South Beach Streetcar Proposal on Pause

"Miami Beach commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to temporarily stop the fast-tracked light rail project that would lay down tracks on South Beach’s streets," reports Joey Flechas.

"The light rail or 'modern streetcar' line…is now on hold after commissioners agreed to wait for Miami-Dade County commissioners to make a binding commitment to building a connection across Biscayne Bay, including a funding plan," adds Flechas.

The current push to build a “modern streetcar,” billed as one third of a future light rail connection to Downtown Miami and commonly known as “Bay Link,” began last year when a consortium of firms including French rail company Alstom submitted an unsolicited proposal to jump-start a long-discussed but never-realized rail connection across Biscayne Bay.

Flechas has been documenting the political process surrounding the proposed $244 South Beach streetcar project since November, when critics of the proposal started raising concerns about the pace of the planning process and lost capacity for automobiles, in addition to the concerns about the connection to the larger Bay Link project.