Miami streetcar plan derailed

Miami’s streetcar proposal got off track last week.

The county transportation board deferred endorsing the plan over concerns the streetcar project would compete with other transportation concepts in the works, such as a collaboration between the county and Miami Beach for a downtown rapid bus link called Bay Link, according to Miami Today.

The board, known as the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, oversees countywide transit projects. The city wanted the MPO to recommend that the Florida Department of Transportation fund $100 million, or 50 percent, of the streetcar’s projected capital cost, according to the report.

Miami recently revived the streetcar plan after shelving it during the recession. A seven-mile loop would connect downtown Miami to neighborhoods to the north and serve a projected ridership of 14,000. It is not clear when the board will take up the matter again. [Miami Today] – Jennifer White Karp