On Wednesday night, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was joined by representatives from the City of Miami Springs, the Village of Virginia Gardens, and the public to discuss roadway improvements along NW 67th Avenue and its arteries near the airport.
The big news that came out of the meeting was that the FDOT had dropped plans to build an elevated roadway along NW 36th Street. To quote Jesus Fuentes, the Consultant Project Manager to the FDOT, “those plans are dead and buried.”
That was a welcome relief to the packed room concerned over the kinds of changes the FDOT might bring to the southern edge of Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens.
The FDOT also listened to a multitude of concerns from residents and municipal officials. Those included, but were not limited to:
- Connecting the NW 25th Street Viaduct to the Palmetto Expressway (SR826) to alleviate
- Flooding on eastbound NW 36th prior to the overpass
- Lost trucks illegally entering and traversing through Virginia Gardens and Miami Springs.
- Entry and exit problems to the Amazon / Warehouse area along westbound NW 36th Street
- Trucks rear ending stopped traffic when descending from the 36th Street overpass
Questions Remain
While everyone was excited to see the elimination of an elevated highway along NW 36th Street, there are still many questions as to what the final NW 36th Street Proposal will look like.
- Will it include Truck Only lanes and reduce the number of standard vehicle lanes?
- Will it include a Bus Only lane and reduce the number of standard vehicle lanes?
- Will the FDOT widen the sidewalks along the north end of NW 36th Street?
- Will the FDOT add bike lanes on NW 36th Street?
- Will the FDOT beautify the area?
Answers in September
The FDOT announced that the next public meeting will be held in September. Mayor Mitchell reiterated to the FDOT that the next meeting should be held in Miami Springs where there was room for more people and the meeting would be hosted at no expense to FDOT.
We would like to thank Miami Springs Mayor Maria Mitchell and Virginia Gardens Council Members Gabriel Fernandez and Richard Block for attending the meeting in person and giving the FDOT official feedback from the respective municipalities. We also want to thank the FDOT. Clearly, they listened to our previous concerns and buried the idea of building an elevated roadway along NW 36th Street. That’s the way government should work.
