FYI Miami: July 20, 2023

Bellow are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

RAIL DEPOTS SIDETRACKED: A Miami-Dade committee last week sidetracked legislation to develop one or more freight and passenger railway hubs. Eileen Higgins, chair of the Transportation and Mobility Planning Committee, successfully moved to defer the call to make development of those hubs county policy, saying the Transportation Planning Organization had already ordered and was funding a study of how the county can use CSX freight rail lines to handle passenger service. The committee, she said, had earlier agreed to await the outcome of that four-month study, for which the planners are paying, before dealing with any legislation related to CSX. The legislation by Kionne McGhee and Raquel Regalado calls for a directive to the mayor to create the hubs, one of which must be in Homestead, and have the county partner with the state to get access to the tracks that CSX owns.

HANGAR DEAL BACKED: A contract with AAR Aircraft Services to build a 100,000-square-foot maintenance hangar at Miami International Airport at which the company says it will add 250 permanent jobs got support last week from the county’s Airport and Economic Development Committee, which recommended the deal by a 5-0 vote without comment. The company would pay the county $173 million over 22 years in land rent but would repay AAR for building the hangar, which would become county property. AAR says the hangar will allow it to handle an increased demand for aircraft maintenance. AAR has been leasing maintenance sites at the airport since 1998. The contract now heads to the county commission for a final vote.

MONITORING AIR LINES: Miami International Airport passenger growth that leaves long waiting lines may cause spending to deal with the issue. The county commission’s Airport and Economic Development Committee last week voted 5-0 for spending $327,000 more over the rest of this year on equipment to monitor those lines. That recommendation now goes to the full county commission for action. Because there are more passengers, the lines extend beyond areas the current system monitors to tell travelers what lanes are open and the airport staff how long waits are and the impact on travel.

GAS PRICES DOWN: Average gasoline prices in Miami fell 3 cents per gallon last week to $3.40, according to GasBuddy. Prices are 1.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 95.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average rose 3.4 cents to $3.53, down 1.6 cents from a month ago and 97.5 cents from a year ago.