Neighbors Press Opposition To Possible Bus Station In Brickell

By Susan Stabley
Area groups continue to mount opposition to a pending contract to build a bus station in the Brickell area.

Dallas-based Greyhound Lines Inc. plans a 2,500-square-foot single-story building at Brickell Station, a hub that connects Metrorail, Metromover and Metrobus services at 1001 SW First Ave.

"Nothing has been signed yet," said Frank Talleda, manager of joint development and leasing for Miami-Dade County’s Office of Public Transportation Management. "The lease has been negotiated and Greyhound has to execute and forward it to the county manager for his approval."

Mr. Telleda said the county sought an interstate bus company to add connectivity at Brickell Station and Greyhound was the only bidder.

"In the past, we’ve received a request to put parking there, but that’s really counterproductive to transits," he said. Overhead Metrorail guideways there limit construction to 25 feet high, he said.

Though the bus station would be within Miami city limits, the city has no jurisdiction because it would be in a county-controlled Rapid Transit Zone.

The bus station is one of several development projects involving the county’s transit office, said Mr. Talleda. They include projects at Coconut Grove, Dadeland North, Dadeland South and Santa Clara Metrorail stations.

The Brickell Area Association and other area groups are campaigning against a bus station in the neighborhood. County Commissioner Jimmy Morales said last week he would ask County Manager George Burgess to kill any contract with Greyhound.

According to the county’s Office of Public Transportation Management, Brickell is the sixth-busiest Metrorail station and the fourth-busiest Metromover station. About 2,280 buses enter and leave Brickell Station weekly.

"There are not a lot of other centrally located stations to go to," said Mr. Talleda. "We feel this would be an immediate upgrade with Greyhound."