To date, The Underline has the following funding commitments:1. Miami Dade County $3 million2. City of Miami $1 million3. Florida Department of Transportation $1 millionTotal $5 million
This project will be developed in 6 phases. The costs are estimated as follows:$ 80 million for the trail$ 20 million for the intersections$ 20 million for the destination parks$120 million Total Cost
Meg Daly estimated that $80 million would come from public funding and $40 million from private funding.
Similar projects in other cities include:Atlanta Beltline $14 million/mileChicago 606 $35 million/mileIndianapolis Cultural Trail $ 8 million/mile
Meg Daly closed her comments by thanking the Knight Foundation for providing funding for the Master Plan.Questions and Answers with PanelistsModerator Matt Haggman, Program Director of the Knight FoundationPanelists: Meg Daly, Founder and President of Friends of the Underline, Miami Roger Terrone, Treasurer, Friends of the Underline, and CPA, Partner GSK Advisors, Coral Gables Isabel Castilla, Senior Associate, James Corner Field Operations, New York Maria Nardi, Chief of Planning and Design Excellence, Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department, Miami Stewart Robertson, Project Manager, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Fort Lauderdale Sanjukta Sen, Associate, James Corner Field Operations, New York Called Upon for the Q & A Session Albert A. Hernandez, Assistant Director, Engineering, Planning and Development, Miami Dade TransitDuring the meeting, volunteers collected the written questions and comments from the public. Matt Haggman summarized them by content themes. The questions were:1) What is the regulatory and approval process? How long might this take?Meg Daly – The Master Plan was distributed on September 4, 2015 to county agencies and other organizations. These included the Metropolitan Planning Office (MPO), Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the University of Miami and more. They replied with comments and they will be documented with responses in the final master plan.Maria Nardi – The process will include developing construction drawings, going through the permitting process, getting support for fundraising and working as a team. They hope to begin by the fall of 2016 or early 2017 at the latest.2) Who is in charge of removing graffiti?Maria Nardi – The governance model means that would fall under Miami Dade Transit, Friends of the Underline and the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces. The model for oversight is a quasi-conservancy model.3) Who will choose the art and how will it be chosen?Maria Nardi – Miami Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces department received a grant from ArtPlace Americas earmarked for The Underline project. Local artists will be eligible. The Miami Dade Department of Cultural Affairs (Art in Public Places) will work with the Arts Advisory Committee of The Underline to choose the artists. Meg Daly – There will be a temporary art installation in March 2016 in Brickell Backyard.4) What are the plans for connecting other trails and access?Maria Nardi – The Underline is part of a regional plan that addresses mobility and transportation. The Underline will connect to the Ludlam Trail. This will link many neighborhoods. Isabel Castilla – The right of way underneath the Metrorail is owned by Miami Dade Transit. The design team is looking at each street and analyzing how pedestrians and cyclists can access The Underline safely and easily. Sanjukta Sen – The design will extract what is unique to each neighborhood and integrate those characteristics appropriately.5) How many parking spaces will be lost by the design?Isabel Castilla – No parking spaces will be lost. The design will keep all existing parking spaces at the University of Miami but reorient them so there is room for parks.6) Will official county maintenance and security vehicles be stopped from driving and parking on The Underline?Meg Daly – The only vehicles allowed on the path will be the maintenance vehicles of Miami-Dade Transit.Albert A. Hernandez – Mr. Hernandez asked the citizen who has already tried to bring attention to this matter to share the details with him for further investigation of the M-Path.7) What impact would the FPL transmission towers have on the corridor?Sanjukta Sen – These towers would take away from the appearance of the corridor and will reduce the spatial impact. FPL is looking at the drawings proposed by the design team. The goal would be to find a balance between FPL’s infrastructure needs and park growth.8) Will billboards be used to help funding?Roger Terrone – No. The Underline will not have billboards.Meg Daly –All name recognition rights to private funding is subject to FTA approval. This project will recognize sponsors. There are no plans for advertising.9) How will this project provide for safety in the crosswalks?Stewart Robertson – To harness the multimodal opportunity, they need to connect The Underline to the transit stations. That means that people will have to cross busy intersections. The design will adhere to the standards set out by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Miami-Dade County. The bike and pedestrian paths will be 10 feet and 8 feet wide respectively. These same widths will be used for the crosswalks. They will add a buffer zone between US 1 and the trails. There will be signals for cyclists to alert them of upcoming intersections. The “right on red” for cars will be prohibited on certain cross streets.10) Will the basketball courts in the outdoor gym be regulation size?Isabel Castilla – Basketball and volleyball courts will be regulation size. They will institute a system to regulate their usage. There will also be gym equipment and ball tossing areas as part of the outdoor gym concept.11) How does the design plan incorporate shade for users?Isabell Castilla – The Metrorail structure provides a lot of shade on the west side. Native vegetation will provide shade. They will be keeping the existing trees and adding more. There will be more shade on the pedestrian path than on the bike path. This is because biking generates wind that would cool the biker.12) What amenities are planned like showers or bathrooms?Meg Daly – Amenities have been contemplated. There are currently no plans for showers.Maria Nardi – Bathrooms would require approval by the Federal Transportation Authority. They will consider adding bathrooms based on receiving approval and the cost. It is clear that people want bathroom facilities along The Underline.13) Will solar power be used for lighting?Isabel Castilla – Yes, solar power will be used especially for the amenity spaces. Electrical power will also be used. They will use LED lighting and are trying to incorporate green technology where possible.14) What landscaping will be used for butterfly gardens?Isabel Castilla – There will be small butterfly gardens along The Underline. They will use native plants that attract butterflies. These native plants require less maintenance than non-native plants.Meg Daly – Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden did pro bono work on the plant palette by area and ecosystem.15) How will local businesses benefit and impacted?Meg Daly – There is a business innovation committee that is working with local businesses on how to brand and connect their business to The Underline.16) Is it possible that impact fees will be included in the funding sources?Roger Terrone – Yes, it is possible that impact fees will be a source of funds.17) When will financial information be available online?Roger Terrone – They are completing the Form 990, the IRS form for tax return information for nonprofit organizations. This form will be available on www.Guidestar.org.18) How will the homeless population be managed?Maria Nardi – Usually when a space previously frequented by the homeless is activated, the homeless move to another space. They are working with the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust to address this issue.19) Will The Underline have a bike share program?Meg Daly – There is an agreement in the pipeline with the transit authorities to have a bike share program.Albert A. Hernandez – An RFP will be issued in about a month for a bike share program. The idea is that every Metrorail stop would have a bike share station.20) Will there be oolitic limestone in the play areas? Won’t that be dangerous for children?Isabel Castilla –Oolitic limestone occurs naturally in some areas and is being used as an inspiration in certain areas. However, all play areas will meet code for safety regulations and do not have oolitic limestone specified.21) What consideration has been given to the air pollution created by cars along US 1?Maria Nardi – Trees added to the path should help. Also, this project should get people out of their cars which would also reduce the air pollution.Meg Daly – The survey showed that 87% of the respondents wanted trees planted as a barrier to US 1 rather than a concrete wall.22) Will motor scooters be allowed on The Underline?Maria Nardi – No, no motorized vehicles will be allowed.23) Will this presentation be available for review?Meg Daly – Yes, a video and minutes will be posted in several days.Matt Haggman thanked the panelists and the audience.The meeting was adjourned just after 8 p.m.
