Miami will add about three miles of protected bike and scooter lanes on busy downtown corridors as part of a new program partially funded by fees on electric scooters. Under a plan approved by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners last week, the city will install concrete barriers along the new lanes and add pedestrian ramps to adjacent sidewalks. All pedestrian crossings in the affected area will also be upgraded to maximize visibility. The roughly $2 million upgrades, construction of which has already started, will be partially funded by $1 million from the city of Miami’s micromobility fund. The remainder will be paid for with road impact fees.
Florida is home to some of the country’s most dangerous cities for pedestrians, according to a Smart Growth America report. Critics have dinged Miami for not following through on a 2009 Bicycle Master Plan intended to “transform Miami into a bicycle friendly city,” the vast majority of which has not been built. The recently approved protected lanes will be installed along three miles of downtown streets, covering areas where there is already significant use of scooters and bikes by residents and visitors.