Miami to Miami Beach Baylink Light rail plan moves forward

bobdreamz · #1 Posted **Apr 4, 2014, 4:38 PM**

Light rail to Miami Beach may cost $532 million

BY ALFONSO CHARDY
ACHARDY@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
A passenger light-rail system from Government Center in downtown Miami to the Convention Center in Miami Beach via the MacArthur Causeway would cost about $532 million to build and some $22 million a year to operate and maintain, project planners told the mayors of Miami-Dade County, Miami and Miami beach during a meeting at County Hall Wednesday.

Mayors Carlos Gimenez of Miami-Dade, Tomás Regalado of Miami and Philip Levine of Miami Beach enthusiastically embraced the project and formed a partnership to pursue funding for the first major step in advancing the endeavor.

Though the project is still in a very early stage, the mayors’ agreement to seek funding as partners signaled that three key municipalities in the county are serious about taking the enterprise to the design and construction phase sometime in the future. There is no target date for construction at this time because funding for the project has not been secured.

Wednesday’s meeting was the second in which transportation managers brief local government leaders about the project. During the first meeting in January project managers unveiled potential route options. At the time Gimenez and Regalado expressed support for the tracks going over the MacArthur Causeway. Levine did not attend the first meeting, but on Wednesday he seemed to back the project regardless of what final alignment is picked.

The highlight of the meeting was the agreement among the mayors to form a partnership to find the $3 million they need to finance a project development study that when completed it could advance the plan to design and construction. Under the plan, the $3 million would include $250,000 each from Miami-Dade, Miami and Miami Beach, along with $750,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/0...#storylink=cpy

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About time this project moves forward since it was first proposed in 2002 and will be a vital link connecting to Metrorail in downtown Miami and the new All Aboard Florida train station into a transit hub that will have 4 different types of rail once completed.

N830MH · #2 Posted **Apr 8, 2014, 6:33 AM**

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/0...the-right.html

Quote:

From Dubai to Frankfurt, Madrid to Bordeaux, light rail public transit is efficiently keeping residents and tourists moving. Cities throughout the United States are also embracing light rail and modern street cars as essential components of the rapidly growing demand for functional, sustainable communities. Miami-Dade is among them. Over the past few years, Miami-Dade County’s increasing numbers of mixed-use high rises with residential, retail, hotel and office space have transformed the skyline. A large and diverse pool of students, professionals, and tourists, now live, work, study and play in the area’s urban centers. With an increasingly concentrated population and changing demographics, addressing traffic congestion is indeed a top priority.

Let the speculation begin.

waltlantz · #3 Posted **Apr 19, 2014, 12:13 AM**

Nice update, but wrong thread.

N830MH · #4 Posted **Apr 19, 2014, 3:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by waltlantz

Nice update, but wrong thread.

No, this is right thread.

electricron · #5 Posted **Apr 19, 2014, 3:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by N830MH

No, this is right thread.

I agree that this is the wrong thread. This thread is about a potential light rail line to Miami Beach. All Aboard Florida is about an intercity rail to Orlando. The correct thread for it is:
FEC Announces Plans for Private Passenger Rail Service in Florida http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=198371

Eightball · #6 Posted **Apr 19, 2014, 1:23 PM**

Craig Chester's comment below the article is on point.

How are they going to fund it?

chris08876 · #7 Posted **Apr 19, 2014, 1:59 PM**

Maybe a mod could move that update to that other thread? Although All Aboard Florida does have an extension to the light rail that is being planned. Its somewhat relevant.

chris08876 · #8 Posted **Apr 30, 2014, 4:56 PM**

The Current Route Options Under Consideration For Baylink

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All pictures from: http://miami.curbed.com/archives/201...nk-options.php

N830MH · #9 Posted **May 2, 2014, 4:44 AM**

Go ahead. Please choose a light-rail routes options.

Let the speculation begin.

mrnyc · #10 Posted **May 4, 2014, 2:03 PM**

this has been talked about forever it is bound to happen at some point.

chris08876 · #11 Posted **May 4, 2014, 5:48 PM**

^^^^^^

The city commission favors it and the mayor is making it a big priority. Stuff like this just takes time. But it is definitely accelerating.

N830MH · #12 Posted **May 5, 2014, 5:46 AM**

All,

here is the link of Bay Link corridor:

http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/lib...ment-study.pdf

brickell · #13 Posted **May 5, 2014, 3:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris08876

^^^^^^

The city commission favors it and the mayor is making it a big priority. Stuff like this just takes time. But it is definitely accelerating.

It's always been the Miami Beach side that opposes it. I'm not getting my hopes up just yet.

Jasonhouse · #14 Posted **May 6, 2014, 12:56 AM**

Why doesn't it tie into Metrorail directly? Seems asinine to exclude the ability to run trains directly to the airport and such.

ardecila · #15 Posted **May 6, 2014, 1:09 AM**

Metrorail trains can't run at ground level and the idea of an elevated viaduct in Miami Beach is a non-starter. A subway would be politically palatable but extremely costly and difficult from an engineering standpoint.

N830MH · #16 Posted **May 6, 2014, 4:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

Why doesn't it tie into Metrorail directly? Seems asinine to exclude the ability to run trains directly to the airport and such.

No, they won't be extended to Miami Beach. They don't have enough space. Only light-rail will take you to Miami Beach. Metrorail is stay where they are. They cannot have extended the Metrorail. Metrorail is not an options.

Jasonhouse · #17 Posted **May 6, 2014, 1:06 PM**

That's a shame.

dave8721 · #18 Posted **May 6, 2014, 2:23 PM**

Just to clarify, Metrorail does run at grade for a section but they area not considering it for the beach. Too expensive.

Extending the Metromover system would be the other option but it seems they are pushing the light rail route for no other reason than it allows a public/private partnership letting the County pay less up front.

BrownTown · #19 Posted **May 6, 2014, 3:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave8721

Just to clarify, Metrorail does run at grade for a section but they area not considering it for the beach. Too expensive.

Extending the Metromover system would be the other option but it seems they are pushing the light rail route for no other reason than it allows a public/private partnership letting the County pay less up front.

I just can't stand when cities have all of these different forms of mass transit right in the same area. It just makes everything more confusing and the time between getting off one and getting on the other destroys and time advantage mass transit might have otherwise had.

Jasonhouse · #20 Posted **May 6, 2014, 3:57 PM**

That's what I was thinking. They should have thought ahead better than they did.

Of course, given that we're talking about a city in Florida, it's a miracle when any transit is built.