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MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION 
c/o Robert King High
1407 NW 7 St., 
Suite D
Miami , FL   33125

  Phone 305 644 0544
Fax 305 642 1136
 

The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, Miami- River Commission (MRC), Miami River Marine Group, Miami River corridor residents, business owners, stakeholders and the general public met on Friday, April 13, 2007, 10:30-Noon, at 1407 NW 7 ST, for a public workshop to discuss the Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan. The sign in sheet is attached.

I. Introductions and Presentations

Mr. Jim Murley , Chair of the MRC’s Urban Infill Working Group, welcomed meeting attendees to the public workshop and introduced Mr. David Henderson, Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Ms. Ammie Rogers, Kimley-Horn & Associates (KHA), the consulting firm selected by the MPO to perform the study. Mr. Murley noted both the MPO and the MRC have made a variety of material available to attendees for today’s meeting, such as an Executive Summary, a matrix of multi-modal transportation recommendations within the Lower, Middle & Upper River , printed copies of the entire draft for review, and CD’s of the final draft plan.

Mr. Henderson thanked attendees for their participation and provided a brief PowerPoint presentation highlighting the need to create new multi-modal forms of transportation along the Port of Miami River .  Mr. Henderson noted the Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan will assess transportation conditions along the Miami River, from NW 36 Street to the mouth of the river; summarize planned improvements; target traffic deficiencies; recommend new projects to improve access and mobility along the river. Mr. Henderson added the completion of the Plan will help position the Miami River corridor to be included in the State’s Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) Plan, which in turn will make the river corridor eligible for significant State transportation funding, which may be utilized towards implementing the study’s recommendations. Transportation modes that will be considered, noted Mr. Henderson, include surface transportation (vehicular, mass transit, pedestrian, rail, freight, etc.) and water-based transit (water buses/freight, etc).

Mr. Henderson stated the MPO and KHA had conducted presentations and provided updates of the plan’s progress to all related agencies, including but not limited to the City of Miami , Miami-Dade County , FDOT, MDX, MPO, MRC, the Miami River Marine Group, the Transportation Planning Technical Advisory Committee and the Transportation Planning Council.  Mr. Henderson added the MRC’s Urban Infill Working Group had and will continue to place the “Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan” on the agenda of their regularly scheduled second Tuesday of the month, 10 am, publicly noticed meeting, at 1407 NW 7 ST.      

Questions/Comments:

• Mr. Carlos Gascon, Publix Supermarket, stated a pedestrian had be killed in a recent accident in the one-way block of SW 3^rd Ave , and asked if the plan considered two-waying NW 3^rd Ave from NW 7 to NW 6 ST, and Mr. Bibeau and Ms. Rogers replied the aforementioned recommendation had been implemented in the final draft Transportation Plan.  Mr. Gascon stated he hoped the Plan’s recommendation would be implemented in the near future, and noted it is also supported by the adjacent Finnegan’s River.

• Ms. Jasmine Yacinthe, Gannett Fleming, asked for the river’s current Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) designation, and Ms. Rogers replied the draft Plan concludes the Miami River exceeds the criteria to be designated on SIS facility amd FDOT is currently considering designating the Miami River as a waterway; Ms. Yacinthe asked if there were any impacts if the river is not designated a waterway, and Mr. Murley replied the designation would make the river corridor eligible eligible for significant State transportation funding.

• Ms. Sallye Jude , MRC, asked if the plan would improve pedestrian access to the Flagler and 1^st Street bridges, and Ms. Rogers replied the following recommendations had been implemented on page 77-78 of the final draft plan: “Remove fence blocking the sidewalk in the vicinity of the North River Drive and Flagler Street (surface street) intersection. The fence blocking the sidewalk creates a safety concern for pedestrians. In addition, the fence extends east along Flagler Street for a block. The fence blocking access to the staircase leading to the Flagler Street Bridge needs to be removed and the stairs need to be refurbished and maintained” and “Install pedestrian amenities at SW 1st Street Bridge. Provide pedestrian crosswalks and an enhanced pedestrian pathway leading up to the SW 1st Street Bridge staircase to serve as a continuous pedestrian facility, to provide access to the bridge across the river, and to provide access to the bus service on the bridge. Install lighting at the pedestrian bridge crossing, on both the east and west sides of the river.”

• Ms. Jude noted an ongoing issue of parents of Centro Mater students blocking traffic lanes on SW 4^th Avenue and SW 5^th Street when dropping/picking them up at school. Ms. Rogers explained the plan could not enforce existing traffic laws, yet noted page 76 of the plan recommended the following: “Install pedestrian crosswalks on all approaches at the intersection of SW 4^th Avenue and SW 4th Street. This intersection provides an important connection between Jose Marti Park and the residential community west of SW 4^th Avenue. In addition, schoolchildren from Centro Mater use the intersection to access the park.”

