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The transit system throughout Miami-Dade County and its municipalities provides more than options for mobility. It’s an integral part of the County’s response to climate change and the quality of life.
In early November 2023, Miami-Dade County’s District 4 Commissioner Micky Steinberg and Robert Wolfarth, chairperson of the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust, shared those views and more in a wide-ranging interview with CITT Executive Director Javier Betancourt on the Mobility Matters video podcast hosted by Miami’s Community Newspapers.
“I really come from a place of, ‘How we can make this better? How can we make the quality of life for our communities better?’” said Commissioner Steinberg, whose district covers portions of Miami Beach and coastal municipalities to the north. “I think the more that we offer in terms of mobility and transit options, hopefully [it] creates a culture where people get out of the cars. But if they’re going to have a car, I hope it’s electric or hybrid.”
“Coastal communities are Ground Zero for sea-level rise and you know we’re seeing now king tides and sunny-day flooding,” she said. “There’s no one solution to it but it’s about making sure we’re looking at our codes and making sure we’re building resiliently, and making sure that we’re doing everything in the infrastructure side.”
Mr. Wolfarth, who represents District 4 on the CITT, which provided the funding for new eco-friendly green buses, added, “It’s very exciting because we’ve now transitioned from diesel to hybrid, and so we have a huge fleet right now that’s been replaced. So, most of our fleet is pretty much new. Now, we’re transitioning into electric [electrical energy], which is even better. As the technology gets better with electric [electrical energy], we’ll be able to have less of a carbon footprint.”
Commissioner Steinberg and Mr. Wolfarth praised how municipalities are using proceeds from the half-penny sales surtax collected under the People’s Transportation Plan to fund free trolleys, on-demand services and pedestrian and bike paths.
“I was first [a] Miami Beach commissioner for eight years, and in that time, I was part of the Commission that actually moved the trolley system forward because it was so important to have the intra-city circulators. [They were in] such a high demand that we expanded upon that and we now have … all the different loops. And you know we really have a strong workforce that uses those trolley systems, and of course, our visitors and families,” she said.
“Miami Beach is very unique. It actually subsidizes its trolley system. They have a budget of about $9.5 million for their trolley system, and they get about half of it from PTP funds,” Mr. Wolfarth said.
Commissioner Steinberg and Mr. Wolfarth also expressed excitement for the County’s SMART Program that will extend transit to far-flung areas of Miami-Dade County.
“At the end of the day, it’s about connectivity, and connectivity can come in all shapes and forms,” Commissioner Steinberg said. “We want to make sure that we’re servicing all end users, whether it’s the workforce, [the] people [who] choose not to have a car, or whether it’s a senior community.”
To learn about the Trust’s role in overseeing how surtax dollars are used to enhance transit and transportation projects in Miami-Dade County, watch upcoming Mobility Matters video podcasts, streamed live every other Thursday, starting at 9 a.m., via:
www.facebook.com/TransportationTrust.
All Mobility Matters programs can be viewed on demand at: www.youtube.com/@communitynewspapers1946
