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North Miami outlines use of People’s Transportation Plan funds for trolleys, Freebee on‑demand and pedestrian projects
Summary
North Miami’s interim transportation manager presented a 20/80 PTP funding model that the city uses for transit and roads, described a growing Freebee on‑demand service and the new Nomi Express circulator, and outlined traffic‑calming phases and a planned pedestrian bridge replacement.
Steven Marcellus, interim transportation manager for the City of North Miami, presented the city’s annual CITT report to the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust on Jan. 29, describing how the municipality is allocating local PTP surtax funds and highlighting transit and pedestrian projects.
Marcellus said North Miami dedicates 20 percent of local PTP surtax proceeds to transit and 80 percent to roadway and infrastructure work. He said the city’s 20 percent transit allocation — reported in the presentation as $774,369.60 — supports the city’s circulator (Nomi Express), an on‑demand Freebee pilot, trolley shelter maintenance and related transit services; the remaining 80 percent supports resurfacing, sidewalk repairs, traffic calming and a planned pedestrian bridge replacement.
Why it matters: North Miami’s use of PTP funds illustrates how municipalities distribute local surtax revenues between transit services and road maintenance and shows how small-city initiatives — on‑demand rides and small‑fleet circulators — integrate with countywide services.
Marcellus described the Freebee on‑demand pilot, which began in July 2023. He said total Freebee ridership through the end of last year was “almost 40,000,” averaging roughly 3,000 rides per month with average waits around 30–40 minutes. North Miami added two vehicles to the Freebee fleet with a grant, bringing the total to six vehicles, he said.
The Nomi Express circulator, he said, operates four fixed routes on weekdays. The city purchased four cutaway vehicles in 2023 (referred to in the presentation as “Charlies”) and operates them via a vendor; Marcellus said the vendor is Limousine of South Florida (LSF).
On traffic calming, Marcellus said the city collected input from nearly 1,200 unique users and more than 380 comments via an online engagement portal between November 2023 and June 2024. A consultant identified roughly 234 locations for treatment; the city proposed 387 devices across a phased construction plan. Marcellus said phase 1 would install about 68 devices with an estimated phase‑1 cost described in the presentation as “almost $6,000,000.”
He also described a planned pedestrian bridge replacement over the CC8 Canal (and referenced another pedestrian bridge on Northeast Second Avenue), saying the city will seek ADA improvements and that the project is going back to bidding with a target of beginning construction the following year, pending procurement and budgeting.
Trust members asked about potential connections to the Golden Glades park‑and‑ride and whether the city had coordinated fares or services with neighboring municipalities. Marcellus said North Miami is exploring connections to the Golden Glades via municipal and neighboring trolley services and noted the city is cooperating with other municipalities on planning.
Marcellus provided photos of recent resurfacing and sidewalk work and said tree‑raising efforts — pruning to improve sight lines — are part of the city’s safety program. Trust members praised North Miami for community engagement efforts and new services and asked staff to continue coordination with both the county and neighboring municipalities.
