Where Do People Need to Go?
To analyze transit accessibility, it’s important to understand where people typically want to go. The most common destinations fall into the six categories described and mapped below.
- Regional Destination CategoryNumber of LocationsDescriptionPrimary Centers5Locations with the highest concentrations of people and jobsSecondary Centers25Regionally important destinations where people and jobs are concentratedAirport / Cruise Terminals6Airports and cruise terminals that connect residents and visitors to destinations outside of Southeast FloridaStadium / Performance Center10Locations that draw a regional audience to sports and entertainment eventsEducation Centers7State Colleges and UniversitiesRegional Medical Centers10Specialty medical centers and hospitals with level 1 trauma centers
How is Transit Access Where You Live?
Access is a product both of quality and coverage of transit service and the density of destinations. For the 2050 RTP, transit accessibility for locations across the Southeast Florida region was scored based on the number and type of priority destinations reachable and travel time to access them.
Predictably, accessibility tends to be highest in dense, urban locations, like downtown Miami, but the greatest improvements in access between now and 2050 are anticipated just outside the core areas.
Where is Change Happening?
Access is a product both of quality and coverage of transit service and the density of destinations. For the 2050 RTP, transit accessibility for locations across the Southeast Florida region was scored based on the number and type of priority destinations reachable and travel time to access them.
Predictably, accessibility tends to be highest in dense, urban locations, like downtown Miami, but the greatest improvements in access between now and 2050 are anticipated just outside the core areas.
Service increases speed of east-west connection. Overall accessibility benefits are smaller than in Broward and Miami-Dade, because there are relatively fewer regional destinations in Palm Beach.
Service increases speed of east-west connection, improving accessibility to destinations in the eastern part of the County and connections to north-south regional rail services.
East-west routes increase the speed of connections to the eastern part of the three-county area where there is a higher density of destinations and faster regional rail service, including Tri-Rail and Brightline.
Service creates faster connection to Miami and communities along South Metrorail. Accessibility improvements are concentrated around planned stations.
Services create new and faster north-south connections between communities along each corridor.
In addition to these specific corridors, the proposed network of bus rapid transit and improved north-south rail throughout Miami-Dade County is expected to provide faster travel. By adding both east-west and north-south corridors, the proposed projects allow for efficient trips that use two complementary routes.
The map below shows how transit access is expected to change over the next 25 years.
Impact of Transit Projects on Regional Transit Accessibility: Accessibility Score Change (between Current Network and Future Network)
Getting from Point A to Point B
Can you walk or bike from home to a grocery store, hospital, library, or school? How about a train station or transit transfer center? Can you take a bus from home to work or to a weekend event? These are the kinds of questions that define a region’s transportation accessibility.
Accessibility refers to people's ability to reach desired services and activities. It represents a contrast to the traditional, motor-vehicle-based approach to evaluating mobility.
The 2050 RTP’s regional transit accessibility task evaluated how well existing transit systems support travel across the region and what proposed projects could improve access for residents. The outcome? Building out the funded transit projects in the RTP’s cost-feasible plan would raise nearly 1.3 million area residents from medium, low, or limited transit access to high or highest access.