Miami Today: Week of Thursday, May 28, 2015

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM

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IN THE NEWS

Transit planners hear rail link pleas from South Dade, pg. 14 DOLPHIN STATION, 2017: A new parkand-ride facility will open to west Miami-Dade residents in 2017. The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) approved a planning and environmental study May 19 for the park and ride, using a $300,000 Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grant. The proposed new transit hub, which will be known as Dolphin Station, is planned on land owned by MDX and FDOT at the interchange of the Dolphin Expressway and Florida’s Turnpike. It will serve the Dolphin Mall and the adjacent cities of Sweetwater and Doral. Once it’s is completed, Miami-Dade Transit will operate and maintain the facility. Almost a year ago, county commissioners Rebeca Sosa and Javier D. Souto sponsored legislation for the bus rapid transit system and made it a top priority at the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization.

20-story hotel near Edgewater wins a city thumbs-up, pg. 22

THE ACHIEVER

KENDALL PARK-AND-RIDE: A 180-space park-and-ride lot for patrons of the Kendall Cruiser bus service could be open in January 2017 after Miami-Dade commissioners voted 11-0 to approve an agreement for the Florida Department of Transportation to pay half the cost of the $1.75 million project on Florida Power & Light-owned property on Southwest 127th Avenue near Kendall Drive. The county would pay its half of the cost with funds from the half percent sales surtax for transportation projects. BRAZIL MISSION: The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s AmericasLinkage program is to visit Brazil, the nation with Latin America’s largest economy, June 15-19. Participants on AmericasLinkage trade missions pay their own ways to meet with business and government executives. The flights booked through American Airlines are 30% off in business class, 35% off in coach, available from June 10-23. Registration fees of $600 for members and $750 for others do not include hotel bookings. Details: Liane Ventura, (305) 577-5445. OPA-LOCKA EXPANDING: Turnberry Airport Holdings LLC is to construct at least 85,000 square feet of aircraft storage and service hangars at Opa-locka Executive Airport under a revised lease agreement with the county that Miami-Dade commissioners approved 11-0. The company is to build two 30,000-square-foot hangars and a 25,000-squarefoot three-story building for general aviation operations and also eight acres of ramp space at the county-owned airport. The company has already invested $22 million at the site based on a loan from Florida Community Bank, and intends to invest another $17 million for the new facilities.

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Franz Hall

Expanding Jamaica’s business ties with the region The profile is on Page 4

86-year-old bridge to downtown being replaced BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

An 86-year-old drawbridge over the Miami River is due for a redo. The Southwest First Street Bridge carries eastbound traffic into the heart of downtown. The bascule bridge rises and opens to permit water traffic to pass. More than 8,500 cars a day traverse the span, owned and operated by the Florida Department of Transportation. But the bridge is considered structurally deficient. State officials have been meeting with Miami officials on the fate of the bridge, which is scheduled for replacement. Most recently, the status of the transportation department’s plans were discussed May 18 by the Urban Infill and Greenways Subcommittee of the Miami River Commission. Work to replace the bridge is set to begin in 2018 and be done in 2021. A project list from the state shows the estimated cost of replacing the bridge is $86,962,459. The bridge was completed in 1929 at a cost of $300,000. River commission officials learned that the state is through the Project Development & Environment phase and on to preliminary

AGENDA

engineering. Original plans called for the public riverwalk under the new bridge to be not at the river’s edge – the location the river commission prefers – but away from the water and along South River Drive and North River Drive. Subcommittee members were generally happy to learn the current plan shows the riverwalk on the water’s edge. Co-chair Jim Murley said the new design sounded good but he wanted more details. No renderings were presented at the meeting. Some concern was expressed because the state’s planned riverwalk is very narrow in spots and somewhat secluded from the street. The state may also be considering reducing driving lanes on the new bridge from the present four to three, and perhaps adding a bike lane. Those matters are expected to be discussed when a transportation department representative meets with the river commission June 1. Mr. Murley is also pushing for public art or large murals under the new bridge. The bridge is one of several bascule bridges on the Miami River. The book “Historical Highway Bridges of

Florida” says after a successful $2.15 million bond election in 1926, Miami made plans to construct five bridges over the river to facilitate expansion to the south and west of downtown. “As a navigable waterway, often crowded in those days with vessels hauling supplies into the city, the river required movable spans,” reads the book, published in 2004 by the transportation department’s Environmental Management Office. The drawbridges on the river – and more directly, the openings of those bridges for water traffic – have been a hot topic in recent years as traffic gridlock in Miami worsens. The traffic back-ups associated with the opening of the Brickell Avenue Bridge have caused radiators to overheat and tempers to flame. The added congestion that results from opening that bridge has led to a renewed call to bore a tunnel under the river so vehicular traffic on Brickell Avenue can move unimpeded. City Commissioner Francis Suarez recently revived the idea, and the river commission unofficially lent its backing.

Wynwood I-95 ramp travels fast A snowballing push to get a ramp from I-95 at 29th Street in Wynwood won another backer last week, this time the organization that plans county transportation. The Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization unanimously supported board member Audrey Edmonson’s motion urging the Florida Department of Transportation to make a study, adopt a plan and seek funds to built a ramp. Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami have passed similar resolutions. At the urging of board member Maurice Ferre, from the Miami Expressway Authority, the motion was amended to specifically request a solution. Mr. Ferre said the city had sought a ramp there while he was mayor from 1973 to 1985 but “it is against federal regulations in the studies. There are four studies that have been made on that.” The solution, he said, is to run a parallel road nonstop to access the expressway directly. “That’s an expensive solution, but it can be done.” The link to I-95 is vital, the planners heard from David Polinsky, who chairs the Planning and Transportation Committee of the Wynwood Business Improvement District, which is seeking the ramp. There is no I-95 ramp between 12th and 36th streets, Mr. Polinsky said, yet during rush hour from 5 to 7 p.m. the off ramp at 36th Street backs up for an hour. “If there’s a game going on at the American Airlines Arena it backs up for as much as an hour at a time” at 12th Street. “And if both happen to occur at the same time there’s basically no way for people to access the northern part of the urban core of Miami.” County Commissioner Edmonson said she had talked with the Florida Department of Transportation about a study and found agreement. When something is going on at American Airlines Arena, she said, “you can’t even move on 36th Street.”

UNPLANNED FAST AIRPORT GAINS HIKE CONTRACT FEE ...

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FOUR 60-STORY RIVERFRONT TOWERS MOVE FORWARD ...

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VIEWPOINT: LEGISLATIVE PAROCHIALISM TRUMPS ALL ...

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WORK STARTS ON BOOMING AREA APARTMENT TOWER ...

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SECOND CAR-SHARING SERVICE MAKES MIAMI DEBUT ...

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WYNWOOD TRIES TO DEAL WITH LATE HOURS FOR BARS ...

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ENDEAVOR MIAMI HELPS ENTREPRENEURS GROW JOBS ...

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COUNTY GETS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ADVICE ...

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