The Coral Gables Trolley will launch a new east-west route in October, running from the Douglas Road Metrorail Station west mostly along Ponce de Leon Boulevard all the way to Red Road (SW 57th Avenue).
The route will be part of a pilot program according to Matt Anderson, assistant director of mobility and accessibility in the city, who gave an update on the trolley at the July 16 meeting of the Parking Advisory Board. It will run from the metrorail station parallel to U.S. 1 along Ponce – giving access to the Shops at Merrick Park, the University of Miami, and even downtown South Miami near the soon to be demolished Shops at Sunset Place – before turning around at Red Road.
Updated trolley and mobility plan coming
Anderson went on to say that in addition to the upcoming new route, City Manager Peter Iglesias asked the mobility and sustainability department in the city to start a trolley and mobility master study with a consultant. “We will be looking at overall routes, ridership and everything that has to do with the trolley,” Anderson said, adding that the last time the city did a trolley study was in 2013.
Upgrades to trolley stops will cost 40 parking spots
Even before the new route starts service, Anderson said that the city has already started a project to upgrade existing trolley stops, including 16 that will get shelters and many others that will get benches and other upgrades. In total, 40 to 50 of the 65 stops will be upgraded. The project is slated to take 4 to 5 months.
As part of the $1 million grant the city received for the upgrades, it will have to bring the trolley stops into American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, and that means that the city will lose 40 on street parking spots along Ponce. That did not sit well with some parking board members.
Board Member Lisa De Tournay, in particular, was critical of the decision especially since the lost parking spots would not even be considered as part of a future Parking Master Plan Study the board recommended and the City Commission approved. Adding to her frustration, Parking and Mobility Services Director Monica Beltran informed the board that the city manager had asked for the mobility plan to be prioritized over the parking plan.
“Our entire grievance with the city since I’ve been here for the last two years is that they are taking parking spots. Now, they are taking 40 more,” DeTournay said, adding that the parking master plan was approved in February, almost 6 months earlier, but now it would be put behind another plan in order of importance.
Beltran insisted that the parking plan had not been eliminated and that the mobility plan was an essential part of the overall parking dynamic in the city, reminding the board that the over one million passengers had enormous positive impacts for parking availability.
Even so, DeTournay and other board members expressed frustration that their recommendations were not given priority by the commission.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” said Board Member Stuart McGregor, who attended the meeting via Zoom. “There’s just so much we can do. We’re an advisory board and that how they take (our recommendations) – ‘We’ve taken it under advisement…thank you very much.’”
Ridership down 2.5 percent on trolley; Up on Freebie
Overall, Anderson said that trolley ridership was again on pace to top a million passengers again this fiscal year, although he acknowledged that it was down 25,000 rides compared to the same period last year, matching decreases in overall traffic and parking. The assistant director attributed the reduction to weather and people traveling although it wasn’t clear how, or if, those factors were up or down the previous year.
Even so, he said that “Ponce continues to be very, very busy.”
And while trolley ridership was slightly down, Anderson said that ridership of Freebie was up 5,000 passengers – 58,000 through June this fiscal year compared to 53,000 over the same period in the previous year. Replacing the previous Freebie vehicles with air-conditioned Teslas and extended hours likely accounted for the increase, the city official explained.
This Post Has 10 Comments
Leave parking spots alone. We do not have enough, which hampers our businesses. The trolly will not replace that foot traffic. Do you at City Hall have any reality check on what it is like to have a business and rely on higher end foot traffic? Apparently not. Metrorail and trolly riders historically do not shop at Merrick Park.
I take the trolley to Merrick Park and shop and dine.
Can I ask NO a question
How he comes to the conclusion that the people that ride the trolley do not shop at merrick park?
Hum? I wonder ????
What people??
You need 7 day a week service first. There is not the density to support the E-W route. There is Metrorail/Underline to provide access for people on that area. This is a waste of money. Privide premium service along Ponce 365 days a year. If any new route would be considered it should be E-W from 37th to Anderson along Andalusia and Aragon merging into Biltmore Way and a new round a bout at Anderson to return.
You are right! I hadn’t read the path and I somewhat assumed that it would be through downtown Coral Gables along Coral Way or the streets you said work also. Taking it to red Road along to go by the University of Miami? Why? Are we subsidizing UMiami transportation now???
That route used to exist, went all the way to the Biltmore.
I don’t understand why the west Gables neighborhood has no Trolley or Freebie services near Granada, Alhambra circle to 57 ave. Er pay taxes the same as the Merrick Oark. We can’t even take any of this transportation to Miracke Mile. Horrible. I guess the shopping center is more important
We lost a lot of parking on Miracle Mile when angled parking was changed to parallel parking. (Besides the loss of spots, it has also impacted the flow of traffic as cars need to stop and back into the parallel spot.)
We lost even more parking spaces when the valet company took additional parking spots.
Losing an additional 40 spaces, when we already have a lack of parking spots doesn’t seem like a smart move.
Originally there was an east west trolley route – the same one being reinstated. It was not popular and did not have enough ridership at that time and change the filters on the air conditioner once a month ended up being shut down. I suspect this could happen again.
The trolley is a key component in the pedestrian lifestyle in the downtown area, which depends on not driving, not parking, but rather enjoying the amenities of a great international city without the hassles of traffic and parking issues. Those who choose to live in the downtown area will find it ludicrous to get in the car and drive six blocks and look for parking. A vibrant city has a fine mix of amenities (we have that) and easy means of getting around. It’s a long range vision that adds great value and reduces the hassles of traffic and parking, an incredible benefit if one takes advantage.