A “Green Trail” permitting six- or 12- story development at major street intersections has been proposed by Miami-Dade County planners for the 100-foot-wide “Ludlam Corridor.”
The design creates a continuing bike/pedestrian pathway on the abandoned Florida East Coast Railroad right-of-way from near the Dadeland North Metrorail Station to the southern boundary of Miami International Airport with intermittent zones for building north of SW 48th Street.
The 6.2-mile recreational trail concept features a continuing green landscape of pocket parks, biking and walking paths, benches, fountains, shade trees and buffered areas.
The plan results from February and March charrettes when District 6 and 7 residents joined the Florida East Coast Realty staff members to provide Miami-Dade County planners with suggestions to create a pedestrian- bicycling trail that could be integrated with compatible development.
“The object was to convert the original Florida East Coast proposal into something workable for both residents and the Florida East Coast ownership,” said Jess Linn, principal planner for the Urban Design Center.
“Areas for potential development are located adjoining major east-west streets, providing the opportunity to build overhead bridging to maintain trail connectivity,” he explained.
The plan would only allow development at major nodes and intersections, and none would abut single-family homes. No new streets are created and motorized access would be banned from the trail.
Over the southern two-mile section from SW 72 Street (Sunset Drive) to SW 40th Street (Bird Road), planners allocated 80 percent “Green Trail” and 20 percent for development, compared with a 75- to 25-percent ratio for the northern section.
Development limited to six stories would begin one block north of SW 48th Street, extending to one block north of SW 40th Street. In the northern three-mile section, six-story development would be located for one block on either side of SW 24th Street (Coral Way).
Development of 12 stories would be permitted for three blocks south and one block north of SW Eighth Street, and for a single block south of Flagler Street and along the east side of Robert King High Park to NW Seventh Street.
Miami-Dade County Commissioners, by an 8-3 vote on Dec. 5, 2014, directed that a new Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) filing replace a 2014 FECR trail proposal that aroused public objections during a series of public hearings last fall before reaching the commission on its Dec. 4 agenda, touching off another stormy protest.
On Dec. 5, the commission ordered charrettes for public input to allow its planners to develop a new trail design, incorporating suggestions by both residents and FECR.
On Apr. 21, by an 11-0 vote, commissioners ordered a new CDMP amendment for the May-November 2015 cycle “to reflect the results of the charrettes.”
The new plan now is included in the 2015 CDMP process, scheduled for publication in August, followed by Community Council public hearings in three districts during September. The plan would next go to the Planning Advisory Board for an October hearing before reaching commissioners in November. Final action by the commission would take place in February 2016.
For details and maps, visit miamidade.gov/business/planning-smallarea-studies.asp or call the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources at 305- 375-2513.
Since the corridor is only 100 feet wide, it is unrealistic to believe that a multi-story building can be constructed to give access for cars, the building itself, and still accommodate room for a path for bicycles and pedestrians. I see this as an attempt to win public support by using these 75-80% numbers, and then when the details emerge the Ludlam Trail will be broken up into little pieces. We need a contiguous, multi-use, world class trail that will be a destination and not an afterthought. No to any buildings on the Ludlam Corridor!