FINAL REPORT Douglas Road Transit Corridor Study General Planning Consultant (GPC) Services Work Order #GPC V-8 Miami-Dade County, Florida Prepared for: MIAMI-DADE County Metropolitan Planning Organization Prepared by May 2014 Contents 1. Study Objective ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Need for Project .................................................................................................................................... 2 3. Existing Transit Service ......................................................................................................................... 3 4. Transit Level-of-Service......................................................................................................................... 8 5. Candidate Modes ................................................................................................................................ 10 6. Alternative Alignments ....................................................................................................................... 16 7. Alternatives and Variations ................................................................................................................ 23 7.1. Alternative 1 - 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road........................................................................... 23 7.2. Alternative 2 - Ponce de Leon Boulevard ................................................................................ 23 7.3. Alternative 3 - 32nd Avenue (dropped from further consideration) ...................................... 23 7.4. Alternative 4 - 37th Avenue/Douglas Road ............................................................................ 23 7.5. Alternative 5 - 27th Avenue .................................................................................................... 24 8. Evaluation Process .............................................................................................................................. 26 9. Recommended Alignment Priorities ................................................................................................... 29 10. Evaluation of Douglas Road Corridor Transit Alternatives ................................................................. 30 11. Ridership Estimate .............................................................................................................................. 31 12. Recommendations .............................................................................................................................. 40 13. Detailed Recommendations by Corridor ............................................................................................ 42 13.1. Semi-Exclusive Bus Lane – Ponce de Leon Boulevard (mid-term) .......................................... 42 13.2. Le Jeune Road-NW/SW 42nd Avenue (mid-term) .................................................................... 43 13.3. Douglas Road-NW/SW 37th Avenue – Bus Operating in Semi-Exclusive Lanes (short-term) .. 46 13.4. NW/SW 27th Avenue (short-term) .......................................................................................... 48 13.5. Ponce de Leon Boulevard – LRT/Modern Streetcar (long-term) ............................................ 50 13.6. Douglas Road-NW/SW 37th Avenue – Bus Operating in Semi-Exclusive Lanes (long-term) ... 52 13.7. Douglas Road-NW/SW 37th Avenue – Metrorail (beyond long-term) .................................... 54 13.8. Timing of Proposed Improvements ........................................................................................ 58 13.9. Timing for Metrorail ................................................................................................................ 58 i List of Tables Table 3–1 - Existing Miami-Dade Transit Bus Service .......................................................................................... 3 Table 5–1 - Typical Heavy Rail Characteristics ................................................................................................... 10 Table 5–2 - Typical Diesel Light Rail (DLRT) Characteristics ............................................................................... 11 Table 5–3 - Typical Light Rail Characteristics ..................................................................................................... 12 Table 5–4 - Typical Semi-Exclusive Bus Lanes Characteristics ........................................................................... 13 Table 5–5 - Typical Rapid Bus Characteristics .................................................................................................... 14 Table 5–6 - Typical Trolley Bus Characteristics .................................................................................................. 15 Table 7–1 - Alternative Alignments and Alignment Variations .......................................................................... 25 Table 8–1 - Basis for Advancement of Viable Short, Medium, and Long-Term Alignment/Modal Combinations ........................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Table 8–2 - Recommended Alignment/Modal Combinations by Time Frame .................................................. 28 Table 9–1 - Preliminary Evaluation of Candidate Alignments ........................................................................... 29 Table 10–1 - Candidate Improvements for Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term .................................................. 30 Table 11–1 - Linear Regression - Metrorail Boardings ....................................................................................... 31 Table 11–2 - 2040 Metrorail Ridership Estimate - Hypothetical Ponce de Leon Alignment ............................. 32 Table 11–3 - SERPM Mode Bias in Minutes ....................................................................................................... 33 Table 11–4 - Market within 1/2 Mile of Alignment ........................................................................................... 33 Table 11–5 - Market within 1 Mile of Alignment ............................................................................................... 33 Table 11–6 - Ridership Estimation by Mode ...................................................................................................... 34 Table 11–7 - Ridership Check - Observed vs. Estimated .................................................................................... 34 Table 11–8 - Ridership by Alignment and Mode................................................................................................ 35 Table 11–9 - Characteristics of Alternative Modes ............................................................................................ 36 Table 11–10 - Evaluation of Alternatives ........................................................................................................... 37 Table 11–11 - Ridership/Capacity Ratio for Revised Headways ........................................................................ 38 Table 11–12 - Evaluation Using Reduced (5 rather than 10 minutes) Headways for Bus Modes ..................... 39 Table 12–1 - Modes Recommended for Implementation by Alignment (Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term) .. 41 ii List of Figures Figure 3–1 - Existing Miami-Dade Transit Bus Routes in Study Area ................................................................... 6 Figure 3–2 - Existing Metrorail System ................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 4–1 - Miami-Dade Transit Bus Level-of-Service (Frequency) .................................................................... 9 Figure 6–1 - Alternative Alignments .................................................................................................................. 17 Figure 6–2 - 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road Corridor ........................................................................................... 18 Figure 6–3 - Ponce de Leon Corridor ................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 6–4 - 37nd Avenue/Douglas Road Corridor ............................................................................................ 20 Figure 6–5 - 32nd Avenue Corridor .................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 6–6 - 27th Avenue Corridor .................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 13–1 - Semi-Exclusive Bus Lane – Ponce de Leon Boulevard (mid-term) ............................................... 43 Figure 13–2 - Le Jeune Road-NW/SW 42nd Avenue (mid-term) ....................................................................... 45 Figure 13–3 - Douglas Road-NW/SW 37th Avenue – Bus Operating in Semi-Exclusive Lanes (short-term) ..... 47 Figure 13–4 - NW/SW 27th Avenue (short Term) ............................................................................................... 49 Figure 13–5 - Ponce de Leon Boulevard LRT/Modern Streetcar (long-term) .................................................... 51 Figure 13–6 - Douglas Road NW/SW 37th Avenue Bus Operating in Semi-Exclusive Lanes (long-term) ........... 53 Figure 13–7 - Douglas Road NW/SW 37th Avenue