Resolution 2018-30539 RESOLUTION NO. 2018.30539
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING
THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD/
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REGARDING THE
BEACH EXPRESS NORTH BUS EXPRESS RAPID TRANSIT
(BERT) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT; APPROVING THE
RECOMMENDED ROUTE ALIGNMENT ALONG 41ST
STREET AND COLLINS AVENUE; APPROVING THE DRAFT
BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE; AND RECOMMENDING
ADDITIONAL TERMS IN THE BERT BUSINESS PLAN TO BE
NEGOTIATED WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY.
WHEREAS, the Miami-Dade County Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan
contains six (6) Rapid Transit Corridors and nine (9) Bus Express Rapid Transit (BERT) routes
for Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, the SMART Plan envisions one (1) Rapid Transit Corridor from Downtown
Miami to the Miami Beach Convention Center via the MacArthur Causeway and three (3) BERT
routes from the mainland to Miami Beach; and
WHEREAS, BERT service consists of enhanced branded buses operating limited stop
service on shoulders or dedicated transit lanes, where feasible, to reduce travel time and help
ensure service schedule reliability; and
WHEREAS, operation on the outside shoulders of the Julia Tuttle Causeway is key to
the success of the Beach Express North BERT service; and
WHEREAS, on April 26, 2018, the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization
(TPO) unanimously approved Resolution No.: 14-18 endorsing the identification and
implementation of demonstration projects that advance elements of the SMART Plan; and
WHEREAS, at the City Commission's Transportation Workshop held on April 27, 2018,
the Commission discussed potential collaboration with the TPO to advance one or two BERT
routes connecting to Miami Beach; and
WHEREAS, on May 2, 2018, the TPO announced the SMART Demonstration Projects
Cycle for Fiscal Year 2019; and
WHEREAS, the TPO SMART Demonstration Project program funds new service for
three (3) years, requires a 50/50 match, and after three (3) years, should the service be deemed
feasible to continue, funding the service would be the responsibility of the Miami-Dade County
Department of Transportation and Public Works; and
WHEREAS, the benefit of this program is that this allows BERT implementation in the
very near term, perhaps even prior to the end of calendar year 2018; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission heard this item at its May 16, 2018 meeting and
supported applying to the SMART Demonstration Project program via Resolution No.: 2018-
30317; and
WHEREAS, on May 21, 2018, Miami Beach and the Miami-Dade County Department of
Transportation and Public Works jointly applied to the TPO SMART Plan Demonstration Project
program for the Beach Express North BERT routes serving Miami Beach; and
WHEREAS, on June 11, 2018, the Miami Beach Transportation, Parking and Bicycle
Facilities Committees supported a Beach Express North BERT route that serves Mount Sinai
Medical Center, the hotel and entertainment destinations on Collins Avenue, and the City
Center area; and
WHEREAS, on June 20, 2018, the Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee
supported a Beach Express North BERT route that serves Mount Sinai Medical Center, the
hotel and entertainment destinations on Collins Avenue, and the City Center area, reviewed the
draft business plan outline (attached hereto as Exhibit A), and provided additional
recommendations; and
WHEREAS, the additional recommendations for the business plan provided by NCAC
on June 20, 2018, included: 1) annual evaluation of the Beach Express North BERT
Demonstration Service with an exit strategy for underperformance; 2) input from the hotel
industry; 3) standard (non-premium) fares for the BERT demonstration service; and 4) ample
opportunities for customer feedback; and
WHEREAS, the TPO awarded funding to the Beach Express North BERT
Demonstration Project at its June 21, 2018 meeting via Resolution No.: 29-18; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA that the Mayor and City
Commission hereby accept the recommendations of the NCAC regarding the Beach Express
North Bus Express Rapid Transit (BERT) demonstration project; approve the recommended
route alignment along 415' Street and Collins Avenue; approve the draft business plan outline;
and, approve the additional recommendations to the BERT Business Plan to be negotiated with
Miami-Dade County.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this l7 day of Oct
ATTEST: 1
{ Dan Gelber, 7ror
MIL
rolsa w � 141,,Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk .. .. O MR& LANGUAGE
777 & FOR EXEC IN
INCORPIpRATED' 'I - ✓''
i ie city homey Date
Resolutions-C7 U
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO. Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: October 17,2018
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,
FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD/COMMUNITY
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REGARDING THE BEACH EXPRESS NORTH BUS EXPRESS RAPID
TRANSIT (BERT) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT; APPROVING THE RECOMMENDED ROUTE
ALIGNMENT ALONG 41ST STREET AND COLLINS AVENUE;APPROVING THE DRAFT BUSINESS
PLAN OUTLINE;AND RECOMMENDING ADDITIONAL TERMS IN THE BERT BUSINESS PLAN TO
BE NEGOTIATED WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY.
