2019 Transportation Alternatives (TA) Application Cycle Now Open

The 2019 Transportation Alternatives (TA) application cycle is now open. The TA is a set-aside from the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation Block Grant program and funds the following types of transportation projects:

• Construction of on-road and off-road facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists
• Construction of turnouts, overlooks, and viewing areas
• Inventory, control, or removal of outdoor advertising
• Historic preservation and rehabilitation of historic transportation facilities
• Vegetation management practices to improve roadway safety, prevent invasive species and provide erosion control
• Archaeological activities relating to impacts from implementation of a transportation project
• Construction of boulevards and other roadways largely in the right-of-way of former Interstate System routes or other divided highways
• Safe Routes to School program
• Environmental mitigation activities including pollution prevention, abatement and mitigation of highway runoff, reduction of vehicle-caused wildlife mortality or restore habitat connectivity

A workshop on the TA application process will be held on Thursday, January 17th at 10:00 AM in the CITT Conference Room on the 10th floor of the Government Center, 111 NW First Street, Miami 33128.  You can also call in at 888-408-9943, access #6196936.

Learn more and apply here.

Learn More and Register here.

Factors Affecting Transit Ridership

The Miami-Dade TPO initiated this study to identify contributing factors for the decreasing trend in transit ridership in Miami-Dade County and to recommend potential actions. Transit data was reviewed to better understand the current state of transit ridership in Miami-Dade County and the contributing factors to changes in transit ridership. In addition, national research was conducted to understand ridership trends experienced by other transit agencies, causal factors, and strategies developed to mitigate transit ridership decline. Another key component of this study was a web-based survey conducted to obtain input from the residents of Miami-Dade County on the factors affecting transit use (the survey provided informal feedback on service from individuals that may or may not use transit today, and is not necessarily representative of the general cross section of the population). Overall, 1,755 completed surveys were received, which included 1,164 responses from transit users and 591 responses from non-transit users.

Read the Executive Summary, Full Report, and Appendices.

“Transit Mobility Civic Dinners” Extended!

The Transit Mobility Civic Dinners initiative has been extended for the entire month of November! Civic Dinners are being set up to gather feedback on the current needs of public transportation users, the daily barriers to frequent ridership, and what it will take to develop and maintain a world-class transportation system. 

• Want to learn how to be a Host? If you are interested in leading one of the Transit Mobility Civic Dinners this week, a “How To” video is available here.
  
  
• Want to attend an event? Find one to participate in and/or request an invite here for a future event. Remember that more events will be added daily as more Hosts sign up.

We hope you join us at the table!

 South Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Video

Miami-Dade County Vision Zero Plan

The Vision Zero program is dedicated to eliminating deaths and serious injuries from the transportation network and has been implemented in numerous areas throughout the world.

The proposed 2018 Miami-Dade Vision Zero Plan is a systematic approach to implementing safety countermeasures and policies to reduce, and ultimately eliminate fatalities and serious injuries related to mobility in Miami-Dade County. Key objectives of this Plan include: establishing a methodology by which crash statistics can continue to be used to determine priorities for crash locations improvements; measuring the ongoing progress of the Plan; providing a means to engage local government and citizenry; and offering specific guidance on proven safety countermeasures.

In keeping with the goal of Vision Zero, and based on a thorough review of the state-of-the-art, this Plan proposes the total elimination of all traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by the year 2030, which recognizes that progress will take time. Some efforts may not yield visible results immediately. Stakeholders need to bring both a strong sense of urgency to their efforts, as well as a focus on sharing and measuring efforts as they develop longer-term investments in safety.

Read the Plan here.

Miami-Dade County Freight Plan

Miami-Dade County is home to a well-established and expanding freight transportation system. This system serves as the cornerstone of the region’s economy, providing goods and services to Florida’s largest consumption market as well as connecting the region to the global economy through major sea and air gateways, taking into account emerging and future technologies. 

The June 2018 update of the Freight Plan, by the Miami-Dade TPO, highlights the importance of freight mobility in Miami-Dade County, updates the County Freight Plan from 2014 to 2018, develops an application for a Miami-Dade County designated Freight Logistics Zone (FLZ) and coordinated with freight stakeholders in the preparation of an updated list of transportation needs. The list of projects developed in this update will be considered for funding in the development of the TPO’s Year 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan (2045 TPO LRTP).

The existing air, port, rail, truck and roadway transportation facilities complement the largest warehouse/distribution center agglomeration in the State as well as the international banking and brokerage infrastructure that facilitates international trade activities for the region.

Read the Plan here.

Miami-Dade County Freight Logistics Zone (FLZ) Designation

In 2015, the Florida Legislature created a new section in Florida Statutes Chapter 311, “Designation of state freight logistics zones (FLZs)”. FLZs provide a framework for directing potential funding to freight projects within the defined boundaries. These designations have the potential to qualify projects for funding or incentive programs, and ultimately compete for available funding.
 
FLZs by definition increase the efficiency of freight moving to, from, and through the designated area. The proposed Miami-Dade FLZ includes the entire county and encompasses key subareas that provide for freight and logistics operations, and also captures other key operations including workforce training (e.g., colleges, universities, industry training programs) that typically are located outside of the industrial areas. The intent of this approach to FLZ designation is to provide the county and its municipalities with the ability to market the entire county for a full range of freight and logistics related activities.
 
The proposed FLZ designation was prepared as part of the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) 2018 Update to the Miami-Dade County Freight Plan.

Read the Plan here.

