By the Coral Gables Gazette editorial board

When Coral Gables’ Southern Loop trolley begins rolling on November 3, it will mark an important step toward greater mobility—and a reminder of how far the city still has to go. The new east-west route, connecting Douglas Road Metrorail Station to Red Road, adds another spoke to a trolley network that already serves more than a million riders a year. It is a worthwhile experiment in connectivity, yet it also underscores a recurring theme in Coral Gables transportation planning: progress without a plan.

City officials deserve credit for pursuing a state-local partnership that funds the pilot through a Florida Department of Transportation grant and city matching dollars. A free, sustainable circulator linking the University of Miami and nearby neighborhoods is a welcome addition. We hope the Southern Loop proves valuable during its pilot year—carrying students, residents, and commuters who might otherwise drive. But as with every route, the deeper question is whether it solves the right problem.

The Southern Loop runs along Ponce de Leon Boulevard, parallel to both U.S. 1 and the Metrorail line—corridors already served by regional transit. Its value may hinge on whether it attracts riders who already travel those same corridors or creates new patterns of use. Unlike the original north–south trolley that animates downtown, this new route operates where other options already exist. The question remains: who will use it, and how often? That uncertainty underscores why Coral Gables needs a comprehensive mobility vision grounded in data, purpose, and genuine public demand.

Assistant Director of Mobility Matt Anderson has projected 3,500 monthly riders, about 150 per day. Those numbers will help evaluate the pilot’s performance, but they should not define success. The city’s true goal must be a mobility system that connects its modes—trolley, Freebee, bicycle, pedestrian, and parking—into a cohesive whole. That requires a comprehensive vision, not isolated routes.

City Manager Peter Iglesias has directed staff to begin work on a new Trolley and Mobility Master Plan—the first such study since 2013. That effort cannot come soon enough. In the past decade, Coral Gables has changed dramatically: new apartments along U.S. 1, heavier university traffic, evolving work patterns, and the rise of ride-sharing. Without updated data and meaningful public input, trolley routes risk becoming well-intentioned but underused symbols of progress.

The city’s ongoing $1 million project to modernize trolley stops for ADA compliance highlights both commitment and trade-offs. The upgrades will make the system more accessible and comfortable, yet they also remove about 40 on-street parking spaces along Ponce. Parking advocates objected; mobility staff countered that better transit ultimately reduces parking demand. Both points have merit—and both would benefit from a unified policy framework instead of piecemeal debate.

Regional cooperation offers another opportunity. The proposed Transportation Management Association between Coral Gables, South Miami, and the University of Miami could coordinate cross-jurisdictional transit along U.S. 1. Done well, it would weave together municipal shuttles, university circulators, and Metrorail into a regional network. But a partnership works only when each participant has a clear purpose. Coral Gables must first articulate its own.

Mobility in the City Beautiful should be guided by vision. A trolley route can launch in a year; an integrated system takes patience, planning, and candor about trade-offs. The Southern Loop is progress, but progress without coordination is motion without direction. As Coral Gables evaluates the pilot’s results, it should remember that mobility is not measured only in ridership counts or miles of service—it is measured in whether residents can move easily, equitably, and sustainably through the place they call home.