Miami-Dade County earns Envision Silver Award for sustainable infrastructure

The Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) received an Envision^® Silver Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) for the Miami-Dade County Tamiami Station Park-and-Ride / Bus Terminal Facility (Tamiami Station). This is Miami-Dade County’s first-ever Envision^® award at any level for a public project in the County.

The purpose of this award is to foster a dramatic and necessary improvement in the sustainable performance and resiliency of infrastructure. This award is issued as the result of an independent peer-review process conducted and overseen by ISI that has verified the project evaluation. The evaluation assessed the project’s performance across 60 sustainability criteria addressing a wide range of indicators including: community, quality of life, management, planning, materials, energy, water, environmental impacts, emissions, and resilience.

“Receiving the first-ever certification at any level from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure for a County project demonstrates that hard work and commitment to the community pay off. This award is a direct result of the outstanding collaboration between DTPW, the County’s Office of Resilience and private partners in order to ensure the project’s infrastructure achieved high marks for sustainability and resiliency from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

“The Tamiami Station exemplifies how the County can plan and develop public infrastructures that not only create positive social and economic impacts for the community but also provide environmental benefits. The Envision^® Silver Award is a great honor for Miami-Dade County and our community,” Gimenez added.  

Located at the southwest corner of SW 8th Street (US 41/SR 90) and SW 147th Avenue, the Tamiami Station Park-and-Ride / Bus Terminal Facility is anticipated to serve as an integral component of the East-West corridor, providing a premium transit connection between western portions of the County and downtown Miami.

The Tamiami Station has been designed as a terminal for several local bus routes and the 836 Express Bus service, which is expected to utilize the newly widened – Bus Only – inside shoulder of State Road (SR) 836 to bypass congestion and provide a quicker connection for Miami-Dade residents and commuters along the East-West corridor.

“I am happy but not surprised the Tamiami Park-and-Ride Station has received the Envision^® Silver Award. From its inception, emphasis was placed on designing a comfortable, safe, and sustainable park and ride,” said Commissioner Joe A. Martinez, whose County District 11 includes the Tamiami Station.

“Being able to provide new mass transit options to Miami-Dade residents and visitors will be a vital factor for the recovery of the County’s economy in the aftermath of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” said Alice N. Bravo, P.E., director of Transportation and Public Works for Miami-Dade County.

“We are honored to have been recognized by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure for the planning, design and construction of the Tamiami Park-and-Ride facility, which will improve mobility and support a more livable community,” added Bravo.

Miami-Dade County Chief Resilience Officer James Murley said, “Through the Sustainable Buildings Program, the County can ensure the value of its capital assets as well as support positive resilience, health, and economic impacts to the community over the long term. Sustainable design and construction are critically important in our work to reduce greenhouse gases, improve air quality and build more resilient infrastructure.”

This Park-and-Ride / Bus Terminal Facility is approximately an eight-acre site that will provide over 450 parking spaces for a variety of transportation modes: vehicular, motorcycle, and bicycle. The project includes a transit signal priority (TSP) system at nearby intersections as well as the following elements:

• Seven bus bays and four bus layover bays
• Continuous canopies over loading/unloading areas
• Next bus arrival electronic signs
• Long-term and short-term parking with designated parking for ADA, strollers, and electric vehicles
• Drop-off/pick-up areas
• Ticket vending machines
• Electric bike station
• Close-Circuit TV camera surveillance
• Drought-tolerant landscaping

Additionally, the layout of the park-and-ride component of this project was designed with safety and convenience as a top priority for those arriving by car and by foot. For example, pedestrian safety is accomplished in part through the provision of a direct path that connects the Tamiami Station to an adjacent shopping mall, and cyclists are encouraged to use the station’s bike storage facilities.

Metrobus service from the Tamiami Station Park-and-Ride facility is expected to start fall 2021.

For additional information about transit services, visit DTPW’s website or download the GO Miami-Dade Transit app.

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