Thanks to the efforts of many, including Grants and Public Information Specialist Carol Foster, the City of Miami Springs has been awarded $885,900 by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) under the Transportation Alternatives Program.
The grant will enable the city to retrofit city sidewalks with federally mandated ADA-compliant ramp installations and repairs.
“Bringing our sidewalks into ADA compliance will enliven our neighborhoods and connect our residents with disabilities to vital amenities,” said Miami Springs mayor Zavier Garcia. “It will also connect our residents to existing county public transit services as well.”
In the 1920s, Miami Springs’ first sidewalks and roadways were paved by the Everglades Construction Company of city founder Glenn Curtiss’s brother, G. Carl Adams. Many of these original sidewalks still exist today, and at the present time less than 10 percent are universally accessible.
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Most of the new ramps will be at corners with others at MetroBus and intra-city shuttle stops and, as appropriate to location, a few will be at mid-block.
The project will emcompass:
• 774 ramps with detectable warning tiles.
• 13,942 linear feet of 4-inch concrete for the ramps.
• 15,480 linear feet of existing 4-inch sidewalk that needs to be removed to adjust for the new ramps to meet elevations and slope requirements.
• Road rock for foundation.
• Restoration for the area as needed.
The project has been funded to commence after July 2016 and is expected to be completed within the following two years.
“This project will meet our present needs and those of the future by providing accessible usage of our transportation infrastructure,” said City Manager Ron Gorland. “Great work by many people to get this grant secured for our city.”
Based on recent construction, the city believes 12 ramps can be completed per week (depending on weather). In order to complete the full scope of the request, actual construction time is projected at 65 weeks, or about 17 months. Factoring in the LAP agreement, Notice to Proceed and City purchasing procedures, a 24-month timeline is projected.
“(FDOT Operations and Transportation Supervisor) Laz Garaboa provided us with the ‘sidewalk’ terminologies and was also supportive of our work,” Foster said. “The TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) is a newly restructured program under MAP-21, so we were working under a fairly short timeline and new guidelines to make a compelling case statement.”
The total project budget is $1,096,808 with $210,908 or 19.3 percent coming from local funds to cover the final number.
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