Golden Glades park & ride transit hub nears opening

The $60 million Golden Glades Park & Ride begun in December 2018 is to be ready within weeks, connecting with state roads 7 and 9/Northwest Seventh Avenue and leading to I-95 Express lanes.

The hub accesses Tri-Rail and buses. The Florida Department of Transportation developed it in coordination with Miami-Dade County, which is to operate and maintain it.

The hub includes bike parking and lockers; a six-story, 2,150-space garage; upgraded bike paths, sidewalks, walkways and platforms; a new air-conditioned waiting area, and new bus platforms, Sandra Bello, project outreach specialist, told the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust.

It has a bus drivers’ lounge, a new bus terminal, a new pedestrian bridge that connects to the existing bridge for Tri-Rail, electric car charging stations, hydration stations, and 10,450 square feet of retail.

“Basically, contractors are working on project wrap-up and once we finish the final inspections, Miami-Dade will assume and operate,” Ms. Bello said.
Trust member Alfred J. Holzman questioned the retail space use. “About three dozen additional [parking] spaces could have been added if you didn’t have that,” he said. “We’re looking at the long term, it may be very important, and you just can’t get rid of that 10,000 square feet of commercial space.”

German Arenes, Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works chief of traffic construction, said the department is putting out retail RFPs. “As the point of contact for the county for this project, I personally received between six and 12 phone calls from people that were interested in actually having opportunities in that retail area.”

Trustee Mary Street called space use a matter of perspective. “I’m not per se against feeding people, and just as a transit user, it is nice to be able to have something that you can grab on your way and not have to pack everything.”

Mr. Arenes said his department has been working to install IT networking, a bus transportation information system, CCTV cameras, emergency phones or call boxes, an advanced parking management system and a Wi-Fi system, and plans a future software update for license plate recognition.