents.
An expansion of the existing Metromover system to South Beach is in the works, though it’s met opposition from some Miami Beach residents — and non-residents, like those on Fisher Island.
Miami-Dade District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins, a member of the panel, told Local 10 News in a phone interview that adding any other people mover systems would be contingent on the county receiving federal funds.
Rail to South Dade?
Generating the most discussion, however, was the revival of a plan to utilize underused railway tracks heading west and south for passenger rail.
The tracks are currently owned by Jacksonville-based CSX Transportation.
It’s something that’s been discussed for decades, but Bovo said it was time to take another crack at it, with the railroad company expressing a willingness to cut a deal with the county.
“There are opportunities here and I think we should be aggressive in these opportunities,” he said.
Rail lines run west alongside the Dolphin Expressway, from Miami International Airport towards the Tamiami area — and, in the southwest, roughly following the alignment of the Don Shula Expressway south towards Homestead.
The east-west portion of the line could be used for the county’s long-discussed East-West Corridor under the SMART program.
The most recent SMART program plans involved bus rapid transit along the Dolphin Expressway. However, with Thursday’s vote, the discussion has now shifted back to rail.
Higgins said bus rapid transit along the expressway is no longer seen as practical.
The resolution that passed Thursday authorizes $80,000 for “the TPO Executive Director or designee to develop a scope of services and budget for a railroad corridors assessment to evaluate current conditions and identify opportunities to implement passenger rail services.”
Miami-Dade District 9 Commissioner Kionne McGhee, who represents areas along and near the corridor, including Richmond Heights and parts of Homestead, characterized the vote as potentially transformational.
“This particular item will probably go down in history as the spark that brought the fire in the sense of a connectivity agenda-slash-opportunity for the South Dade community to finally have connection,” he said. “This says to the world that Miami-Dade County is serious about freight and commuter rail.”
Discussions with CSX would include maintaining a level of freight rail service alongside potential commuter rail.
Board members discussed expanding Tri-Rail, run by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and connecting Miami-Dade to Broward and Palm Beach counties, as an option for the southwestern segment.
Previous discussions regarding the East-West corridor have included expanding the county-run Metrorail rapid transit system, an expensive option.
Higgins told Local 10 News that commuter rail will be considered this time around, which would connect to the airport’s Miami Intermodal Center, allowing riders to then continue on to the Metrorail system.
“Folks will be able to come in on (commuter rail) to connect to that,” Higgins said.
They said there’s one key feasibility question the study can’t address: the cost of using or acquiring the rail line.
Miami-Dade District 8 Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins brought up past discussions that went nowhere, owing to excessive costs.
“What has changed?” she asked.
Bovo said this time around, however, CSX appears highly-motivated to cut a deal with the county.
Everything will come down to money and whether a project would fit within the county’s budget. Bovo said he plans to have the TPO governing board receive monthly updates about the CSX study, which they hope to complete within a six-month timespan.
Board members expressed a “sense of urgency” and a desire to get trains rolling sooner rather than later.
“I don’t want to study stuff to death,” Bovo said.
2009 CSX corridor map:
SMART plan map: