guys, stop banging your heads if you have no idea what you are reading.

good idea... that bump on my forehead is getting bigger.

Tri-Rail System Map

http://www.tri-rail.com/system_map/index.htm#

 

Tri-Rail Miami Int'l Airport Shuttle

http://www.tri-rail.com/schedules_fares/bu...ia_station.htm#

 

Tri-Rail also has brokered deals with Metro-Dade Transit, Broward County Transit, and Palm Beach Transit for shuttle buses.

http://www.tri-rail.com/schedules_fares/bu...uttle/index.htm

No, he said the Orange Bowl would stay sine UM wants to play there. the Marlins would get their new ballpark next to the OB.

Thanks for clarifying that... I was beginning to think these people had no brain... However, I hate the OB site. I hope Penelas gets his way and they build it somewhere downtown Miami... Will see.

http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/transit/met...e.asp?route=132

 

Here is another shuttle from MDT, the Koger/Tri-Rail shuttle. If an employer teams up with Tri-Rail, they can get their own shuttle, why couldn't the Marlins?

 

IBM, Motorola, and many Blue Lagoon Area business have shuttle and Tri-rail ticket benefits for their employees.

 

Imagine being able to take tri-rail all the way down to the station and getting on the bus to the ballpark without metrorail transfers, but ebing able to have local dade county people use metrobus and metrorail to get there as well. the ob site has unrealized potential. the airport is near, downtown is near, the suburbs are near and it is in little havana which isn't very dangerous compared to other neighborhoods around downtown.

No, he said the Orange Bowl would stay sine UM wants to play there. the Marlins would get their new ballpark next to the OB.

Thanks for clarifying that... I was beginning to think these people had no brain... However, I hate the OB site. I hope Penelas gets his way and they build it somewhere downtown Miami... Will see. Downtown is a logisticla nightmare which could put the ballpark over budget, moving metrorail is near impossible.

As a matter of fact, putting it downtown makes the metrorail deal even better. Think NY city. The metro gets to both ballparks there.

 

Transportation is huge issue here Capefish. On top of that, a site of the likes of OB would be total stupidity on the part of the Marlins Franchise. The parking is absolutely impossible there and there is no near future access to the Metro Rail.

 

I just have to wait and see how will they solve all these issues.

As a matter of fact, putting it downtown makes the metrorail deal even better. Think NY city. The metro gets to both ballparks there.

 

Transportation is huge issue here Capefish. On top of that, a site of the likes of OB would be total stupidity on the part of the Marlins Franchise. The parking is absolutely impossible there and there is no near future access to the Metro Rail.

 

I just have to wait and see how will they solve all these issues.

Metrorail is a dade only system, tri-rail is in service to all 3 counties and works better.

 

As for parking let me repeat again that the city will have to tear down most of the neighborhood around the ballpark to build this thing and parking would also be built. the solution is to build parking garages which take up less space and hold more cars that the OB and ballpark would share.

 

OB is better.

As for parking let me repeat again that the city will have to tear down most of the neighborhood around the ballpark to build this thing and parking would also be built.

Wow, you really expect a lot from the County don't you??? for the sake of the Marlins I hope your wishes come true. However, my company works with the county and to be completely blunt... They suck... They are stingy as hell and don't keep their promises. They are always looking for ways to stick it all to you. If I was Loria I would be extremely careful.

As for parking let me repeat again that the city will have to tear down most of the neighborhood around the ballpark to build this thing and parking would also be built.

Wow, you really expect a lot from the County don't you??? for the sake of the Marlins I hope your wishes come true. However, my company works with the county and to be completely blunt... They suck... They are stingy as hell and don't keep their promises. They are always looking for ways to stick it all to you. If I was Loria I would be extremely careful. not the county, the city.

 

The City of Miami has to do it for UM anyway, the neighborhood is on their land and is detriorating. it was overdue already.

my mom worked for dade county 30 years and i can tell you the political backstabbing happens every millisecond, but what alternative do you have? no one else has made an offer except it seems don king.

The Marlins Are Zeroing in on Orange Bowl Site for the Stadium!

 

Posted on Thu, Oct. 30, 2003

PROPOSED LOCATIONS

Miami officials zeroing in on Orange Bowl area as site of stadium

Although plans are still in the preliminary stage, the city-owned Orange Bowl site offers several options for ballpark construction.

BY OSCAR CORRAL AND KARL ROSS

ocorral@herald.com

 

Miami officials say they are considering several possible sites for a new ballpark for the Florida Marlins -- but the talk keeps returning to one spot: the Orange Bowl.

