LTC 181-2008 Update on the 95 Express Project
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # isi-loos LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
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FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager =-+
DATE: July 3, 2008 ~ ~
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SUBJECT: Update on the 95 Express Project ~~~ ~''
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The purpose of this LTC is to provide the Mayor and City Commission with an updat~on t~e
95 Express project, and the efforts to address the City's concerns with the projects ~,
Following Mayor Bower's March 25, 2008 letterto Congresswomen Ros-Lehtinen (attached)
and Wasserman Schultz, on April 2, 2008, Mayor Bower and I met with the five members of
the Miami-Dade Congressional Delegation, Senator Bill Nelson, and representatives of
Senator Mel Martinez. Following those discussions, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart spoke
with Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos regarding the
City's concerns, as described in the Congressman's April 7, 2008 letter (attached).
On April 9, a meeting took place in Tallahassee between the City, Secretary Kopelousos,
and other FDOT staff. A subsequent meeting between the City and FDOT District 6 occurred
on May 8, at which FDOT presented five alternatives that they had considered, however,
each alternative was accompanied with a justification as to why it could not be implemented.
At this meeting, discussion took place regarding one of the alternatives, which would change
the current plans by extending only one of the two proposed northbound HOT lanes south of
I-195, with an entry to the second HOT lane somewhere north of I-195, allowing entry for
westbound traffic leaving Miami Beach. The Administration felt that this could be
implemented with minimal cost and time impact on the project, and allow for the collection of
real data over the next year, to determine if there was sufficient justification to keep this
configuration permanent.
Although FDOT indicated they would conduct an Origin-Destination (OD) study, the
Administration felt that a one-year pilot would provide much more accurate data.
Unfortunately, following the meeting, the FDOT conducted an OD study without City input,
and forwarded the results to the City. Following receipt of this study, on June 12, 2008,
Mayor Bower sent a letter to Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz (attached),
Congreswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, and Senators Nelson
and Martinez. A copy of this letter was also forwarded to Governor Crist.
The Administration also remains in contact with other stakeholders that are concerned with
this issue, such as Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Hotel Association. Attached, please
find correspondence from Mount Sinai to the Congressional delegation on this issue.
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On July 2, 2008, the City received a copy of the attached letter from Congresswomen Ros-
Lehtinen and Wasserman Schultz to Secretary Kopelousos, requesting further information
about the decisions made by FDOT regarding this project, and expressing some of the same
Letter to Commission
95 Express
Page 2 of 2
concerns that the City has. The Congresswomen further request that FDOT meet with the
South Florida Congressional Delegation, to provide greater understanding of the processes
involved in selecting the access points, to provide a detailed briefing on the overall progress
of the project, as well as the OD study for an I-195 access point.
I will provide additional information on this issue as it becomes available; in the meantime, if
you have any questions or would like additional information, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
~~
JMG/RCM/FB/KC
Attachments:
July 2, 2008 letter to Secretary Kopelousos
June 24, 2008 letter from Mount Sinai Medical Center
June 12, 2008 letter from Mayor Bower to Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz
April 7, 2008 letter from Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart
March 25, 2008 letter from Mayor Bower to Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen
c: Bob Middaugh, Assistant City Manager
Fred Beckmann, Public Works Director
Kevin Crowder, Economic Development Division Director
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July 2, 2008
The Honorable Stephanie Kopelousos
Secretary
Florida Department of Transportation
605 Suwannee Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0450
Dear Secretary Kopelousos
First, please accept our sincerest thanks for your continued service to the transportation needs of
the State of Florida. In keeping, we respectfully request the assistance of your department to provide
additional explanation on decisions made with regard to the Interstate 95 Express Lane Project, as we
continue to have concerns about the lack of access to and from I-195 (Julia Tuttle) causeway.
In April of this year, representatives of the City of Miami Beach met with the Members of the
South Florida Delegation and alerted them to what they felt was a serious flaw in the current plan for the
express lanes. We discussed at the meeting that the lack of access from the High Occupancy Toll (HOT)
lanes from I-95 to I-195 (Julia Tuttle) is an unnecessary omission that will negatively impact the
significant workforce that uses I-195 and I-95 on a daily basis.
While we understand that FDOT has already concluded an Origin-Destination (OD) study that
predicts only limited usage, we, along with Miami Beach and its business community, have concerns
about the accuracy of the data used in this study. Initial review of the study by City staff indicates that the
derived contributions from Miami Beach are exceedingly low.
