Trolley service gets approved-set to start March 1st. Note however that the service will only run Monday through Saturday (no Sunday).

 

Good news is that the trolley service will be free for at least the first full year.

 

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A new trolley system for the City of Miami that will include a route to the new Little Havana Marlins ballpark has received a green light and will launch on March 1st.

The service will run approximately every 15 minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The Health District Trolley route will travel around the district between NW 7th Avenue to NW 14th Avenue and NW 14th Street to NW 20th Street. In addition, the Health District/Stadium loop will include regular service to NW 7th Street and NW 14th Avenue. Major destinations along this route include:

• Civic Center Metrorail Station
  
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
  
• Ryder Trauma Center
  
• Miami Dade College Medical Campus
  
• Lindsey Hopkins Technical Education Center
  
• University of Miami Life Sciences Park
  
• Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
  
• Jackson Memorial Hospital
  
• University of Miami Biomedical Research Institute
  
• Courthouse
  
• Sylvester Cancer Center
  
• VA Hospital
  
• University of Miami Hospital
  
• Marlins Stadium
  

The $20 million trolley system will operate without charging riders a fee for at least the first year.

For anyone planning on going to a Marlins game at the new stadium, remember that the 5,700 spaces in the four new garages are reserved for season ticket holders and VIPS.

Everyone else will either have to take the new trolley service or park on the front lawns of nearby homes just like the old Orange Bowl days.

In late Spring, the City of Miami will expand the trolley service to include an additional route along Brickell Drive and Biscayne Boulevard serving the Downtown area, plus a loop connecting the Health District and Overtown.

In early 2013, the City anticipates expanding the service further to include a loop along NW 20th Street from NW 27th Avenue to the Omni area and another along Coral Way from SW 37 Avenue to Brickell Drive.

 

http://miami.cbsloca...unch-march-1st/

Trolley service gets approved-set to start March 1st. Note however that the service will only run Monday through Saturday (no Sunday).

 

Good news is that the trolley service will be free for at least the first full year.

 

 

For anyone planning on going to a Marlins game at the new stadium, remember that the 5,700 spaces in the four new garages are reserved for season ticket holders and VIPS.

Everyone else will either have to take the new trolley service or park on the front lawns of nearby homes just like the old Orange Bowl days.

 

http://miami.cbsloca...unch-march-1st/

 

So pathetic, one of those garages should be open to the public. The rush at 6:30 to grab a trolly is going to be disgusting. Looks like I'll be taking cabs just to see BP.

 

I wonder how long until that Ghost Platform at the Civic Center is converted into a Metro Mover to the Ballpark.

Other than the trolly is there to be any kind of Park-n-Ride bus service like they used to have to almost all Orange Bowl events ?

was their suppose be bus going from flager race track to ballpark?

Here's a map of the route the trolley's will take:

 

http://www.miamigov....Email_Blast.pdf

So we have a trolley system now. Do we have a place to park?

 

I hate to think even with this, we're still no better off. But unless this is "supposed" to be a solution simply because it links up with Metrorail (and it appears riders from the stadium will have to do a massive figure-eight on the loop to get back to Metrorail, which takes time), anyone planning on taking Tri-Rail will be lucky to make the 10:30pm weekday train, most probably stuck waiting for the last train out at 11:30...if there's even room...for the mass of northern fans who had no place to park with no other option. (It's 2012...I have to park on Hernando's front lawn. Really??) And with an 11pm trolley service end time, forget extra innings.

 

So I guess one could always park at Bayside and Metrorail/Metromover it from the trolley, but how many of these:

 

 

 

 

 

...are going to be available for any given weeknight and Saturday game for every single non-season ticket fan who a) doesn't live close enough to walk, and b) isn't comfortable parking and potentially getting blocked in on some shady dude's lawn? All it takes is that one person behind you staying late at the Clevelander or one of these other places open late, and you're screwwwed. Worse, you won't even know for how long you're screwed. Certainly not a horror story I want to be caught up in.

 

This trolley is a piece to the solution, but we still don't have the solution without a real place to park.

