Transportation

The Transportation and Mobility Department was formed by the Mayor and City Commission in April 2014. Prior to this date, transportation functions were performed as part of the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department. Since its inception, the Department has primarily focused on transportation planning, traffic engineering/operations, and trolley system planning and operations. The accomplishment of our mission depends on effective collaboration with State and County agencies that have jurisdictional authority over major roadways, traffic control/signalization, and transit service in Miami-Dade County, even within incorporated municipalities.

The Department is focused on implementing the Transportation Master Plan and the Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan adopted by City Commission Resolution on April 14, 2016. These plans reflect the City’s adopted modal prioritization strategy:

(1) pedestrians; (2) transit, bicycles, and freight; and (3) private automobiles. The City Commission adopted the new modal priority via Resolution in July 2015.

Additionally, the Department oversees the operation of the Miami Beach trolley system which consists of four routes: North Beach Trolley, Collins Express, Middle Beach Trolley, and South Beach Trolley. The City’s trolley service is operated as a turn-key service by a professional private sector contractor managed by the Department. The free trolley service, pre-pandemic, carried over 14,000 passengers daily. The trolley service is supplemented by a free eco-friendly on-demand transit service.

Traffic management is another focus of the Department. In-house traffic operations staff monitors traffic within the City, makes real-time adjustments to traffic signal timing as needed, and coordinates with Police and Fire (including Emergency Management) on incident management, and with Marketing and Communications to disseminate real-time traffic information to the community and motoring public. New technology will be implemented in phases beginning in FY 2022 through the Intelligent Transportation System and Smart Parking System Project to more efficiently manage congestion on major thoroughfares and manage parking demand within the City.