This article has been republished with permission from the South Florida News Service.
City of Miami officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 9, for a new trolley route and Citi Bike station that could potentially change how residents move around Little Haiti.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Director of Transportation Sandra Harris and Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Kirwin spoke at the ceremony, held at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. Suarez stressed the importance of providing new transportation alternatives to the neighborhood.
“Having a free-circulating trolley that goes to the northern boundary of the city is something that is incredibly important to the Little Haiti area,” he said.
The trolley system now has 450,000 riders a month, according to Suarez. He said that with the addition of the Little Haiti route as well as future expansions, the count could rise past half a million. Suarez also commended the addition of the Citi Bike station installed last month, which added another form of transportation for those in need.
“Every neighborhood should have the same resources,” he said. “They shouldn’t be concentrated in some neighborhoods.”
Hardemon said the new transportation methods would help bring more people to Little Haiti.
“This is now officially a tourist destination,” he said.
Kirwin said the transportation services would help the community.
“What’s the parks guy doing up here talking about transportation?” he said. “Simple: Connect people to parks and cultural centers and you build a community, and that’s what this is about.”
The Little Haiti route opened Feb. 11, running from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. The route, which has more than 50 stops and can be accessed from the Wynwood and Biscayne routes, runs from Northeast 36th Street to 84th Street. Most of the stops are on either Northeast 2nd Avenue or Northwest 2nd Avenue, with additional stops on Biscayne Boulevard and North Miami Avenue.
The City of Miami Trolley app provides route information and real-time tracking of all trolleys. A web-based tracker is also available.
The Miami Citi Bike bike-sharing program works on an hourly, monthly or annual basis. Monthly subscription rates range from $15 to $25, while an hour pass costs $6.50.
Users can dock bikes at any Citi Bike station.
