Miami and the surrounding metro area is notorious for lacking a good mass transit infrastructure. I doubt it will ever get to the level of New York, London, Chicago, or many other cities with great mass-transit options, but there are a few upcoming projects and improvements for Miami's transit system. This will be the thread to report updates or post anything regarding transit in Miami/Fort Lauderdale.
For those who have no knowledge of the current system, Miami's downtown is really the only area with a good infrastructure right now. Other than buses, the three major parts of the transit system are
Metromover, a system of three lines that are mainly in and around downtown Miami. It is an automated people mover (APM) system similar to ones found at many airports around the world, except larger and more complex. It connects with
Metrorail at two transfer stations. Metrorail is a single line heavy-rail line which goes to several suburbs as well as downtown. It connects with
Tri-Rail, a commuter rail line that stretches the entire length of the metropolitan area (72 miles), from Miami International Airport in the south to the northern Palm Beach County suburbs in the north.
Current Metromover Map
Current Metrorail Map
Tri-Rail Map
Expansions/Improvements
The first expansion of the transit system will be to create a new extension of metrorail to Miami International Airport. Currently, a rider must transfer to Tri-Rail, which only takes you to a terminal across the street from the airport. Then you must take a bus to the terminal itself. This involves too many transfers and therefore is not appealing to most travelers and residents. The new metrorail line, which will go from Earlington Heights station to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), has received 100% of its funding and at this point is a sure thing. Land acquisition is also complete and construction is expected to begin in less than a year. Completion is estimated for 2010. Hopefully this will help out the system's poor ridership numbers. In Atlanta, MARTA was considered a failure until the airport station was added. Then it become a profitable system which was considered practical. Hopefully the Miami metrorail will undergo the same kind of transformation with the addition of this critical airport station. Unlike the current Tri-Rail station which doesn't provide direct access to the airport, the new MIC will feature a people mover which will take passengers from the metrorail station to each terminal of the airport, encouraging more people to actually use the new station.
http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/cor...mic-e_home.asp
Below is an artist's rendering of the MIC/airport metrorail station:
The second phase of metrorail expansion will be the addition of the
North Corridor Line. This line will service the northern parts of Miami-Dade County and will be nearly 10 miles of elevated heavy-rail from the existing Martin Luther King station to the Dade/Broward county line. The main attraction serviced by this line will be Dolphin Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins, and possibly the future home of the University of Miami Hurricanes. Stations would be placed at Northside Mall, Miami-Dade community college, Bunche Park, Opa Locka, Miami Gardens, Dolphin Stadium, and Calder Race Course near County Line Road. It would run primarily along NW 27th Avenue.
The North Line is not a guarantee, but chances are it will get built. A few months ago, the Federal Government agreed to provide funding for the line, and land acquisition has begun. If everything goes as planned, construction will begin in 2009 and be complete in 2013.
http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/cor...dor/n_home.asp
The third phase of metrorail expansion is the East-west corridor. This line would run from the MIC/Airport Station, which is currently under construction, to Western Miami-Dade county near Florida International University (FIU). It would service many densely-populated areas and would hopefully bolster ridership numbers tremendously. The line would be over 10 miles in length and would have stations at Miami International Airport, Waterford, NW 72nd Avenue, Red Road, 87th Avenue, 97th Avenue, 107th Avenue, FIU, Flagler Street, and Blue Lagoon.
The line is less of a guarantee than both of the previous two mentioned, but still has a legitimate shot. It would be farther into the future, with construction not starting until late 2011 at best and not being complete until 2016. It also has not received much funding
yet and land acquisition is still in the planning stages. Nevertheless, this project is one to be excited about as it will service areas that really need mass transit and don't have it right now.
http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/cor...or/ew_home.asp
Also in the preliminary stages are possible extensions to Miami Beach, South Dade county, Kendall, and Aventura. The most likely of these is Miami Beach and Kendall. Possibilities for Kendall include light-rail or commuter rail, both of which could potentially happen very soon within the next few years. Some residents oppose this though and would rather see heavy-rail like metrorail, but would have to wait much longer for this if that's what they desire.
Here is the MDT map of what the metrorail system could look like in 15-20 years, if all of the proposed extensions were built. The orange lines are the ones for which plans are far along and will be built sooner, and the grey lines are the proposed extensions farther out into the future.
Below is a map showing all of the proposed extensions in red with the existing metrorail and metromover lines in black:
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