The Rickenbacker’s transformation from causeway to Park-way (that happens to have a road through the middle of it) continues with $4.5 million in proposed improvements that include everything from widened bike lanes to reduced speed limits and a pedestrian overpass.
Some proposals unveiled at a recent town hall meeting are merely studies - like reducing speed limits. Others are slated to happen within the next year - like a new signalized crossing and turnaround at Hobie Island (Windsurfer Beach).
“This will be a multi-year effort,” Miami-Dade County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez told the crowd of 150 people at the Coral Gables Youth Center July 1.
The money comes from 25 cents of every toll collected at the Rickenbacker toll booths, which have been in place (and now are up to $1.50 for cars) since the roadway opened in 1947. The Miami-Dade County Commission is scheduled to vote on the measure July 20, 2010.
Pedestrians and slower-moving wheeled traffic - including moms with strollers - could be big winners with the construction of a new “multi-use” path along the North Side of the Rickenbacker from Bear Cut Bridge to the William Power Bridge (the tall one).
Instead of cycling or jogging alongside fast-moving vehicular traffic, users would enjoy a path protected by barriers, possibly bollards (waist-high telephone poles) set among a landscaped swale.
That project is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 but really should be moved up the list, given the demand and need for safer alternatives.
Another pedestrian amenity would be a foot bridge over the Rickenbacker. This would open up a safe (and non-motorized) way for beachgoers enjoying the refurbished public park on the south side of Hobie Beach to visit existing restaurants and hopefully, other public amenities on Virginia Key built either by the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County or even, state or national park systems.
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