By Coral Gables Gazette staff
The construction of the controversial Mobility Hub championed by the majority of the Coral Gables Commission as the first and perhaps most important step to upgrading the city’s downtown parking inventory is about two months from getting started, with demolition of the dilapidated Parking Garage No. 1 tentatively scheduled to begin in October.
Economic Development Director Belkys Perez gave an update on the project last week, saying that although no definitive construction timeline has been established, demolition is fast approaching.
“We had our first meeting with the businesses and contractor on June 24 – and told them about the scope of the project and what the limitations might be,” Perez told members of the Economic Development Board on August 5.
Utility work begins ahead of demolition
Florida Power & Light is currently working in the alleyway, where utility vaults must be created because power lines serving surrounding businesses run into or beneath the existing garage, Perez said.
“The contractor’s working on a mobility plan right now … they should have it within the next two weeks, and demolition is tentatively scheduled for October,” she said. “So it should take 18 months.”
City prepares businesses for 18 months of disruption
Once the contractor completes the plan for demolition and construction, Perez said the city will again meet with property and business owners along Andalusia Avenue and Miracle Mile. She said the city faces a major communication effort similar to the one undertaken during the Miracle Mile streetscape project, with the disruption from construction needing to be balanced against the promise of additional parking and improved retail opportunities downtown.
Why drivers keep circling for street parking
The city is also trying to understand how people currently use downtown parking and what might persuade them to change those habits once the Mobility Hub opens.
Perez said the city has been working on a parking campaign and recently redid its parking map to better show the amount of parking available throughout downtown. It also surveyed businesses, people in the Central Business District and residents about their perceptions of parking. She plans to present the survey results to the board at its next meeting.
Perez offered one early takeaway: “There’s nothing shocking, it’s just everyone has that habit of wanting to park on the street, and it’ll circle around until they can find it,” even when a parking garage is nearby.
The director and board members agreed that the new Mobility Hub could help change that behavior, in part because its design is intended to address some of the concerns people have about parking garages. The new facility will be open and well-lit, while smart-garage technology and wayfinding could allow drivers to see where spaces are available and reduce the amount of traffic generated by drivers circling downtown looking for parking.
Downtown businesses get an Aug. 19 mobility roundtable
The question of parking behavior comes as the city considers broader changes to its mobility system. Assistant Director of Mobility and Sustainability Matt Anderson said the city will hold an Aug. 19 roundtable with downtown businesses at the Coral Gables Museum to gather feedback on traffic, parking and other mobility problems. Two teams of consultants are studying the city’s overall mobility options, while another is examining transportation-management issues with neighboring South Miami and Miami-Dade County. Feedback from businesses will help inform the city’s Mobility Master Plan and other studies.
The Mobility Hub remains a source of frustration for members of the Parking Advisory Board, several of whom expressed a sense that residents’ objections to development and parking changes rarely affect the final outcome.