While I'm obviously not an expert on this topic, it seems like the parking/transit is going to be a nightmare at the new park. The situation seems worse than Nats Park in terms of available parking, entry/exit points to highways, and traffic flow. However, at least the Nats have the DC metro, which is one of the most efficient and widely used systems in the US whereas Miami has hardly any public transit to speak of.

I'm sure a few good spots will surface as more and more people gain experience in parking around the ballpark. Give it a month and we'll have a clear idea of how bad the situation really is. I'm not worried yet.

I think its going to be a nightmare. And I have parking in the garages.

 

Yeah. It's bad enough when 30k people are fighting their way out of surface lots. Having all of the onsite parking in the form of garages all immediately adjacent to the park is going to be a nightmare.

Transportation really concerns me...

While I'm obviously not an expert on this topic, it seems like the parking/transit is going to be a nightmare at the new park. The situation seems worse than Nats Park in terms of available parking, entry/exit points to highways, and traffic flow. However, at least the Nats have the DC metro, which is one of the most efficient and widely used systems in the US whereas Miami has hardly any public transit to speak of.

 

This sounds like it could be a lot worse than the Nats Park problem. When I went they had us park at JFK and a shuttle took us right over to the ballpark.

I'm sure a few good spots will surface as more and more people gain experience in parking around the ballpark. Give it a month and we'll have a clear idea of how bad the situation really is. I'm not worried yet.

 

Agreed. Gotta give it a little time. Most things seem to work themselves out given some time and patience. We didn't get parking in the garages because of the percieved flow of getting out. Now the trolley system seems weak. Probably forget extra innings if you have to catch a ride back to your car. Right now it seems the best bet would be to find a yard and become a "regular" to those owners. Get their phone # and call ahead by a certain time to reserve your spot.

Isn't it amazing how a free market, that is, the public left to their own devices will probably work things out?

 

Regardless of trolleys or MetroRail or anything else?

 

Earlier, someone was speculating about how one might be blocked by another fan's vehicle in someones front yard. Now, I've never parked in anyones front yard for an Orange Bowl event.

 

However, I find it incomprehensible that a fairly high percentage of the front-yard-parking guys, people who mostly own their front yards, most for many years and who are not a bunch of criminals looking to steal your car or anything in it, and who want you to come back many times to their front-yard because you know and trust them never figured out that they should require you to leave them a key so that they can move your car if need be.

 

They're not possibly all that rock-stupid. Perhaps someone who has actually parked in an Orange Bowl front yard could comment.

There isn't really a free market though. I know that that the Orioles and Nationals used to run very efficient shuttle services (the one that flasportsfan88 talked about from RFK), but I believe that a court ruling put an end to that after the 2009 season.

 

Now this might not apply to Florida, but the point is that these problems don't always sort themselves out.

Does anyone think it might be better to park far from the stadium & take some kind of public transportation rather than park in the garages at the stadium?

 

I'm asking because 5,700 cars trying to get out of 5 parking garages all around the same time sounds like it's going to be an absolute 'madhouse.' As far as the trolley's are concerned as long as you could catch one quickly I don't think the traffic should be much of an issue.

 

As far as going to the ballpark, though, I think it's pretty clear that parking in the garages would be better than parking in a lot a mile away (I'm just asking in terms of leaving the ballpark).

I didn't buy the parking pass. That garage is going to be a mess.

 

Walking would be better. Just bring your gat and you'll be fine.

While I'm obviously not an expert on this topic, it seems like the parking/transit is going to be a nightmare at the new park. The situation seems worse than Nats Park in terms of available parking, entry/exit points to highways, and traffic flow. However, at least the Nats have the DC metro, which is one of the most efficient and widely used systems in the US whereas Miami has hardly any public transit to speak of.

 

 

It was never a problem with the Orange Bowl, and that stadium held 80,000

Does anyone think it might be better to park far from the stadium & take some kind of public transportation rather than park in the garages at the stadium?

 

I'm asking because 5,700 cars trying to get out of 5 parking garages all around the same time sounds like it's going to be an absolute 'madhouse.' As far as the trolley's are concerned as long as you could catch one quickly I don't think the traffic should be much of an issue.