As you know, Miami Beach is one of the region's most important economic assets, and I-195 is a
critical transportation link that services the City's largest employers as well as the Convention Center. We
believe it is in the best interest of everyone concerned that a proper evaluation of the socio-economic
impacts associated with this project be undertaken, as well as consideration of alternatives that maximize
the positive impact of this project to the entire community.
In order for the South Florida Congressional Delegation to have a greater understanding of the
processes involved in selecting the access points, we request that you and/or representatives from your
department come to Washington as soon as possible to provide a detailed briefing on the overall progress
of the project, as well as the OD study for an I-195 access point.
We look forward to hearing from you with regard to available dates.
Sincerely,
Ile o - tin Debbie Wasserman Schultz:.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
PRINTEC ON RECYCLED PAPER
Mount Si. jai
M E D I C A L C E N T E R
June 24, 2008
The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Shultz
Member of Congress
118 Cannon House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515-3931
Dear Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz:
On behalf of Mount Sinai Medical Center, i would like to express our gratitude far your continued support of the
Miami Beach community, particularly your efforts to ensure that our voices are heard as the 95 Express project
moves forward to
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has introduced the `95 Express" concept where express
lanes wil! tie constructed to reduce congestion on I-95 from 1-395 in downtown Miami to Broward Boulevard in
Ft. Lauderdale. To operationalize this concept, `95 Express' will operate as High Occupancy Toil (HOT) lanes,
separated from regular traffic lanes, that drivers can choose to use when their time is more valuable than the toll
they may pay.
Although '95 Express" predicts a reduction in congestion and a better experience for drivers, residents, and
transit users alike, FDOT is in fad implementing a plan that will hurt the City of Miami Beach and those
commuters spending valuable time in rush hour traffic during peak hours of the day- The FDOT proposed plan
allows entry to the two HOT lanes somewhere south of I-195, therefore restricting HOT entry for those
commuters travelling west on I-195 and proceeding onto t-95 North. FDOT has not answered the negative
impact this proposed plan will have on travelers coming from Miami Beach and commuting north on I-95.The
City of Miami Beach has proposed some modifications to the 95 Express construction plan, specfically building
only one of the two planned northbound HOT lanes south of I-195 and allowing entry to the second HOT lane
somewhere north of 1-195- This will allow commuters travelling west on I-195 entry to northbound HOT lanes
and accommodate the needs of the City of Miami Beach.
As the only hospital provider and largest single employer on Miami Beach, Mount Sinai Medical Center
maintains a staff of over 3,000, of which almost half (49 percent) wil! be affected by the proposed 95 Express
Project, not to mention other important City of Miami Beach lxrsinesses, inGuding hotels and restaurants. Mount
Sinai Medical Center supports the City of Miami Beach's position of using the attached `Option 2' for
northbound access as a reasonable solution to this situation in order io accommodate the needs of our
community.
We respectfully request your continued assistance on this issue and woukJ really appreciate if FDOT will
consider this plan to meet the needs of the City of Miami Beach. Should you need any additional information,
please do not hesitate to contact me at (305}6742223
Sincere ,
even D- Sonenreich
resident and Chief Executive Officer
Attachment
Mount Sinai Campus Miami Heart Campus Mount Sinai Aventura
4300 Acton Road 4701 N. Meridian Avenue 2845 Aventura Boulevard
Miami Beach, FL 33140 Miami Beach, Fl 33140 Aventura, F133180
Phone: 30`'x6742121 Phone: 305-fi72-1111 Phone: 305-932-2099
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33 139
MATTI H. BOWER
MAYO R
June 12, 2008
The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Member of Congress
118 Cannon House Office Building
Washington D.C.,20515-3931
Dear Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz:
Allow me to once again express the City's gratitude for your continuing support of Miami
Beach, particularly in the effort to ensure that the needs of the Miami Beach community
are not ignored as the 95 Express project moves forward, in the words of FDOT, at 200
miles per hour. A number of new developments have occurred since we last spoke on
this issue, and this letter is intended as an update of our ongoing negotiations with State
officials.