Nondiscrimination: Title VI, ADA and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)

The Miami-Dade TPO has set a policy that assures that no person shall on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, family, or religious status, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination or retaliation under any program or activity. The following information supports the TPO’s Title VI/DBE Program:

• Title VI Policy Assurance Statement
• Title VI/Nondiscrimination Complaint Procedures
• Limited English Proficiency Plan (LEP)
• DBE Assurance Statement

The Miami-Dade TPO Governing Board approved the following two federally mandated major documents during their April 26, 2018 meeting:

Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)

The FYs 2018/19 & 2019/20 UPWP describes the transportation planning activities to be managed by the TPO in and for Miami-Dade County. Tasks included in this document are scheduled to be conducted during the fiscal period beginning July 1, 2018 and ending on June 30, 2020. The document reflects metropolitan transportation planning work tasks to be funded with Federal, State or Local transportation funds, and the agencies responsible for implementing the various tasks included in the program. The use of the Federal funds shall be limited to transportation planning activities affecting the transportation system within the Miami Urbanized Area. Projects in the UPWP address required work activities and agreed upon Local, State, and Federal transportation planning issues and priorities.

View the UPWP here.

Public Participation Plan (PPP)

The PPP document is a Federal requirement, which is updated periodically to ensure compliance with newly released federal and state regulations. This update is a result of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Public involvement (PI) is an integral process with a goal to involve all persons in a community, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, family or religious status, being affected positively or negatively by a future transportation project. PI is a two way communication stream aimed at incorporating the views, concerns, and issues of the public into the transportation decision making process, which is on-going in all phases of a project. lt allows the general public to be informed and to be heard. The PPP provides general guidelines for the development of stand-alone, specific public involvement plans for the TPO's required major planning documents, programs, and studies. This affords flexibility to TPO Project Managers to tailor PI techniques and strategies to a community's demographics within a study area.

View the PPP here.

New SMART Plan Transit Oriented Development Video

Click arrow above or see this video on our YouTube Channel.

2017 Miami-Dade TPO Annual Report

The Miami-Dade TPO’s 2017 Annual Report details the accomplishments achieved by the TPO Governing Board and staff. This includes the advancement of the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit “SMART” Plan through several bold steps taken to increase momentum and establish directives that are critical to the success of the SMART Plan. The report also discusses how the SMART Plan is aimed at providing solutions through mobility options. Finally, there is information regarding the various activities TPO staff was engaged in, as well the various studies that are “Thinking Big” about improving the overall transportation system.

View the 2017 Annual Report as a Flipbook or download the PDF.

Connecting the Highways Network Missing Links Study

The purpose of this Miami-Dade TPO study is to evaluate the existing and planned highway network and provide the needed connectivity to meet the future demand in accessing major employment and activity centers in Miami-Dade County. This document details the efforts undertaken to evaluate the existing conditions of the three potential missing highway segments defined as follows: SR-826/Palmetto Expressway from Golden Glades Interchange (GGI) to North Miami Beach; SR-112/Airport Expressway to Palmetto Expressway and Turnpike; and SR-874/Don Shula Expressway from the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike (HEFT) to SR-836/Dolphin Expressway Southwest Extension (Under Planning Phase).  The study includes an overview of the Year 2015 land use, traffic volumes, levels of service, congestion, speed scans, safety and connectivity around the missing connections. Furthermore, future conditions sections for each of the study corridors are included to present readily available information for 2020-2030 land use, planned programs and 2040 levels of service In addition, the 2040 Southeast Regional Planning Model version 7.071 (SERPM 7) was used to analyze three grade-separated build alternatives that were developed after the existing conditions analysis in conjunction with the project team and the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) members.

Download the Connecting the Highways Network Missing Links Final Report, December 2017.

Miami-Dade Multimodal Accessibility-Based Needs Analysis Study

Develop an Alternative Needs Assessment methodology based on accessibility performance metrics. This analysis approach is to be used to evaluate the 2040 LRTP improvements to test the methodology in advance of the 2045 LRTP Plan Update. The Multimodal Accessibility based needs analysis tool addresses FHWA Ladders of Opportunity planning emphasis area.

Download the Miami-Dade Multimodal Accessibility-Based Needs Assessment Final Report, February 2018.

Engaging the Community in 2017

The Miami-Dade TPO continuously looks for ideas to improve our transportation system. How do we do that? Staff goes out to schools, colleges, universities, places of work, and community events to educate, encourage participation, and generate awareness about the complex world or transportation. It is our responsibility to document citizens’ needs, comments, and concerns, and encourage them to provide their ideas to create a more efficient transportation system for Miami-Dade County. As a result of this effort, during 2017, staff participated in over sixty-five events throughout the community.

• Be part of the solution today by contributing to the process! Call us at (305) 375-1888 or email pchance@miamidadempo.org

Check out our 2017 Public Involvement Outreach Events as a Flipbook or PDF.

Federal Planning Emphasis Areas Study

The objective of this study is to address the renewed focus on transportation planning brought about the "Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act" (FAST Act) by developing process improvement recommendations to ensure that the federal PEAs are addressed in the Miami-Dade TPO’s 3-C planning process; a process that is cooperative, continuous, and comprehensive.

Download the Federal Planning Emphasis Areas for Miami-Dade County, November 2017.

Addressing Compliance of 2045 LRTP Update with Federal, State, Regional and Local Requirements Study

The objective of this study is to review, evaluate, and recommend new policies, programs and trends that evolved at the federal, state, regional and local levels since development of the current 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). Current laws applicable to LRTPs were reviewed and evaluated. New requirements have been identified and evaluated as to how they will need to be applied to the upcoming 2045 LRTP. At the Federal level, there are many factors to consider that have a direct impact on the planning process at the state and local level. Federal and State statutes outline the required elements of MPO Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTPs).

Download Addressing Compliance to the 2045 LRTP Update with Federal, State, Regional and Local Requirements, November 2017.