Photo by Flickr User ImageMD.
If you haven’t heard the news, head over to the Miami Herald and read about the Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) vote to reject the planned use of sales tax money to purchase new Metrorail cars. At least they are protecting the tax money that’s supposed to go towards new service.
Meanwhile, Miami Gardens is asking Miami-Dade to bump the North Corridor Expansion to Phase 1, presumably making it priority over the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) connector. I’m not sure what benefit they expect to see out of that, as the MIC connection is not using federal funds and is currently the only piece of the Orange Line that looks like it might get built.
The feds pointed out when they downgraded the rating that they didn’t trust Miami-Dade to fund Metrorail properly. This whole failure to refurbish the cars in a timely manner merely proves them right. The CITT is trying to get the point across that band-aid fixes won’t work anymore. MDT needs a solid funding plan to get out of the current hole it’s in, and an equally solid plan to fund expansion. Without that, the feds won’t give Metrorail a dime.
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Wow! thats a great idea! deprive the Intermodal Center that is currently under construction of its primary means of connecting to the county system and dump all that money into the north corridor! in doing so, they would throw the project back into planning even more because we still wouldn’t be close to coming up with the amount needed to construct the line. It bothers me how these municipalities are so short-sighted and are too busy looking at the trees to see the forrest.
Steven,
you don’t understand that there is no danger of the Earlington Heights extension not getting planned, and funded…..It’s pretty much ready to break ground. It is funded with 80% of PTP money, as opposed to 25%. That’s because the MPO decided that with the PTP funds, they had a blank check. In fact, it’s by far the biggest waste of PTP funds. Had they done it right, the Earlington Heights project could have been paid for by 50% federal money.
These are the types of mismanagement that the municipalities, and the CITT are rightfully upset about, and don’t worry, the county commission will find another way to fund the rail car project, now that our CITT has remembered the “independant” part of their title.
See current issue of Miami today for MDT’s invitation to bid on the Earlington Height’s projects…..
The MIA station is set, it’s going to get built whether people like it or not. The problem now is getting funding for the North line and the West line.
damn it i want my metro rail extension… how can we get involved to see some realtime effects? mass transit is not a possibility it is a necessity in a city that is filled with horrible traffic congestion. The FTA website likes to focus on the transit issues in Atlanta (not to mention district 4 offices are located in atlanta..how conveniant)….If you build the metro rail people will ride.. especially lines that go into the populated neighborhoods like the ones planned to be built. HOW DO WE GET INVOLVED??
Hi JM Palacios,
I am interested in speaking with you about the Metrorail extension. I am a student at F.I.U. and am writing a story on the expansion. Please contact me via the email I provided in the reply boxes.
Thank you,
Laura
I really appreciate it!