On May 8, representatives of the Florida Department of Transportation met with me and
other members of the City Administration to discuss potential options that could
accommodate the needs of the City. Although FDOT evaluated our concerns and
presented five alternatives, they immediately provided justifications as to why each
alternative could not be implemented. Following some discussion, however, there
seemed to be a willingness to explore one option, which altered current plans by building
only one of the two planned northbound HOT lanes south of I-195 and allowing entry to
the second HOT lane somewhere north of I-195. This change would allow entry to the
northbound HOT lanes by westbound traffic entering I-95 north from the Julia Tuttle
Causeway. Following this meeting, City staff traveled to Washington to brief your staff on
the options presented by FDOT.
Although FDOT indicated that they would conduct an Origin-Destination (OD) study if
their consultant could complete it in time so as to not impact FDOT's construction
schedule; the City felt strongly that this northbound-only alternative could be
implemented with only minor cost implications and minimal impact on the timing of the
project. The change in configuration would allow the compilation of real usage data over
a period of time, to determine the precise number of Miami Beach westbound I-95
vehicles utilizing the northbound HOT lane and would eliminate any dispute that may
arise between the City and FDOT over data and conclusions based only on regional
modeling and surveys. The City made it clear that FDOT could close the entry point if
actual utilization data over a period of time proved that the ridership from vehicles exiting
Miami Beach did not justify it. Regrettably, FDOT proceeded with the study without
notifying the City, which the City feels is greatly subject to interpretation.
Furthermore, it was our understanding that if FDOT conducted an OD study, FDOT and
City staff would work together in establishing the proposed scope and methodology. ! am
sad to report that, not only were we left out of decisions regarding the study; but the next
communication from FDOT on this issue was the transmittal of the summary (attached)
of the OD which had been conducted, without our knowledge, on May 14 and 15. The
premise of the OD study was to determine the number of vehic{es leaving Miami
Beach that could potentially utilize the HOT lane. Since the first available exit would be
at the Golden Giades, the study attempted to determine how many vehicles from Miami
Beach in a given time frame were still on I-95 at the Golden Glades. Unfortunately, one
item that I specifically raised in the meeting that was not considered was that 151St
Street was the more appropriate measuring point, not the Golden Glades.
Initial review of the study by City staff indicates that the derived contributions from Miami
Beach are exceedingly low. Unfortunately, time constraints and cost prevent the City
from engaging a qualified independent consultant with experience in this discipline to
evaluate the study in further detail. This study also has a short sighted view of the Miami
Beach trip contributions to the project. The willingness to pay estimation appears to be
based on a spread-out analysis through the impacted area, and the subsequent 22%
reduction is most likely based on the regional results. We believe that if this analysis was
focused on Miami Beach, this percentage would most likely be of a different magnitude.
At this point, the City does not concur with either the study's finding that only 1/3 of the
westbound vehicles leaving Miami Beach on I-95 during the afternoon rush hour take I-
95 North, or that only 837 of these vehicles (per hour) travel beyond the Golden Glades.
The study further assumes that only 1 in 5 of the 837 vehicles (187) would be willing to
pay the toll to enter the HOT lane. It is also curious that the study conducted by the
FDOT subtracted all of the westbound I-195 vehicles that entered at either Biscayne
Boulevard or Miami Avenue. While these vehicles did not originate in Miami Beach,
those that continued north on I-95 would also have the option of entering the HOT lanes,
if a more northern ingress point were made available. This seems to be a disingenuous
attempt to further minimize what the Miami Beach trip contributions could be to the
project.
Eastbound access to Miami Beach from the HOT lanes is a much more complicated
endeavor, and the City is not pursuing a southbound solution at this time. However, the
City of Miami Beach still considers the attached "Option 2" for northbound access as a
reasonable solution to this situation, and we respectfully request your continued
assistance on this issue. If you need additional information or assistance with any other
issue, please do not hesitate to contact me at myself (off: 305-673-7030, cell: 786-255-
6195) or City Manager Jorge Gonzalez (off: 305-673-7010, cell: 305-308-0663).
Sincerely,
~~ ~ ~~~
.~
Matti Herrera Bower
Mayor
Attachment
c: Honorable Kendrick Meek, Member of Congress
Honorable City Commissioners
Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager
~~
95 EXPRESS
I-195/I-95 Origin Destination Survey
An origin-destination survey was conducted on May 13 and 14, 2008 to
verify the model results related to demand from Miami Beach. This survey
was intended to identify potential "orders of magnitude" differences that
could require a reassessment of express lane market potential. The survey
did not include any new information on "willingness to pay," which was
assumed to be unchanged by any possible variation in existing traffic
patterns.