• Ms. Jude suggested inserting “new” in front of pedestrian in “Install pedestrian amenities at SW 1st Street Bridge” (page 78). Ms. Rogers agreed to incorporate that revision

• Captain Robert Bijor, Island Queen Cruises, asked if the consultants were working in unison with the U.S. Coast Guard 7^th District regarding enforcement of regulations along intercoastal waterways, specifically the inconsistency between state and county-owned bridge openings along the river, which impact boat and vehicular traffic. Mr. Bibeau verified that delayed bridge openings remains an ongoing issue along the river, noting the 11^th Annual Miami Riverday Festival as an example, when the bridges did not open on demand on a weekend as required by Federal Law. Mr. Bibeau suggested hosting a quarterly meeting with the river’s bridge tenders to address this issue, as well as implementing an automatic extension of green traffic lights when the bridges go down. Ms. Rogers noted she would add the recommendation for quarterly bridge tender meetings recommendation in the draft’s bridge section.

• Dr. Fran Bohnsack, Miami River Marine Group, asked if water taxis are incorporated in the final draft plan, and Ms. Rogers replied Kimley-Horn had recommended utilizing water taxis as a mode of waterborne transportation, accommodating 2-70 people while honoring the river’s different vertical bridge clearances. Mr. Robert Weinreb , City of Miami, suggested looking into solar vessels (low-wash catamarans), which can accommodate up to 100 people, travel at 8 knots, is only 15-feet tall. Mr. Weinreb agreed to forward this vessel’s information to the consultants, so that the recommendation may be incorporated into the plan. Mr. Murley suggested conducting ongoing discussions to address the correlation between the plan’s infrastructure improvements and the river’s operational issues. Dr. Bohnsack agreed to offer her assistance.

• Mr. Eran Spiro asked if there was a code/law to ensure that areas along the river’s banks are kept clean, and Mr. Bibeau replied the MRC hosts and participates in numerous volunteer river clean-up/beautification events to improve the area. Mr. Bibeau also noted the Scavenger 2000, a de-pollution vessel, in also present along the river, removing debris, while purifying and oxygenating the water.

• Mr. Spiro asked if the consultants had considered incorporating an energy-efficient lighting system along the river’s bridges, as well as painting the river’s bridge spans, to beautify the area-similar to Paris and Amsterdam- and Ms. Jude replied a plan had been drafted years ago suggesting the creation of a colored up-lighting system, the installation of way-finding signage, the painting of bridges, etc., but had never been implemented. The consultants agreed to incorporate the aforementioned recommendations in the draft plan.

• Mr. Michael Chenowoth, former Chair of the Miami River Clean-up Committee, expressed his concern over an aerial depicting a riverwalk planned on his property. Mr. Bibeau pinpointed Mr. Chenowoth’s property on the map, and clarified that an on-road greenway would be constructed around his property, located adjacent to the river development, Reflections on the River, which is planned to have a riverwalk.  Ms. Ashley Chase, MRC Assistant Managing Director, noted she would add Mr. Chenowoth to the MRC database so that he may receive all MRC meeting notices.

• Mr. Phil Everingham , Vice Chair of the Miami River Commission, asked if vessels and recreational boats would have access to the land from the water, and Mr. Bibeau replied yes, adding cleats for temporary dockage along the Riverwalk is a recommendation of the Miami River Greenway Action Plan which is incorporated into the Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan.

• Mr. Chenowoth stated access from NW 5^th Street to José Martí Park has been blocked, and noted the park’s parking facility across from Finnegan’s River has become a semi-truck staging site. Mr. Bibeau explained that the construction of the park’s new elevated gymnasium has caused the temporary inconvenience.

• Ms. Yacinthe asked if the plan would recommend the installation of historic signage along the river, and Mr. Bibeau replied the MRC continues to recommend the preservation of historic sites and the installation of historic markers along the Miami River . Mr. Bibeau added that six historic bilingual markers had recently been installed in Lummus Park, Fort Dallas Park, Point Park, E.G. Sewell Park and José Martí Park, funded by a grant from the Villagers, Inc.

• Mr. Everingham asked if the plan required adoption, and Mr. Murley noted the final plan would be brought before the MRC for adoption.

Mr. Murley again thanked everyone for the attendance, and encouraged all agencies and the general public to continue participating in the MRC Urban Infill Working Group’s second Tuesday of every month 10 am meeting at 1407 NW 7 ST to receive updates on the progress and implementation of the “Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan”.

The meeting adjourned

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