José R. González P.E Bio
Mr. Jose R. Gonzalez currently has over 23 years of transportation experience in the public sector. Mr. Gonzalez commenced his professional career in 1994 joining the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District Six as a member of the Professional Engineer (PE) Training Program, the Department’s elite four-year leadership training program. During his ten (10) year career with FDOT, Mr. Gonzalez specialized in public transportation serving as the District Intermodal Engineer in the Public Transportation Office. In this capacity, Mr. Gonzalez managed and/or had significant involvement with various multimodal transportation projects of regional and statewide significance, including the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), the East-West Multimodal Corridor Project Development and Environmental (PD&E) Study, and the Golden Glades Multimodal Facility project.
Subsequently, Mr. Gonzalez joined the City of Miami in 2004 as Transportation Manager where he was responsible for directing and overseeing transportation projects and initiatives in the City of Miami. During his seven (7) year career with the City of Miami, Mr. Gonzalez supported significant transportation projects such as the Port Miami Tunnel and the Miami Streetcar Project. He spearheaded the planning and implementation of the Miami Trolley System, the City’s first Bicycle Program, and served a lead role in an affordable housing/transit oriented development model project undertaken in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Transit Administration.
In 2011, Mr. Gonzalez joined the City of Miami Beach and, in 2014, was appointed as the Director of the newly created Transportation Department. Under Mr. Gonzalez’s leadership, the Transportation Department completed its first master plan in 15 years. The Transportation Master Plan, including a modal prioritization strategy, bicycle/pedestrian master plan, and a Complete Streets Design Guide, was unanimously adopted by the City Commission in 2016. In the short time since the Transportation Department was created, under Mr. Gonzalez’s direction, the Department has implemented a citywide interconnected trolley system and miles of green bike lanes throughout the City, with several protected bicycle lane and pedestrian priority projects in development. In addition, the Department is pursuing and implementing innovative mobility strategies and technologies to improve traffic flow, such as Intelligent Transportation Systems and Smart Parking Systems to provide real-time traffic, parking, and transit information; and Adaptive Traffic Signal Control to more efficiently and effectively manage traffic congestion in Miami Beach. Mr. Gonzalez is collaborating with Miami-Dade County on regional transit initiatives to improve mobility between the City of Miami Beach and the mainland, including the Beach Corridor Connection Project (one of six corridors in the County’s Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan), interim bus express rapid transit service across the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle Causeways, a public waterborne transportation (water taxi) system, and intermodal facilities.
Mr. Gonzalez is a graduate of Florida International University where he received a Bachelors’ Degree in Civil Engineering. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida and is a resident of the City of Miami Beach.