ADDENDUM  9.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

KEY INTENDED OUTCOME:
Ensure Comprehensive Mobility Addressing All Modes Throughout The City

HISTORY:

On March 1, 2017, the City Commission discussed a potential extension of the Miami Beach trolley service to provide a connection to the Wynwood/Midtown neighborhoods in the City of Miami. At the meeting, the City Commission requested that an update be provided at its April 26, 2017 meeting. The item was finally referred to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) for discussion at its September 27, 2017 meeting.  Pursuant to the City Commission's request, Transportation Department staff has been working with the City of Miami staff to identify opportunities to connect the cities of Miami Beach and Miami via expanded trolley service operating along the Venetian Causeway.

Miami-Dade County provides bus transit service along the Venetian Causeway connecting Omni Station in Miami to Washington Avenue/Lincoln Road in Miami Beach (Route A).  Route A connects the South Beach Local (to be replaced by the South Beach Trolley in November) with the City of Miami Trolley ServICe   As a result of weight restrictions imposed by the County along the Venetian Causeway bridges in 2014, the route and service plan was modified and currently consists of limited service between Omni Station and Sunset Harbour using smaller vehicles (cutaways) with limited passenger capacity, operating at approximately 30 minute headways on a limited schedule of 8 hours per day (7:00AM to 9:45AM and 2:00PM to 7:00PM). While the average monthly ridership along the original route prior to the limited service was approximately 20,000 passengers per month (approximately 670 passengers per day) until March of 2014, the average ridership along the current modified route has significantly decreased to 3,269 passengers per month (approximately 109 passengers per day) during Fiscal Year 2014/15, and 2,812 passengers per month (approximately 94 passengers per day) during Fiscal Year 2015/16.  For comparison purposes, ridership of the existing Miami Beach Trolley system for July of this year was as follows:

• Alton-West Loop: 36,161 or approximately 1,170 riders per day

• Middle Beach Loop: 140,270 or approximately over 4,000 riders per day

• Collins Link: 105,192 or approximately 3,400 riders per day

• North Beach Loop: 84,239 or approximately 2,700 riders per day

The South Beach Local is operated by the County but will be replaced by the City operated South Beach Trolley in November 2017.  The ridership on the South Beach Local as of April 2017 was 54,280 per month or 1,956 per day.

The City of Miami currently operates a Wynwood Trolley route from Omni Station to Wynwood (Attachment A). The service operates every 20 - 30 minutes from 6:30AM to 11:00PM, Monday through Saturday, with no service on Sundays. Ridership along this route is approximately 350 passengers per day (for the month of January 2017).  The City of Miami has not provided more recent ridership figures as yet.

The City of Miami also operates the Biscayne Trolley route which provides service along Biscayne Boulevard between the Brickell Avenue Financial District and Design District (Attachment B). The service operates approximately every 20 minutes from 6:30AM to 11:00PM, Monday through Saturday, and from 8:00AM to 8:00PM on Sundays.

ANALYSIS:

Miami Beach Transportation Department staff evaluated potential options to connect the current Middle Beach Trolley and South Beach Local (and planned South Beach Trolley) routes to the City of Miami Trolley service via the Venetian Causeway.  These options are shown in Attachments C and D and range in cost between approximately $2 and $3 million annually.  Due to weight limitations on the Venetian Causeway bridges, Cutaway vehicles similar to those currently used by the County on the Venetian Causeway are likely what would be allowed as shown in Attachment E. 

City of Miami staff has stated that it would not be able to contribute any funding towards the operation of a inter-city trolley connection service at this time.  City of Miami staff also has concerns that additional ridership demand on their existing Wynwood Trolley route could increase their operations cost.  Further, no funding was appropriated for this new service in the FY 2017/18 budget for the City of Miami Beach.Given the current funding constraints in the Transportation Fund, funding this potential service would result in increased transfers from the General Fund to the Transportation Fund which would need to be offset by service cuts in other areas of the General Fund.

Rather than replacing the County service on the Venetian Causeway, a better option may be to enter an interocal agreement with the County to enhance the service on the existing Route A depicted in Attachment F, given that a similar type of vehicle will be required regardless of who operates.  The Transportation Department has requested that the County provide order of magnitude costs for the following two (2) enhanced service scenarios:

1. If the service frequency, hours of service, and route alignment of Route A was restored to the original service level that was in effect in 2014 prior to commencement of the current modified service, the estimated incremental cost to the City of Miami Beach would be $223,000.  Attachment F depicts the original (pre-2014) route alignment of Route A.

2.  In addition to the above, if Route A alignment was extended from Omni Station to the Wynwood/Midtown neighborhoods, the estimated incremental cost to the City of Miami Beach would be $400,000.

CONCLUSION:

This item is presented to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee for discussion regarding whether to pursue either of the following 2 options:

1. Entering into an interocal agreement with the Miami-Dade County to enhance the service on Route A to the level that was in effect in 2014 prior to commencement of the current modified service, at a incremental cost to the City of Miami Beach of approximately $223,000. 

2. Entering into an interocal agreement with the Miami-Dade County to enhance the service on Route A to the level that was in effect in 2014 prior to commencement of the current modified service and extending the service,from Omni Station to the Wynwood/Midtown neighborhoods at an incremental cost to the City of Miami Beach of $400,000.

In either case a funding source would need to be determined.