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MIAMIBEACH
City Commission Meeting
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 3
City Hall, Commission Chambers, 3rd Floor, 1700 Convention Center Drive
November 19,2014
Mayor Philip Levine
Vice-Mayor Joy Malakoff
Commissioner Michael Grieco
Com m issioner Micky Steinberg
Commissioner Edward L. Tobin
Commissioner Deede Weithorn
Com missioner Jonah Wolfson
City Manager Jimmy L. Morales
City Attorney Raul J. Aguila
City Clerk Rafael E. Granado
Visrt us at www.miamibeachfl.gov for agendas and video "streaming" of City Commission Meetings.
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Chapter 2, Article Vll, Division 3 of the City Code of Miami Beach entitled "Lobbyists" requires the
registration of all lobbyists with the City Clerk prior to engaging in any lobbying activity with the City
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Copies of the City Code sections on lobbyists laws are available in the City Clerk's office. Questions
regarding the provisions of the Ordinance should be directed to the Office of the Gity Attorney.
SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA
R7 - Resolutions
R7W A Resolution Expressing Support For Expediting The Next Phase Of The Beach Corridor Transit
Connection Project Which Evaluates Mass Transit Connectivity Between Miami And Miami Beach;
And Urging The Transportation Partners (i.e. Florida Department Of Transportation, Miami-Dade
Transit, City Of Miami, And City Of Miami Beach) To Allocate The Necessary Funding Required To
Advance To The Next Phase Of The Project (i.e. Project Development And Environment Phase); And
Further Requesting That The Transportation Partners Explore The lmplementation Of An lnterim
Mass Transit Solution ln The lmmediate Term.
(Sponsored by Mayor Philip Levine)
(Legislative Tracking : Transportation)
(Memorandum)
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19i5.2015
Cify of Miomi Beoch, lZ00 Convention Center Drive. Miomi Beoch. Florido 33139, www.miomibeochfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Members of the City
Philip Levine, Mayor
November 19,2014
A RESOLUTION
and City Manager Jimmy L. Morales
THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR EXPEDITING
THE NEXT PHASE OF THE BEACH CORRIDOR TRANSIT CONNECTION
PROJECT WHICH EVALUATES MASS TRANSIT CONNECTVIry BETWEEN
MIAMI AND MIAMI BEACH; AND URGING THE TRANSPORTATION
PARTNERS (1.E. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, MtAMt-
DADE TRANSIT, Ctry OF MtAMt, AND CtTy OF MtAMt BEACH) TO
ALLOCATE THE NECESSARY FUNDING REQUIRED TO ADVANCE TO
THE NEXT PHASE OF THE PROJECT (r.E. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND
ENVIRONMENT PHASE); AND FURTHER REQUESTING THAT THE
TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS EXPLORE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN
INTERIM MASS TRANSIT SOLUTION IN THE IMMEDIATE TERM.
BACKGROUND
On April 17, 2013, via Resolution No. 2013-28176, the City Commission approved an lnterlocal
Agreement between the City of Miami Beach and the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) to provide funding in the amount of $25,000 for the Beach Corridor Transit
Connection Study. The purpose of the study is to evaluate mass transit connectivity between
Downtown Miami and Miami Beach via a premium transit connection. The study is being
conducted by Gannett Fleming under the auspices of the Miami-Dade MPO in partnership with
the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), City of Miami, and
City of Miami Beach. The study commenced in October 2013 and focuses on re-evaluating the
Locally Preferred Alternative resulting from the 2004 Baylink Corridor Study. A Technical
Advisory Committee (comprised of staff from various municipal and transportation agencies) and
a Policy Executive Committee (comprised of elected officials from Miami-Dade County, City of
Miami, and City of Miami Beach) have been established to assist the study team in making key
milestone decisions through the study process.
The study is anticipated to be completed in early 2015 after convening the final Policy Executive
Committee meeting. Should the Policy Executive Committee identify a preferred alternative, the
next steps would be as follows:
o Further analysis and refinement of the alternatives during the Project Development and
Agenda ltem R1 W
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Commission Memorandum - Resolution Regarding the Beach Conidor Transit Connection Project
November 19,2014
Page 2 ol 3
Environment (PD&E) phase of the project.o Establishing a Locally Preferred Alternative to be presented to the Miami City
Commission, Miami Beach City Commission, and the Miami-Dade MPO Governing
Board for adoption.. Submission of the PD&E Study to the U.S. DOT for Location/Design Concept Acceptance
(LDCA) and a Record of Decision, the final step in the PD&E process pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
At this time, the study recommendations focus on a Light Rail Transit (LRT) alternative
connecting Downtown Miami and South Beach via the MacArthur Causeway. Several new and
emerging catenary-free or off-wire technologies for LRT are being evaluated, including ground-
embedded rail and on-board battery storage. The recommended alignment within Miami Beach
consists of the MacArthur Causeway, Sth Street, Alton Road, Washington Avenue, and 17th Street
in order to establish a direct connection to the Miami Beach Convention Center and future route
expansion along Collins Avenue to the Julia Tuttle Causeway connecting to Midtown Miami.
The Beach Corridor Connection Project extending from the Miami Downtown Terminal to the
Miami Beach Convention Center is currently listed as a Partially Funded project in the Adopted
2040 Miami-Dade MPO Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The total estimated capital
cost of this premium transit service project is approximately $532 million (2013) and the LRTP
currently includes funding in the amount of approximately $147 million (year-of-expenditure) for
preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition in the 2026 - 2040 horizon timeframe. No
funding has been identified for project construction in the LRTP.