 

City Manager Joe Arriola said Wednesday the area around the Orange Bowl -- and perhaps the stadium itself, which the University of Miami football team calls home -- is a top contender.

 

The city owns the Orange Bowl, located in Little Havana, and almost all the surrounding land. So instead of a cash contribution toward helping the Marlins get a ballpark, the city could sell or lease some of the Orange Bowl property on favorable terms to the Marlins, Arriola said.

 

''That's a big consideration,'' Arriola said. ``We could fix the Orange Bowl, rearrange the Orange Bowl, build next to the Orange Bowl.''

 

Under any agreement with the Marlins, the Hurricanes would continue to play football there, Arriola said. ''The University of Miami will be playing at the OB for as long as they want to,'' he said.

 

City Commissioner Joe Sanchez, whose district includes the Orange Bowl, said area merchants have already started calling him to lobby for a baseball stadium on that site.

 

''I think the OB is the best site right now,'' Sanchez said.

 

Sanchez said there may be a solution for the traffic jams that clog the area during UM games: The county is already planning to extend the Metrorail to Miami International Airport, and could easily add a stop near the stadium.

 

Wherever -- and if -- a Marlins stadium is built, its price remains in question.

 

Team President David Samson said Tuesday that a 38,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof would cost $325 million. That price tag raised eyebrows, in part, because a previous effort to get a Marlins ballpark, in 2001, used a $385 million estimate.

 

The $325 million number is ''on the low side, at least for what they want,'' said Sean Foreman, who teaches at the Union Institute & University in North Miami Beach and did his doctoral work on subsidies for professional sports venues in Florida. ``For a facility with a retractable roof, luxury boxes and all those goodies, you're talking in excess of $400 million.''

 

Costs for retractable-roof ballparks have varied widely in recent years. Minute Maid Park in Houston cost $250 million. Miller Park in Milwaukee cost $400 million.

 

Samson stood by the team's estimate Wednesday, saying Marlins architects and other consultants support the figure.

 

Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess said he is comfortable with the estimate -- especially since the club has agreed to pay cost overruns.

 

Herald staff writer Barry Jackson contributed to this report.

 

 

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sport...all/7137982.htm

Posted on Tue, Sep. 30, 2003

 

TRANSPORTATION

Tri-Rail tracking a downtown route

Some South Florida leaders want to see a new commuter rail line serving business districts.

BY SCOTT ANDRON

sandron@herald.com

 

Some South Florida leaders are itching to introduce something new to the region's commuter rail service: a train that takes people somewhere they want to go.

 

As it stands, Tri-Rail rides on tracks beside Interstate 95. The agency's trains go through no downtowns, and provide only indirect service to the region's airports. Getting where you want to go generally involves a second trip via bus, bike, taxi or Metrorail.

 

But the agency is now studying the possibility of adding service on the Florida East Coast Railway's tracks, which run through downtowns from Miami to West Palm Beach, zipping past Las Olas Riverfront and cutting through rejuvenated downtown Hollywood. Towns like Miami Shores and El Portal would have a passenger train passing through.

 

FEC officials treated about 75 local government and business leaders to a ride on the corridor on Monday.

 

The FEC, the same railroad created by Henry Flagler a century ago, normally operates only freight trains now. But it may be possible for FEC and Tri-Rail to work out a deal whereby the two railroads could share the tracks.

 

''I don't think it's a matter of if it's going to happen,'' Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle said during Monday's train ride. ``It's a matter of when.''

 

FEC and Tri-Rail started talking about such an agreement about a year ago.

 

The next step is a two-year study to work out details of a passenger service on the FEC tracks, said Michael Williams, director of planning and capital development for the commuter line.

 

The study, which is about to begin, will address questions like how closely to space the stops and how to structure the deal with FEC, Williams said.

 

When the state bought the tracks beside I-95 from CSX in the 1980s, the price was $264 million for 81 miles of track, with CSX leasing back the right to run freight trains on the corridor.

 

An FEC deal could be structured similarly, or FEC could retain ownership of the tracks but allow Tri-Rail to use them in exchange for a fee.

 

Williams said he has heard that the FEC wants to sell the tracks to Tri-Rail for $800 million.

 

But Heidi Eddins, FEC's general counsel, said the company has not yet appraised the property to determine how much it is worth.

 

And FEC executives said Monday's trip was not primarily about the corridor deal. They said the trip's main purpose was to give local leaders a better understanding of the freight business and its importance to the local economy -- and the transportation network.