 

As far as going to the ballpark, though, I think it's pretty clear that parking in the garages would be better than parking in a lot a mile away (I'm just asking in terms of leaving the ballpark).

 

 

Well I think its already been implied that many will have to be using local homeowners yards......so make sure to bring that extra $ 10 or $ 20 to give to the locals so you can park in their yard and be blocked in. That's why I always used the Park-n-Ride that the Dolphins had to their games at the Orange Bowl. Parked at FIU, paid our $ 1.25 each way in quarters and rode too and from the stadium and usually could sleep most of the way back to FIU because of being exhausted.

I didn't buy the parking pass. That garage is going to be a mess.

 

Walking would be better. Just bring your gat and you'll be fine.

 

 

Not legally to a professional athletic event. Or were you planning on checking it at the door? :whistle

I didn't buy the parking pass. That garage is going to be a mess.

 

Walking would be better. Just bring your gat and you'll be fine.

 

 

Not legally to a professional athletic event. Or were you planning on checking it at the door? :whistle

 

Most sporting events wont even allow Cops to carry concealed for some reason.

While I'm obviously not an expert on this topic, it seems like the parking/transit is going to be a nightmare at the new park. The situation seems worse than Nats Park in terms of available parking, entry/exit points to highways, and traffic flow. However, at least the Nats have the DC metro, which is one of the most efficient and widely used systems in the US whereas Miami has hardly any public transit to speak of.

 

 

It was never a problem with the Orange Bowl, and that stadium held 80,000

Other than the fact that it's the same geographic location, I don't see how you can compare the two.

 

First of all, the Orange Bowl was considered to be a "problem." It offered limited authorized parking, which forced a lot of people to park on lawns. Those problems are exacerbated when you consider that MLB games are held more regularly and attract a slightly different cliente. There should be no circumstance where a family with children would need to resort to parking on some guy's lawn in not the nicest of neighborhoods. That's not acceptable in any other park in MLB and it shouldn't be acceptable in what is being labeled as the "coolest ballpark ever."

There should be no circumstance where a family with children would need to resort to parking on some guy's lawn in not the nicest of neighborhoods. That's not acceptable in any other park in MLB and it shouldn't be acceptable in what is being labeled as the "coolest ballpark ever."

 

This is the bottom line, right here.

 

Now I've never been to a game at any other stadium, but I can't see how families with children being forced to transfer and wait through two or three different modes of travel would be considered acceptable, either. I can't imagine being stuck with smaller children on the outskirts of the stadium for a late trolley, then waiting on the Metrorail Civic Center platform for a train which only comes once every half hour at that time, then waiting on the open Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer platform for a train which may not come for another hour if you weren't lucky enough to make the 10:30pm train. Is that acceptable anywhere else?

 

I'll be perfectly honest. Because of this mess, even with the Marlins Insider regular-season presale starting today, I haven't considered buying a single ticket other than for the exhibition game, which allowed the purchase of a parking pass. While I'm ecstatic to get to many games this season in the new park, but can't afford a ticket/parking package nor have such a set schedule that I can plan for games months in advance, I have no desire to be a guinea pig in any of this parking mess, and I'm sure I can't be alone. This will certainly have to make a dent in their early individual-game sales, whether they will outwardly recognize it or not.

Wasn't there supposed to be trollies from a Tri-Rail station too?

Wasn't there supposed to be trollies from a Tri-Rail station too?

 

 

I think I remember hearing from Coconut Grove Metrorail station, but not Tri-Rail. Is the Trolley going to take folks from the stadium to the Grove station ?

A trolley to the Tri Rail is a bit of a ride.

 

Another thing that needs to be pointed out on these trolleys is that they aren't really trolleys. They are buses painted green and orange. Those "trolleys" will have to sit in the same traffic that all the cars leaving the garages will be sitting in.

 

Another point to consider: the neighborhood. People will be leaving the stadiums in large groups. There is safety in numbers. The Orange Bowl isn't in Liberty City. I think there is some exagerating going on regarding safety in the area.