RECOMMENDATION
While the Administration continues to work with the Florida Department of Transportation (F DOT) to expedite the infrastructure work
needed for the proposed Beach Express North Bus Express Rapid Transit(BERT)service,and with Miami-Dade County to finalize the
route and Business Plan for the BERT seMce,it is recommended that the City Commission adopt a Resolution accepting the following
recommendations of the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) approved by acclamation at the June 20, 2018 NCAC
meeting to allow the negotiation of the interlocal agreement to proceed in parallel with the programming of the infrastructure improvements::
1. Recommended route along 41st Street and Collins Avenue;
2, The draft BERT Business Plan outline.
3. Include in the BERT Business Plan:
. Annual evaluations of the Beach Express North BERT Demonstration Service with an exit strategy for
underperformance;
. Input from the hotel industry;
. Standard(non-premum)fare for the BERT Demonstration Service; and
. Ample opportunities for customer feedback.
BACKGROUND
The Miami-Dade County Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan contains six (6) Rapid Transit Corridors
and nine(9)Bus Express Rapid Transit(BERT)routes for Miami-Dade County.
BERT service consists of enhanced branded buses operating limited stop service on shoulders or dedicated transit
lanes,where feasible,to reduce travel time and help ensure service schedule reliability.
On April 26, 2018,the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization(TPO)unanimously approved Resolution#14-
18 endorsing the identification and implementation of demonstration projects that advance elements of the SMART
Plan. On May 2, 2018, the TPO announced the SMART Demonstration Projects Cycle for Fiscal Year 2019. The
demonstration projects are intended to be in service for a three(3)year duration. If the demonstration project is deemed
successful by the TPO, it would be implemented on a permanent basis.
Pursuant to City Commission Resolution No. 2018-30317 adopted on May 16, 2018, Miami Beach and Miami-Dade
Department of Transportation and Public Works have applied jointly to the Miami-Dade TPO's SMART Demonstration
Program for the proposed Beach Express North BERT Demonstration Service connecting the Golden Glades
Multimodal facility, Earlington Heights Metrorail Station, and Miami Beach, while operating on the shoulder of SR
112/Julia Tuttle Causeway.
The City's application was submitted to the TPO on May 21,2018.
Page 475 of 1637
On June 11, 2018, the Transportation, Parking, Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Committee (TPBPFC)discussed the
Beach Express North BERT Demonstration Project. At the meeting, City staff presented the results of a market demand
analysis that evaluated employment data for various areas of the City. The TPBPFC passed a motion recommending
that the Beach Express North BERT Demonstration Project serve Mount Sinai Medical Center, then operate along 41st
Street to Collins Avenue, and continue north along Collins Avenue to 44th Street, then south along Indian Creek Drive to
23rd Street, in order to serve major hotels and entertainment destinations along the Collins Avenue corridor.
At the June 20, 2018 NCAC meeting, the Administration presented the results of a market demand analysis that
evaluated employment data for various areas of the City and recommended potential stops and terminus locations in the
City as well as a draft Business Plan for the Demonstration Service.
At its June 21, 2018 TPO Governing Board meeting, the TPO adopted Resolution No. 29-18 which approved eleven
(11) SMART Demonstration Projects, including the Beach Express North BERT project, for funding though its SMART
Demonstration Project grants program.
At its June 29, 2018 meeting, the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWPC) also discussed this item. The
Committee recommended that staff: 1) engage with Miami-Dade County administration quickly to finalize the Interlocal
Agreement and Business Plan; 2)explore the possibility of providing a subsidy to City of Miami Beach Employees that
use the BERT service; and 3) request quarterly presentations to FCWPC regarding the performance of the BERT
Demonstration Service.
ANALYSIS
In advance of the TPO adoption of the TPO SMART Demonstration Project grants and pursuant to direction from the
City Cormussion, the City's Transportation Department staff has 1) evaluated market-demand and made
recommendations for the potential route on Miami Beach, including terminus locations and 2) prepared a draft Business
Plan outline for the Beach Express North BERT Demonstration service and
Business Plan
The goal of the Beach Express North BERT Demonstration Service is to provide a one seat ride from the Golden
Glades Multimodal Center to Miami Beach, connecting to the Earlington Heights Metrorail Station, Mount Sinai Medical
Center, and a terminus location (to be determined)in Miami Beach. The service is targeted to serve people working on
Miami Beach,particularly those living in north and northwest Miami-Dade County.