Procedures
Results
• Vehicle license plates were recorded at the I-195 westbound on-ramps at Biscayne
Boulevard and Miami Avenue.
• Vehicle license plates were recorded at the ramp between westbound I-195 and
northbound I-95.
• Vehicle license plates were recorded at each of the exit ramps on northbound I-95
between I-195 and 15151 Street.
• Traffic originating at Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Avenue was subtracted from
the survey as this would not be Miami Beach-originating traffic.
• All recording was done between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., thereby including all trips
originating on the Beach between 4 and 6 p.m.
• .Automatic Traffic Recorder {ATR) counts were made at each location to determine
the percentof vehiclesrecorded.
Field crews tended to under-recorded license plates by approximately 20% as
compared with ATR results. Those vehicles not included in the survey were onutted
randomly and therefore would not influence the deduced distribution of traffic
between through and local destinations.
Volumes recorded on the I-195 ramps are consistent with modeled volumes through
the facility.
Any vehicle license plate recorded at the I-195 ramps but not spotted at the exit
ramps south of 1515[ Street were assumed to be through trips. Consequently, most
errors in recording or matching of license plates between origin and destination were
inferred to be long-distance trips. The approximately 50% unmatched license plates,
therefore, is the highest likely number of through trips.
May 21, 2008
.~.
95 EXPRESS
Conclusions
• Approximately 1 out of 3 vehicles fi•om Miami Beach I-195 go north ~e on I-95. This
is consistent with the model results. This traffic was recorded as 1,650 vehicles per
hour during the PM peak.
• No more than half of the vehicles from Miami Beach that go north on I-95, are
making trips to locations north of NW 151 Street.
• Based on the data above, only 1 out of 6 vehicles from Mialni Beach using I-195 are
making trips for which using the express lanes would make sense. This translates
into 825 vehicles per hour during the PM peak.
• "Willingness to Pay" is the estimation of how many drivers for which the facility
offers the required connectivity would be willing to pay a toll vs. using the existing
alten~ate. Extensive, local surveying of potential users was undertaken as part of
investment grade traffic and revenue study. The results of this study indicated that
22% or approximately only 1 out of 5 people are estimated to be "willing to pay" the
toll even if using their trip could take advantage of the express lanes.
• During the PM peak, approximately 187 drivers from Miami Beach would be
expected to use the express lanes were a direct connection or mid-point access
available to them
Table 1
Origin-Destination Results
. .
Off Ram - NW 62 Street 5.74 2.93 4.34
Off Ram - NW 79 Street 6.7 7.6 7.15
Off Ram - NW 95 Street 7.63 6.98 7.31
Off Ram - NW 103 Street 8.14 8.22 8.18
Off Ram - NW 1 19 Street 5.36 6.22 5.79
Off Ram - NW 125 Street 4.58 7.99 6.29
Off Ram - NW 135 Street 7.07 7.56 7.32
Off Ram - NW 151 Street 2.59 2.76 2.68
Local Trips (Vehicles Leaving
Miami Beach on I-195 and going
to a oint south of 1515 Street
47.81
50.26
49.04
Through Trips (Vehicles
leaving Miami Beach on I-195
and going north of GGI~ _ 52.19 49.74 50.97
May 21, 2008
11~~~-f'otnt
.!-~~~~ss ,f~ltern~tive~
Opt~On ~ Tubular
Eliminate Second Express Delineators
Lane in Each Direction South
of NW GZnd Street
• Reduces travel time and trip reliability
• Serves fewer users To~I
Gantry
• Fails to adequately respond to highest
demand
• Under-serving the emerging
regional network
• Creates weaving problem at
the entrance
• Risks total shut-down in one lane
segment during an incident
• Increasestolls/reduces benefits
Tall
Gantry
,"512013 18:38 FAQ
fNARiO DIAZ-BALART
23n~ D~SYRICT, FiOwon
BUDi3ET COMMITTEE
TRANSPORTanoN ANo
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMffTEE
SpENCE AND
TECtiNOLOGV COMMITTEE
ASSISTANT WHIP
MEMBER, REPUBLICAN
HOUSE POLICY COMMITTEE
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Apri17, 2008
Mayor Matti Bower
City of Miami Beach
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Dear Mayor Bawer:
I~oo2~002
328 CAnwa+ House afiCE BuiU~4
WABwpIflTON, DC 20516
f292f225-777e
FAx: (2021226-0.'i48
niSTHICT OFxES:
12851 S.W. 42wn STREEY
Slxl'E 131
MWuv, fL 33176
f305122FrB8H6
F~ I3o6) ZZ6-7437
4715 GoU)EN GATE P~nKwAY
SURE Owe
NAPU:S, FL 34118
(2381348-1620
FAx: 12391 3a9-3699
it was a pleasure meeting with you and City Manager Jorge Gonzalez on April 2nd along
with Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart anal Congresswoman Ileana Roe-Lehtinen,
As per Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen's request I contacted Florida Department of
Transportation (FD01~ Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos regarding concerns you
expressed over the construction plan aad schedule for the I-95 Express Project. Based on
our conversation Secretary Kopelousos will be sending her Chief Engineer to Miami
Beach to meet with you and your staff in order to discuss the current plan and work to
address concerns expressed by the City.
