Miami-Dade Residents Desire Expanded Mass Transit Options

It appears that Miami-Dade County residents want more mass transit. A recent straw ballot regarding the need to expand rapid mass transit shows that residents of Miami-Dade want to see the expansion of passenger rail service and believe that there is a need for mass transit.

According to Robert Wolfarth, chair of the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust (CITT), the outcome of the straw poll showed that almost 80 percent of the Miami-Dade County voters would support the expansion of mass transit. The CITT is the quasi-independent entity that oversees expenditures from the half-penny surtax for transportation. Wolfarth said CITT is working with transportation partners to ensure that rapid transit projects keep moving forward.

“Passenger rail is envisioned in several of the transit corridors in the County’s Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan to bring transit to all parts of Miami-Dade, and this reinforces the community’s support of those plans. The people have once again spoken,” said Wolfarth.

Among projects funded by the surtax are the expansion of Metrorail to Miami International Airport, a new Metrorail and Metromover fleet, a modern bus fleet with battery-electric and compressed natural gas buses, fare-free Metromover service, the Golden Passport Program that allows senior Miami-Dade County residents to ride the transit system free of charge, park-and-ride facilities, and municipal projects throughout the County, including trolleys, ride-share services and other local transportation projects, according to Wolfarth.

Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace has been a strong proponent of mass transit has said he wants residents to have more access to public transportation to get around the local area and to have easy access to downtown Miami.