LTC 270-2014 Reinstating South Beach Local Service to Belle Isle MIAMI BEACH
270°2014 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of the City Co mission =�
-r
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager C-, C= :Y;i
DATE: August 6, 2014
SUBJECT: REINSTATING SOUTH BEACH LOCAL SERVICE TO BELLE ISLE
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide a status update regarding the South each
Local (SBL) service to Belle Isle. r-T-1 w -
As you are aware, in April of this year, Miami-Dade County Public Works and Waste Management
Department identified structural deficiencies in the bridges of the Venetian Causeway and
consequently imposed an 11-ton weight limitation on the easternmost bridge as a precautionary
measure until a more thorough structural analysis could be performed. The newly imposed weight
limit resulted in the temporary interruption of SBL service to Belle Isle and the truncation of the
route at the intersection of Purdy Avenue and Dade Boulevard.
The lack of SBL service impacted many residents of Belle Isle as they depended on it to access
the South Beach area businesses. Many residents provided feedback to the City, including a letter
to the Mayor requesting the reinstatement of service, along with a petition signed by over five
hundred (500) Belle Isle residents. The City Commission directed the Administration to work
closely with Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) to expedite a solution and additionally recommended to
extend the Alton-West Trolley to Belle Isle on a temporary basis in an effort to provide a mobility
option for Belle Isle residents until the SBL service is reinstated.
The Administration followed all the necessary steps to implement the service, including the
submission of an application for each trolley vehicle to Miami-Dade County Public Works and
Waste Management Department to confirm compliance with imposed weight limits, and the
submission of an application for modification to the certificate of transportation issued by the
County for the Alton-West Trolley service. The Administration obtained approval of the modification
from the County's Board of County Commission (BCC) at its July 15, 2014 meeting. Upon
approval, the Administration began coordinating with the City's trolley operator, Limousines of
South Florida (LSF), in order to ensure the prompt implementation of the service; however, a
couple of days after receiving approval from the BCC, the Administration was notified that the
County had received the results of a supplemental structural analysis performed by the Florida
Department of Transportation for the County. The results of the analysis concluded that the weight
limitations on the easternmost bridge of the Venetian causeway could be restored to its original
limit of 15 tons. Therefore, the Administration has determined that extending the Alton-West Trolley
route to Belle Isle is no longer necessary as the SBL service will be reinstated. Please note that the
easternmost bridge was the only bridge along the Venetian Causeway that received a favorable
qualification from the analysis; thus the weight limit of this particular bridge is the only one being
adjusted while the current weight limits on all other bridges remain unchanged.
The County has advised that signage on the easternmost bridge will be updated by the end of this
week. MDT anticipates reinstating regular SBL service to Belle Isle within the following week.
KGB/JR JFG
F:\TRAN\$ALL\Transportation\LTC—Reinstating South Beach Local Service to Belle Isle