I am hopeful that a positive solution can be reached quickly in order to ensure this vital
project is completed o~n schedule and in a mlanner that proves beneficial to Miami Beach.
Should you have any (questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Gc: Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos, FDOT
Jorge Gonzalez, City Manager, City of Miami $each
www. noua®.g ovlm ariodisi•bala rt
•
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
1700 CONVENTION CENTER DNIVE
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33 139
MAYOR
March 25, 2008
The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Member of Congress
2160 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Deer Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen:
First, I know that you have just been through a very intensive and challenging session,
which included some very difficult decisions on South Florida's critical funding needs,
including those of entities such as Miami Beach. I would like to express my appreciation
to you for all of your past support as well as your concern for and support of the City of
Miami Beach for FY2009 funding.
However, today I am compelled to write to you about a most critical and time-sensitive
matter of great concern to the City of Miami Beach and the surrounding area. It has
come to our attention that the I-95 Express Lane Project will have significant short and
long-term negative impacts on the City. We became aware of these impacts following a
presentation by representatives of the Florida Department of Transportation at the March
12, 2008 City Commission meeting.
Among the City's concerns are the closing of the ramp from I-95 to I-195 (Julia Tuttle) for
approximately 30 days for construction of the project in March 2009 (high-season), as
well as the placing of ingress and egress points to the variably-priced high occupancy
toll (HOT) lanes in locations that preclude the use of the express lanes for traffic to and
from Miami Beach.
The Coastal Communities Transportation Master Plan Final Report was issued in August
2007. and was a joint effort between neighboring coastal communities (Miami Beach,
Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbour, Surfside, and North Bay
Village), which considered the benefits of asub-regional transportation network within
the Coastal Communities and the mainland. In a joint effort with Miami-Dade Transit,
and in participation with the Coastal Communities Master Plan engaged in a parallel
study. the Coastal Communities Transit Plan.
One component of the Coastal Communities Transit Plan is to determine and implement
bus rapid transit solutions to further enhance bus travel time for east/west movement,
and 1-1951Julia Tuttle Causeway has been identified as a critical link to establish bus
rapid transit options to the Coastal Communities. The exclusion of this strategic
~" MATTI H. BOWER
1 •
connection will invariably impact any initiative to establish bus rapid transit service to the
Coastal Communities.
As you know, Miarni Beach, as an international destination and one of the most high-
profile cities in the nation, is a key enabler of economic development for not only Miami-
Dade County, but for the entire State of Florida, providing direct and indirect benefit to
millions of residents. One of this important economic asset's lifelines is f-195, which is a
critical transportation link that services the City's largest employers as well as the
Convention Center. The City believes it is in the best interest of everyone concerned that
an evaluation of the socio-economic impacts associated with this project, as well as
consideration of alternatives that maximize the positive impact of this project to the entire
community.
Given the significant Federal investment in this project, I look forward to discussing this
with you in more detail during our visit to Washington on April 2, 2008. In the meantime,
if we may be of assistance or you would like more information, please do not hesitate to
contact me at 305-673-7030, or Kevin Crowder, the City's legislative coordinator, at 305-
281-2279.
Sincerely,
Matti Herrera Bower
Mayor
c: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager