At the April 27, 2018 Transportation Workshop, the City Commission discussed the need to evaluate transit options, including Bus Rapid Transit, to improve mobility throughout the coastal communities along the AIA corridor. At the workshop, it was recommended that the City Commission request that the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) conduct such a study.
Congestion is a serious issue along the AIA corridor as demonstrated by the existing Peak Directional Level of Service of C, D, and F and 2035 Future Peak Directional LOS of D and F along the length of the AIA/Collins Avenue corridor between cities of Aventura and Miami Beach.
In 2007, the Coastal Communities Transportation Master Plan, funded by the Miami-Dade TPO for Miami Beach and other coastal communities, recommended enhancing regional coastal transit though Bus Rapid Transit and a Collins Avenue Corridor Study to identify ways to increase capacity along the AIA/Collins Avenue corridor.
The adopted 2016 Miami Beach Transportation Master Plan designated a transit priority network which included the AIA/Collins Avenue corridor from 17th Street on the south to the city limit on the north. This transit priority corridor is envisioned to be served by a network of dedicated transit lanes and express bus service as well as local bus and trolley service, all of which are intended to effectuate a mode shift from the private vehicle trips to transit trips.
From a regional perspective, transit ridership is strong along the AIA corridor, despite a decrease in of 17% for MDT routes along the AIA corridor, between FY 2016 and FY 2017. For the month of March 2018, the average daily ridership on regional County bus routes operating along the A1A corridor was 21,435.
By comparison, average daily ridership on the City's Trolley routes operating at least partially along the A1A/Collins Avenue corridor has been strong, with the North Beach Loop carrying 2,353 passengers; Collins Express carrying 4,600 passengers; and the Middle Beach Loop carrying 2,090 passengers. Some of this ridership has potentially pulled ridership from the regional routes, which prior to trolley operations were the only option even for internal trips.
While ridership on Miami-Dade County routes have been declining over time, the recently approved FAR increase in the North Beach Town Center area is anticipated to lead to substantive growth in North Beach, and the area is envisioned to become a multimodal community with a high potential for mass transit.