Miami considered for federal congestion-relief program

Miami considered for federal congestion-relief program Miami has made the preliminary list for a U.S. Department of Transportation program aimed at reducing transportation congestion problems.
   Miami was named Friday as one of nine 'Preliminary Urban Partners' in the DOT's U.S. Congestion Initiative. Five final locations will be selected for the actual program later this summer.
   The DOT program looks at all elements of local transportation systems' impact on the economy, from trucks hung up in traffic to seaport cargo flows to airport congestions. The DOT said it created the program to address the billions of dollars in negative economic impacts created by transportation congestion problems.
   The DOT has authorized the creation of local Urban Partnership Agreements to look for solutions. One proposal from the Miami group was to convert existing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to limited access managed lanes from Interstate 395 in Miami-Dade County to I-595 in Broward County. The Miami proposal also includes ideas like developing bus rapid transit and new uses of electronic toll technology.
   When the Miami selection was announced, Gov. Charlie Crist lauded the efforts in Miami and urged the DOT to make Miami part of the final group of five urban plans.
   'Miami's Urban Partnership proposal is exactly the type of creative solution we need in Florida to address our congestion problems and meet our growing transportation challenges,' Crist said.