In March 2018, the City of North Miami Beach (City), in collaboration with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), held a public economic development and urban design charrette to study ways to improve mobility and access, quality of life, and economic vitality around the planned Tri-Rail Coastal Link station in North Miami Beach. Primary funding for the charrette and transit-oriented development (TOD) master plan was provided through a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Pilot Planning Grant secured by the SFRTA for station area planning activities along the planned Tri-Rail Coastal Link Corridor. Funds were disbursed through the “South Florida Transit Oriented Development” (SFTOD) grant program, and the City was selected as one of the recipients. Tri-Rail commuter passenger rail service is operated by the SFRTA in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. Additional matching funding was provided by the City.
Land development patterns around transit stations, along with the connectivity and access to stations from surrounding areas, are highly correlated with successful transit systems. Accordingly, there is a need for carefully crafted land use planning around future station areas to increase the competitiveness of an entire transit corridor. This is especially important to secure competitive federal or state funding for system development. This type of station area planning includes an assessment of existing and planned land development patterns around planned stations and along planned transit corridors. The SFRTA has concluded TOD is one of the most important factors for ridership on the Tri-Rail system. As defined by the SFRTA, TOD is “a mixed-use pattern of pedestrian friendly, higher density development with reduced parking around transit stations.”