Miami Springs Awarded Transportation Alternatives Grant

Walking and biking in Miami Springs will be getting safer, thanks to an award of $119,600 for a “Citywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Study and Master Plan” from the Florida Department of Transportation via the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Since the streets and sidewalks of Miami Springs were laid out pre-1950’s, there have been significant changes in the field of urban planning. These changes include a greater awareness of the need to build strong communities with more livable neighborhoods by incorporating bicycle and pedestrian facilities that can be used by people of all ages and abilities, offer alternatives to driving, foster economic growth, and connect to planned and existing public transit routes and surrounding communities.

Scheduled by the Department of Transportation to take place during FY2018, this study will establish a comprehensive overview of the current status of municipal walking and biking facilities, including barriers, opportunities, current and future connectivity and needed improvements. The Master Plan will fill in gaps in the City’s current Comprehensive Plan, and define the policies, programs, design criteria, and implementable actions that will further safety and access in all neighborhoods to make Miami Springs a more walkable, livable, and healthy city.  It will also provide planning-level cost estimates and strategies, and identify potential resources that can be leveraged to realize the recommended improvements as they are moved from the plan to line items in the City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan.                                                                                                                          

Miami Springs City Planner Chris Heid states, “This plan will create a vision that we all can get behind. Over decades, Miami Springs has built bike paths, non-motorized mixed-use paths and sidewalks in various parts of the City, many of which are working sort of independently from each other. An integrated urban alternative transportation management strategy will improve our quality of life and keep Miami Springs as one of the most enjoyable places to live in South Florida.”