Opening of the new West Kendall Transit Bus Terminal on SW 162nd Avenue will change bus services on six Kendall area routes beginning on Sunday, Feb. 27.
Located at 9155 SW 162 Ave., the station will provide free parking for 40 cars in an approximate one-acre space equipped with three roofed waiting areas to protect transit riders, according to Karla Damian, Transit information officer.
West Kendall service to and from the Dadeland area will be enhanced by extension of the Kendall Cruiser (Route 288) to the new terminal, which now will become a stop for both east and westbound passengers.
That route serving Kendall Drive utilizes 60-foot long buses equipped with driveroperated signalization, extending green lights to reduce driving times on Kendall Drive. Miami-Dade Transit now is testing a new Bus Tracker system that will allow passengers to check bus arrival times on the Internet or by Web-enabled mobile devices, Damian said.
West of SW 157th Avenue, approximately 400 riders will be affected by route changes, Damian said, advising that “at most, the impact will be catching their bus at another nearby stop or using an alternative route for their trip.
“Some passengers west of SW 157th Avenue may now have to catch their bus at a stop across the street, or around the corner,” she explained.
Routes 72, 88 and 104 will be extended to the terminal from SW 157th Avenue and Kendall Drive. Other changes include realignment of Route 204 (Killian KAT) to stop at SW 167th Avenue and SW 88th Street, only on eastbound mornings and westbound afternoons; Route 272 (Sunset KAT) no longer will be serving SW 167th Avenue, between SW 88th and SW 96th streets. (Riders can use Route 204/Killian KAT, Damian indicated.)
The Kendall Cruiser (Route 288) will continue to make stops at major Kendall Drive intersections between the terminal and SW 107th Avenue before it travels on the Snapper Creek Expressway (SR 878) to and from the Dadeland North Station. Details of changes for all six routes are shown on a Rider Alert website at <www.miamidade.gov/transit>.
The new Park and Ride station will serve as a convenient stop for the new West Kendall Baptist Hospital, now completing interior work for a planned April opening. Originally located within the Town Center master plan, the 30-acre hospital site was sold later to Baptist Health South to proceed with hospital construction.
The transit terminal adjoins an island rotary planned as the main west entry for the still-undeveloped Town Center complex, designed as a 1.1 million-square-foot regional retail center with major anchor stores, a hotel, multiplex theater, senior living facility and office buildings.
The property has remained with General Growth Properties Inc., a Chicago, IL, real estate investment trust, purchaser of the land from the Rouse Company, original planners of the 160-acre Town Center project.
Six-laning of Kendall Drive from SW 152nd to SW 162nd Avenue and opening of SW 162nd Avenue in 2009-10, enhancing bus and vehicle travel, were conditional requirements for the Town Center property as a development of regional impact.