 

For example, Robert Anestis, chairman of FEC's parent company, said the railroad keeps around 900,000 truckloads off the highways each year.

 

FEC executives said they hoped Monday's trip would build community goodwill, which in turn could help the company get things it wants from the government -- like the opportunity to get a share of the federal transportation money channeled through local agencies.

 

But what leaders of the coastal cities are interested in was passenger service. Tri-Rail started its negotiations with FEC last year after mayors and commissioners from cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood demanded it.

 

Miami City Commissioner Johnny Winton was in that group, although he wasn't on Monday's trip.

 

In a telephone interview, Winton said the FEC line would offer a serious alternative to driving for the growing number of people who commute between counties.

 

Now, a Broward commuter who works in downtown Miami would have to drive to a Tri-Rail station, take the train to a Metrorail station, take Metrorail to downtown, and possibly take Metromover after that.

 

In contrast, a passenger service on the FEC line would link downtown Miami with, for example, downtown Fort Lauderdale, which has thousands of new apartments and condominiums either built or on the way.

 

In hindsight, the decision to put Tri-Rail on the CSX track was probably unwise, Winton said.

 

''I think it was a huge mistake,'' he said. ``It doesn't seem logical to me. It clearly hurts ridership by a ton.''

 

TriRail currently tallies about 10,000 boardings a day.

 

In addition to Naugle and Williams, attendees included U.S. Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, and officials from cities like Hollywood and West Palm Beach.

 

Tri-Rail, which is now a part of the new South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, carries the equivalent of about 5,000 round-trips per day.

 

But Tri-Rail officials say that will increase substantially when a double-tracking project is complete. The project will enable the agency to increase the frequency of service.

 

Also, the new authority hopes to increase ridership by building a system of east-west feeder routes.

 

The authority's board last week approved a plan to build, within the next few years:

 

? Dolphin Rail. A new commuter rail line on the existing tracks that run parallel to the Dolphin Expressway.

 

? Dade-Broward Connection. A new express bus service connecting Broward County Transit's Fort Lauderdale hub with Metrorail's northern end in northwest Miami-Dade.

 

? Miami-Gardens Express. A new express bus service from Aventura to Miami Lakes via Miami Gardens Drive.

 

The authority directed its staff to go out and find money for the projects. At this point, none of these projects, including the FEC line, has a definite source of money. In the case of the FEC line, Williams said money is one of the things the study will examine.

My mom said that she heard that Raul Martinez offered the Amelia Earhart Park site. Hmmmmm......

I think we need to get the financial situation figured out before we start figuring out where to put the thing. :mischief2

My mom said that she heard that Raul Martinez offered the Amelia Earhart Park site. Hmmmmm......

ugh... that would be a major piece of crap.

tri-rail is so infeasible it's not even funny. it's slow, horribly unreliable, and could never move nearly as many passengers as metrorail would. metrorail could, theoretically, bring lots more people to games. i live near the civic center station and i sure would go to a lot more marlins games if i could hop on the metro and be there... right now i only have that luxury with heat games. i have no business speaking, however, since i'm willing to walk all the way to the orange bowl for hurricanes games.

The Ob site is better because it has walking distance from the Civic Center Station and within easy busing distance from the Amtrak/Tri-Rail station at MIA. People from Palm Beach to Orlando could come to games by train when the train system in this state finally is finished. All the double tracking and construction is slowing things down alot, but by 2005, it will be all done. two years before the ballpark is supposed to pen.

The Ob site is better because it has walking distance from the Civic Center Station and within easy busing distance from the Amtrak/Tri-Rail station at MIA. People from Palm Beach to Orlando could come to games by train when the train system in this state finally is finished. All the double tracking and construction is slowing things down alot, but by 2005, it will be all done. two years before the ballpark is supposed to pen.

the point is, visitors from palm beach and broward would rather drive than take a train to go see a marlins game. driving takes significantly less time, is relatively cheap if you're bringing the family, and is MUCH more comfortable. that's why tri-rail, from its inception, has been largely a failure. the typical marlins fan in broward county is NOT going to drive to a tri-rail station, catch a train and bus, and spend at least an extra hour commuting to see a game.

 

metrorail, on the other hand, is used heavily by the local population, and is especially useful for sporting events. the miami arena is right there. AAA is a few blocks (or a metromover stop) away. the OB is only marginally accessible if you're willing to take a bus. otherwise the walk is quite far and not particularly convenient... i can vouch for that, i've done it many a time. i dont mind walking back from there at 10-11pm because i'm a big boy, but i'd suspect that most casual sports fans would not be particularly fond of that idea.