Note: The proposed Beach Express North BERT route on Miami Beach stops at Mount Sinai Medical Center, then
continues south along Alton Road to a terminus at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The City's Transportation
Department is working with Miami-Dade County to modify the route in order to more effectively serve major employment
and activity centers along Collins Avenue and Indian Creek Drive between 44th Street and 1791 Street.
Components of the Business Plan will include the following:
I. Objectives
• Implement the BERT service envisioned in Miami-Dade County's SMART Plan;
• Connect to major Miami Beach major employment centers with their workforce through convenient, reliable,
and comfortable transit service, including the many employees of Miami Beach residing in Miami-Dade
County north of 1-395 and east of 1-95;and
• Connect to local Miami Beach Trolley service and regional Metrorail and Tri-Rail service.
II. Timeline
Pre-Implementation
• Conduct community and stakeholder outreach to obtain input.
• Execute Interlocal Agreement with Miami-Dade County,including a Business Plan.
• Promote the service.
Year One
• Initiate demonstration service.
• Monitor effectiveness of service(see metrics below).
• Monitor effectiveness of connections to Miami Beach Trolley routes.
r▪ elmLef canrinee +n nvnlom n(inrrflvnly fn o n,,mknr n(IemoF ,l mmLol conrmnlc
Page 476 of 1637
I.,..,,.:.ac, Pwa, C4,J CA.,yO,c,,,, c„c,,.,. o,!,,, ,'C(JC9111C1110.
• Charge fares consistent with Miard-Dade Transit standard fares, not premium fares, for the life of the
demonstration project.
• Update connections to Miami Beach Trolley routes, if required.
Year Two
• Determine if the demonstration route should be continued.
• Continue to update connections to Miani Beach Trolley routes, if required.
• Continue to market services, as a system, effectively to a number of targeted market segments.
Year Three
• Determine if the demonstration route is to be continued on a permanent basis.
• Continue to update connections to Miarri Beach Trolley routes, if required.
• Secure public (federal, state, county) and/or private partner funding in order to continue the Beach Express
North BERT service on a permanent basis, if desired.
III. Keys to Success
• Comfortable, reliable vehicles with unique branding and technology amenities.
• Easily accessible information about the service route and schedule changes/problems.
• Drivers trained to provide courteous customer service.
• Convenient and comfortable stop locations.
• An experienced service provider.
• Exclusive lanes of travel to avoid traffic congestion.
IV. Market Feasibility Analysis(see information below)
V Proposed Route and Stops(In Development)
VI.Sources and Uses of Funds
• Operating:
o Annual Operating Cost:$3,44Q000
o Three-Year Demonstration Program Cost:$10,320,000
• Capital:$9.5 million capital for buses for Beach Express North BERT service.
• Sources:
o City of Miami Beach : 50%of Annual Operating Cost
o TPO Grant: 50%of Annual Operating Cost
o Miarri-Dade County: $9.5 million equivalent capital contribution of buses
Annual Operating Cost
Total Miami Beach TPO
$3,440,000.00 $1,720,000.00 $1,720,000.00
Three Year Operating Cost
Total Miami Beach TPO
$10,320,000.00 35,160,000.00 $5,160,000.00
VII. Marketing Strategy(In Development)
VIII. Implementation Strategy(In Development)
IX. Performance Metrics
• Mode shift(i.e. number of new transit riders)
• Total ridership on route
• On-time performance
• Mystery rider evaluations of customer service,comfort, convenience, cleanliness,etc.
Page 477 of 1637
Miami Beach Terminus Locations
Staff has also evaluated potential terminus locations within the City. The nunber of employees in target areas of Miami
Beach was evaluated with the goal of serving areas of the City with high concentrations of employees. The potential
market of choice riders surrounding the Golden Glades (GG) Multimodal facility and the Eadington Heights (EH)
Metrorail Station was also evaluated with the goal of attracting riders who live in those areas and work in Miami
Beach but may not have convenient transit connections at the present time.
Collins Collins
Criteria Miami Mt. Sinai Ave. Ave. 17th South EntertainmentRDA Convention'
Beach30th to to 30th Beach District Center
50th
High Number of
52,734 3,321 6,064 8,496 33,464 6,444
Employees
High Employees/Sq.
