TPO’s Smart Map 2050 adopted; plan identifies $36.5 billion of cost‑feasible projects and $20 billion unmet need

Chris Rosenberg, representative of the Miami‑Dade Transportation Planning Organization, told the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust on May 28 that the TPO’s long range transportation plan, branded “Smart Map 2050,” was adopted by the TPO governing board in September 2024 and federally approved in October 2024.

Rosenberg described the LRTP as a federally required, 25‑year document produced every five years. He said the plan used a five‑phase approach with an extensive public‑outreach effort that reached about 14,000 people in person and virtually and included interactive workshops in seven transportation planning areas. “The things that make Miami great,” Rosenberg said, “our natural resources, our diverse culture and amenities,” and he added that the public’s top concerns were “congestion” and “affordable housing.”

The plan placed 1,842 projects into a cost‑feasible program with a year‑of‑expenditure total of about $36.5 billion across four priority bands (three five‑year bands and a final 10‑year band). Rosenberg said the largest share by value and count falls into the highway/roadway/freight category, while a broad transit category (branded “EMAS smart transit”) and bicycle/pedestrian/micromobility projects comprise other major shares. He noted the plan still shows about $20 billion of needs that could not be fit into the cost‑feasible program.

Rosenberg said the TPO used 2020 census projections to model future populations — projecting Miami‑Dade population growth from roughly 2.7 million in 2020 to about 3.3 million by 2050 with employment growing from about 1.4 million to 1.8 million — and that the plan reconciles partner agency projects and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Members asked about funding breakdowns and municipal eligibility. Rosenberg said the plan demonstrates fiscal constraint by matching identified revenue streams to priority bands but does not bind a specific project to a single funding source; if multiple streams could apply, the plan records eligibility rather than an exclusive funding assignment. The TPO representative said a member seeking detailed PTP (surtax) associations should consult the plan’s project tables where revenue‑eligibility is tabulated.

Why it matters: The LRTP sets the countywide, fiscally constrained list of projects eligible for federal funding and guides investment priorities through 2050. Planners, agencies and elected officials use it to organize TIPs, grant applications and local capital programming.