On April 23, 2014, via Resolution No. 2014-28566, the City Commission approved a funding
contribution from the City of Miami Beach in the amount of $250,000 for the Project Development
and Environment (PD&E) Study for the Beach Transit Connection Project as part of a grant
application to the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Transportation lnvestment
Generating Economic Revenue (TIGER) Discretionary Grant Program. The cost of the PD&E
Study was preliminarily estimated at $3 million and 50% of the study cost (i.e. $1.5 million) would
be provided by the local transportation partners as a local match. The TIGER grant application
was submitted by MDT, the project sponsor, in partnership with FDOT, MDT, City of Miami, and
City of Miami Beach. The FDOT committed $750,000 while MDT and cities of Miami and Miami
Beach each committed $250,000. lt is important to note that the project was not selected for
TIGER grant funding by the U.S. DOT and that FDOT has since increased the cost estimate of
the PD&E Study from $3 million to $6 million. Therefore, if the project is to advance to the PD&E
Study phase without any federal funding, the local transportation partners would need to
contribute higher levels of funding. At this time, the funding has not been secured by the local
transportation partners as this particular issue will be discussed at the upcoming final Policy
Executive Committee meeting.
At the September 10, 2014 City Commission meeting, a presentation was made by Gannett
Fleming on behalf of the Miami-Dade MPO regarding the Beach Corridor Transit Connection
Study. After some discussion, a motion was made by Vice-Mayor Grieco and approved by the
City Commission in support of the project and to continue to study the options available.
At the October 23, 2014 meeting of the Miami-Dade MPO Governing Board, and in response to a
City of Miami Commission Resolution, the MPO Board member representing the City of Miami,
Commissioner Francis Suarez, presented an item on the MPO agenda consisting of a resolution
expressing support for a Streetcar system connecting Downtown Miami to the dense urban
neighborhoods immediately north of Downtown, and urging the FDOT to seek funding for the
implementation of such. The Miami Streetcar Project would connect the Design District,
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Commission Memorandum - Resolution Regarding the Beach Corridor Transit Connection Project
November 19,2014
Page 3 of 3
Wynwood, Midtown Miami, and Downtown Miami via a 2-way streetcar loop primarily along NE
2nd Avenue and is currently listed as an Unfunded Project in the Adopted 2040 Miami-Dade MPO
LRTP. After some discussion regarding current prioritization of proposed premium transit
corridors and the respective assigned priority levels pursuant to the Adopted 2014 MPO LRTP,
as well as some stated concerns from various Board members regarding the Miami Streetcar
and Beach Corridor projects likely competing for the same funding at the state level, the item
was deferred by the MPO Governing Board. At the meeting, however, the MPO Governing
Board agreed to schedule a Transit Corridors Workshop in the near future to have a focused
discussion regarding regional transportation corridors and the respective priority levels assigned
to each of the People's Transportation Plan (PTP) Corridors identified as premium transit
corridors in the Adopted 2040 Miami-Dade MPO LRTP.
ANALYSIS
Given the significance of the MacArthur Causeway as a major transportation corridor for current
and future mass transit connectivity between Miami and Miami Beach, it is imperative that the
City continue to work with the Miami-Dade MPO and other transportation partners involved in the
Beach Corridor Study to implement long-term as well as short-term mass transit solutions. lt is
anticipated that the engineering and environmental documents pursuant to federal requirements
for a premium transit connection (e.9. light rail transit or modern streetcar) would require
approximately six (6) years to complete prior to beginning construction. While a Public-Private
Participation (P3) project delivery method would expedite the design and construction schedule
of the project, the required NEPA documents would need to be completed by the local project
sponsor and approved by the federal government (either Federal Highway Administration or
Federal Transit Administration) for the project to remain eligible for federal funding, obtain LDCA
and a Record of Decision, and advance to the construction phase.
For this reason, the City should explore and consider implementing interim mass transit solutions
which can include a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, an Enhanced Bus-On-Shoulders Pilot
Project, and/or managed lanes on the MacArthur Causeway. BRT projects have been
successfully implemented in many other urban cities in the country, such as Las Vegas, Los
Angeles, Boston, Cleveland and San Francisco, and in major cities throughout the world, such as
Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, several countries in South America, and in China. Through
the deployment of technologies such as signal pre-emption, queue jumpers, and the use of either
exclusive or semi-exclusive lanes for BRT operation, this mode can be effective, efficient, and
implemented on an expedited basis at a fraction of the cost of a light rail transit system.
CONCLUS!ON
It is crucial that the Miami-Dade MPO recognize the significance of the Beach Corridor as a
sustainable and vital premium mass transit project linking Downtown Miami and South Beach via
the MacArthur Causeway and that this corridor in particular be discussed at the upcoming
Transportation Corridors Workshop to be hosted by the Miami-Dade MPO.
The Administration should continue working collaboratively with the Miami-Dade MPO and the
local transportation partners to identify the funding necessary to advance the Beach Corridor
Transit Connection Project to the next phase of study development (PD&E phase) while
concurrently exploring interim solutions to implement efficient and effective mass transit across
the MacArthur Causeway in the immediate term.
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