Mayor Gimenez is citing frugality as the reason behind a decision that favors bus rapid transit over an earlier proposal for new rail lines.
Douglas Hanks reports: "Miami-Dade can’t afford to build more rail lines and should invest millions in transit dollars creating modernized express bus systems running north and south, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Monday."
Instead of rail lines, Mayor Gimenez is proposing a $534 million proposal for bus rapid transit routes. The proposal would "indefinitely defer the Metrorail expansion promised voters in 2002 during a referendum for a half-percent transportation tax that currently generates about $250 million a year," according to Hanks. That potentially defunct expansion, called the SMART plan (short for Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit), is detailed in article by Michael Vasquez from April 2016.
The article by Hanks provides a lot more detail on the political debate surrounding the city of Miami's transit investments. The bus rapid transit plans are a departure from earlier statements by Mayor Gimenez, who unveiled the SMART plan during his re-election campaign last year, and aired a television ad under the headline "More Rail Lines."
Hat tip to Rachel Dovey for sharing the article and adding more context on the political cause for transit in one of the country's most congested cities.
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