Mile 7,533 36,900 24,256 33,984 17,249 28,386 v "e .M1 BR;"
Potential Choice
Riders-GG
Potential Choice M M M H M M H H
Riders-EH
Square Miles 7 0.09 0.25 0.25 1.94 0.227 0.43 1
Based on staffs analysis, a potential route that serves Mount Sinai Medical Center and major employment destinations
and activity centers along Collins Avenue between 50th Street and 17th Street could serve a large number of workers
and areas with a large concentration of employees per square mile. The route proposed by Miami-Dade County once
on Miami Beach is via Alton Road to the Convention Center. This would require trolley transfers to the Mount Sinai
Medical Center and Collins Avenue 17th Street to 50th Street employment centers. A revised route on Miami Beach to
minimize transfers to these employment centers would need to be further negotiated with Miami-Dade County, including
exact stop locations on Miami Beach. It is important to note that the route outlined in the County's Adopted SMART
Plan includes 41st Street and Washington Avenue rather than Alton Road.
Dedicated Lane
Critical to the success of a BERT project is the ability to travel in an exclusive lane, thereby avoiding traffic congestion.
The north/south portion of the route from Golden Glades intermodal facility to the Earlington Heights Metrorail station
will operate in the dedicated 1-95 Express lanes. The concept of the BERT demonstration route anticipated the use of
shoulders as has been used on other Express routes in Miami-Dade County.
In an August 8, 2018 meeting between the Administration staff, Miami-Dade Transit staff, and FDOT D6 leadership to
discuss the use of the shoulders of the Julia Tuttle Causeway for the Beach Express North BERT demonstration
service (as per a July 25, 2018 City Commission resolution), FDOT expressed a strong opposition to the temporary use
of the outside shoulders due to the anticipated low effectiveness that it would have on the service in light of current state
guidelines governing the conditional use of shoulders for transit service. Further, FDOT expressed concerns with
the impacts that the use of the outside shoulders would have on the existing bike lanes which were implemented as part
of a USDOT/Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) pilot program. Instead, FDOT recommended using the inside
shoulders of the Julia Tuttle Causeway for the BERT service, but only after reinforcement and widening of the inside
shoulders and restriping of the entire causeway. Further, FDOT recommended that no service begin until this work is
done. At the meeting, FDOT advised that this work may take up to three(3)years.
In the meanwhile, the City's Transportation Department staff will continue to work with FDOT to expedite the necessary
improvements to the inside shoulders of the Julia Tuttle Causeway and with the County to finalize the Interlocal
Agreement and Business Plan for the proposed Beach Express North BERT service, including finalizing the route and
developing a marketing/outreach plan and implementation strategy.
In an effort to implement a BERT-like service in Miami Beach in the near term (six (6) months to one (1) year). the
Page 478 of 1637
Administration and Miami-Dade County are discussing potential modifications to existing County bus routes,such as the
Airport Express (Route 150), to serve Mount Sinai Medical Campus and the hotel and economic activity centers along
Collins Avenue and in City Center. Similarly, existing County bus routes currently serving Golden Glades Multimodal
Facility and operating along the 95 Express Lanes could potentially be extended east to serve Miami Beach employment
centers.
It is worth noting that the October 17, 2018 City Commission meeting agenda includes a discussion item (R9F) with
more details on the recent meeting with FDOT officials regarding the use of the Julia Tuttle Causeway shoulders for the
proposed Beach Express North BERT service.
CONCLUSION
The adopted 2016 Miami Beach Transportation Master Plan was premised on a mode share goal and modal
prioritization strategy adopted by Resolution 2015-29083 on July 8, 2015, which places pedestrians first; transit,
bicycles, and freight second; and private automobiles third. Projects in the Transportation Master Plan are intended to
move Miami Beach towards this mode share vision by increasing pedestrian, bicycle, and transit travel. The County's
proposed network of BERT projects, including the Beach Express North BERT project, promotes the City's mode
share vision and modal prioritization.
The potential new BERT demonstration service also has the potential to shift the use of vehicles to transit, particularly
for workers commuting to and from Miami Beach.The environmental benefits of the proposed transit service will reduce
regional greenhouse gas emissions, and align with Miami Beach's resiliency program and the goals of the 100 Resilient
Cities partnership.
KEY INTENDED OUTCOMES SUPPORTED
Ensure Comprehensive Mobility Addressing All Modes Throughout The City
Leat t t' T king_
Transportation
S Bonsor
Uce-Mayor Mark Sarrnielian and Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
o Resolution
Page 479 of 1637