$21.6M plan to connect pedestrian, bicycle trails Miami

$21.6M plan to connect bicycle, pedestrian trails
$21.6M plan to connect pedestrian, bicycle trails Miami
Trail on SW 157th Avenue typical of bike/pedestrian projects (artist rendering).

A“West End Connectivity Master Plan” designates 13 projects at a cost of $21.6 million for new bike and pedestrian trails in southwest Miami-Dade County.

More than two-thirds of the total funding will build two major items: a $10.2 million extension of the Black Creek Trail into southwest Kendall, and build bike lanes along SW 152nd Street, adjacent to the planned West Kendall District Park, for $6.7 million.

The initiative was generated by Miami-Dade District 11 Commissioner Juan C. Zapata to increase connectivity of local and regional bicycle and pedestrian paths and “create greater access to parks, libraries, schools and business nodes throughout the West End,” according to an introductory statement.

The master plan is divided in two sections, dividing the projects into those planned and budgeted through Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces and Public Works and Waste Management departments.

Master plan details were presented in March to members of the Miami- Dade Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), as prepared by Mark Heinicke, Parks senior planner, and Jeff Cohen, assistant chief in Public Works, coordinated by Stephanie Cornejo, District 11 administrator.

$13 MILLION IN PARK PROJECTS

Six projects totaling $13,154,554 are proposed under Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces planning, primarily designed to connect the Black Creek Trail biking/pedestrian network to parks and nature trails throughout southwest Miami-Dade County in District 11. They include:

•A linear park along SW 157th Avenue, linking an existing path from 59th Terrace to Sunset Drive by adding a new one-mile section north to Bird Road, a project due for completion by January 2016 (no cost provided).

• A greenway trail on a canal right-ofway along SW 137th Avenue from 96th Street to 104th Street, 0.46 miles, estimated at $494,000.

• A greenway trail on right of way along the east side of SW 142nd Avenue from Kings Meadow Park to 104th Street, one-third of a mile at a cost of $555,000.

• A greenway trail and sidewalk on the west edge of Camp Matecumbe along SW 142nd Avenue from 120th Street to 112th Street, eight-tenths of a mile, estimated at $1,047,000.

• Pedestrian bridge linking the West Kendall District Park to a Hammocks neighborhood at SW 159th Court, neighboring Gilbert L. Porter Elementary/PLC Schools for $766,000.

A regional project expanding District 11 connectivity, designated as one of two Black Creek Trail improvements, earmarks $10,292,554 for Phase B, a 9.2-mile “shared use” 12-foot wide trail paralleling Black Creek Canal. Phase B is linked to a Phase A project that extends Black Creek Trail 8.4 miles north of SW 184th Street.

The combined extensions connecting to added work on Krome Avenue by Florida Department of Transportation ultimately will provide an 18.5-mile multi-use path with a portion adjacent to the West Kendall District Dog Park off SW 157th Avenue.

The plan notes that TAP federal funding is currently being sought for Phase B, an approximate 2.5-mile link of the overall 9.2 miles of proposed trail.

$8.5 MILLION FOR PUBLIC WORKS

Seven improvement projects totaling $ 8,502,000 are listed on county right of way or county-owned property, not requiring acquisition action. The projects for planning and construction by MDC Public Works:

• Milling and resurfacing SW 141th Street from 152nd Avenue to 145th Place for 2,950 feet, at an estimated $293,000 cost.

• Bike path construction on SW 47th Street between Lamar Louise Curry Middle School (west of SW 158th Avenue) and W. Meadow Lake Dr., approximately 1,000 feet costing $51,000.

• Re-striping pavement to add bicycle uses along roadways in the Lakes of the Meadow, including a conversion of Meadow Lakes Drive from four to two lanes to allow bicycle lanes for 3.0 miles at $122,000.

• Installing bike lanes on SW 154th Avenue from 88th Street to 72nd Street with ramp access to Olympic Park and Kendale Lakes Library, approximately one mile, costing $242,000.

• Creating a bike lane by re-striping SW 72nd Street and SW 127th Avenue to connect to buffered bike lanes, west 117th Avenue for a one-mile distance, costing $520,000.

• Installing five-foot buffered bike lanes adjacent to sidewalks on SW 152nd Street between 157th and 147th avenues for one mile at a cost of $6,770,000.

• Creating a 10-foot shared use path along the west side of the SW 144th Avenue canal from 42nd Street to Ninth Terrace, two miles at a cost of $734,000.


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