Behind every great public work is, naturally, the public. That’s why multiple public meetings have been held during the planning-study phase of the plan for a MDX multimodal corridor to serve the west end of Miami-Dade County.
On April 25, a Town Hall meeting took place to provide an additional avenue for input for the new Kendall Parkway. Now, the next and critical meeting is set for June 20 before the County Commission.
The Kendall Parkway is a new north-south expressway being proposed by the MDX Authority to run along the county’s western flank, from the point where SR 836 ends today at NW137th Ave., all the way south to SW 136th Street in West Kendall.
For the residents of this congested – and mostly gridlocked – area of the metropolitan area, the new Parkway spells relief. Southwest Miami-Dade has been the fastest growing area of the County with no additional major transportation infrastructure proposed to serve the 600,000 residents and businesses in the area.
It’s a proven fact that the Turnpike and the Palmetto Expressway simply cannot address the existing demand or the projected capacity needed to provide mobility in this area. Many residents, who are forced to spend an hour to an hour and a half each way in their daily commute, want those hours back into their lives – in the form of more time with the family.
But before the new Kendall Parkway becomes a reality, which could be as soon as three years from now, there are many steps that must be accomplished – with public input being key right now.
Miami-Dade County has submitted an amendment to the Comprehensive Master Plan to allow for incorporation of the Parkway in the county’s Comprehensive Master Plan. This amendment sponsored by County Commissioner Joe Martinez will be voted on by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners on June 20. Upon final approval by the County Commission, the project can break ground by the end of this year.
In order to make the Kendall Parkway a reality, business owners and residents who call West Kendall home need to speak at the public hearing – to let Commissioners know how the Kendall Parkway can change their quality of life. The public meeting takes place June 20 at 9:30 a.m., at the Stephen P. Clark Center at 111 NW 1 St., in downtown Miami.
This meeting must be as well attended as the April 25 Town Hall that was hosted by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Commissioner Martinez. More than 450 concerned citizens attended that informative event, the vast majority of whom showed up to show voice their support.
What they learned is that once the Parkway is in place, they will not only be able to access this new expressway within minutes of leaving home, but it also will feature a multimodal transportation corridor that includes Xpress Technology (XT) Lanes for bus-express transit. There is even a 14-mile nature trail for biking and jogging, and buffer areas to the urbanized area.
Now, leading up to the June 20 meeting, Mayor Gimenez and Commissioner Martinez, along with the MDX professional engineers and Miami-Dade County Planning staff, are studying the valuable input received from the public.
Over the next few weeks, they will review the opportunities and possibilities related to changing the current proposed north-south alignment of the highway to a path that runs a bit further west of SW 167th Ave. They are also looking at entrances to the 14-mile Nature Trail, friendly elevated connections, and park-and-ride options.
For information, residents are invited to check the MDX website for a “Congestion Calculator” that shows how much time they waste in traffic.
But right now, it is a known fact that the average round trip for West Kendall commuters takes:
- Three hours daily
- 15 hours weekly
- 780 hours annually (33 days in traffic)
- One year of life wasted in traffic over 10-years
Construction the Kendall Parkway, to cut the daily commute and reduce congestion for residents, could begin in 2019.
Visit www.mdxway.com/kendallparkway for more information.
Comments are closed.