Commissioner Diaz calls for road impact fees to be used for mass transit projects

(MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL) – Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz is sponsoring legislation to make it easier for the County to use road impact fees for mass transit improvements.

The ordinance, which received a positive recommendation from the Transit and Mobility Services Committee on Oct. 14, is scheduled for a vote by the full Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 3.

Developers pay the County road impact fees whenever new projects are built. Those funds are now spent almost entirely on road construction. Using road impact fees for public transportation is currently restricted to areas south or east of the Palmetto Expressway and must go through additional administrative hurdles to get approved. The proposed legislation would eliminate those restrictions.

“This levels the playing field so that road impact fees can be used to fund more transit projects, which is very much needed in our community because we can’t just keep building more roads,” Commissioner Diaz said. “We need to move people, not vehicles, and this legislation will help us accomplish that goal.”