Miami port traffic proposal slipping away

Miami port traffic proposal slipping away    A revived proposal to build a new slip ramp for a primary corridor between the Port of Miami and the Interstate highway system is gaining no support from Miami's Metropolitan Planning Organization.
   The so-called 'slip ramp' proposal has been seen as the consensus favorite of many elements of the Miami shipping community. It is considered to be a short-term solution to traffic congestion and access problems for the Port of Miami. The latest proposal for the ramp calls for a scaled-down version of the project, involving only a single ramp from 6th Street to I-95. That would handle outbound traffic from the port on 6th Street, a one-way street that heads away from the port.
   Barbara Pimentel, a member of the Freight Transport Advisory Committee and the executive vice president of the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association, said the MPO has so far refused to consider the idea, in part because members believe the proposed Miami Port Tunnel project will ease traffic flows from the port.
   But Pimentel noted the port tunnel is not scheduled to open until 2013, while the slip ramp could handle traffic for several years until the $1.2 billion tunnel project is completed.
   She said the Florida Department of Transportation has also created some problems for the ramp proposal, because FDOT officials suggested it would take at least 18 months to prepare a study for the proposal'even though a more complicated slip ramp proposal was finished years ago.
   The Freight Transportation Advisory Committee is on the agenda for a December 7 meeting of the Miami MPO. The meeting is set for 2 p.m. at the County Commissioners' Chambers at the Stephen P. Clark Center in Miami, 111 N.W. 1st Street in Miami.