May 11, 2006 - Broward Workshop · May 11, 2006 To the residents of Broward County, The People for...

May 11, 2006

May 11, 2006

To the residents of Broward County,

The People for Progress are proud to present to you the Moving Broward Plan. Begun as an initiative of the BrowardWorkshop and its Transportation Committee, People for Progress was launched to create an open and inclusive dialoguewith our diverse community about the need to plan and implement a complete, user friendly, safe and efficient transitand transportation system for Broward County. This dialogue was begun in direct response to the Broward Board ofCounty Commissioners identifying Transportation as their Number 1 strategic goal in their Five-Year Plan (2006-2010).

To meet this strategic goal, the Board declared its intention to “initiate a campaign to ask voters to support a sales taxsurcharge to help finance future transit and transportation projects.” Further, they affirmed that “in preparation for a2006 General Election ballot measure, the Board [would] create a citizens’ review panel to help develop a transit andtransportation improvement program with specific recommendations.” The Moving Broward Plan is the product of thePeople for Progress’ efforts to develop the desired transportation improvement program.

In its first year if successfully passed in November by you, the voters of Broward County, the penny sales tax will generate $260 million to be used for transit and transportation projects throughout the County. Each year, each Citywill receive a direct distribution of 10% of these funds ($26 million in the first year) to spend on transit and transporta-tion related projects of their choosing in their own communities. Each year, 10% of the funds will also be allocated toCounty-wide traffic synchronization, road, and intersection improvements. Each year, as sales tax receipts grow, thesales tax revenues, the direct distributions to the Cities, and the amount allocated toward County-wide roadway projectswill similarly increase.

Broward County will immediately and simultaneously be able to accelerate transit and transportation projects that havenot been able to be done because there simply is no money available to do so. And we will be able to leverage millionsof dollars in State and Federal funds--money that is now going to other communities across the Country to develop theirlight rail transit lines--because we can demonstrate that we have a mandated, dedicated source of local funding.

The time to act is now. Doing nothing to solve the transportation crisis that we, our children, and our children’s childrenwill face is not a solution.

The Moving Broward Plan is a transportation solution for the citizens of Broward County.

Sincerely,

James A. Cummings John P. HartChairman, People for Progress Manager, People for Progress

Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................3

Overview of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN ..................................................9

Why is The Moving Broward Plan Needed?..............................................................................................9

How are Other Communities Addressing Their Transportation Needs?......................................................13

What is the Overall Concept of the Initiative and the Moving Broward Plan? ............................................15

What are the Benefits of the Moving Broward Plan? ................................................................................17

Why is a Sales Tax Proposed and Not Another Funding Source? ............................................................25

Why must the Initiative be on the Ballot in November 2006? ..................................................................27

Elements of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN ..................................................29

How was the Moving Broward Plan Developed?......................................................................................29

What are the Components of the Moving Broward Plan? ........................................................................31

What are the Traffic Control and Traffic Flow Improvements? ..........................................................33

What are the Enhanced Security Improvements? ............................................................................35

What are the Passenger Amenity Improvements?............................................................................37

What are the Bus Service Improvements? ......................................................................................39

What are the Paratransit Improvements?........................................................................................43

What are the Community Bus Improvements? ................................................................................45

What are the Transit Center, Park-and-Ride Lot, and Express Bus Improvements?..............................47

What are the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Improvements? ......................................................................49

What are the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Improvements?........................................................................53

What are the FEC High Capacity Improvements? ....................................................................57

What are the Downtown Streetcar Improvements? ..........................................................................59

What do the Cities Receive? ..................................................................................................................61

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Table of Contents

Schedule of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN ..................................................63

When will the Improvements in the Moving Broward Plan be Made? ........................................................63

Cost of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN ..............................................................67

What will the Moving Broward Plan Cost? ..............................................................................................67

Accountability of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN......................................71

What are the Transit and Transportation Trust and the Citizen’s Oversight Committee? ..............................71

Will the Public be Able to Track the Progress of the Moving Broward Plan? ..............................................73

Management of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN ......................................75

How will the Moving Broward Plan be Managed? ..................................................................................75

Appendix ........................................................................................................................................79

Charter County Transit Sales Tax Specifics ..............................................................................................79

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Background

In 2005, following a comprehensive review ofthe challenges facing Broward County resultingfrom its inevitable growth, the Board of CountyCommissioners adopted a Five-Year Work Planfor the fiscal years 2006-2011. In the workplan, the Commission outlined eight (8) strate-gic goals they deemed essential to be accom-plished for our community to effectively main-tain its quality of life values.

These strategic goals included the need to effec-tively address the critical issues of affordablehousing, economic development, environmentalpreservation and regional cooperation as a meansof solving our long term mutual objectives.

The Commission identified Transportation asits Number 1 strategic goal, and they subse-quently acknowledged that none of the othergoals could be met without the transportationcomponent in place first.

The Commission went on to state that “with lim-ited options available to improve traffic on ourroads and highways, Broward County must con-centrate on building a viable public transit systemthat is efficient, economical, and appealing to allsegments of the community. Redevelopment mustinclude a public transit component.”

To meet this strategic goal, the Board declaredits intention to “initiate a campaign to ask votersto support a penny sales tax to help financefuture transit and transportation projects.”Further, they affirmed that “in preparation for a2006 General Election ballot measure, the Board[would] create a citizens’ review panel to helpdevelop a transit and transportation improve-ment program with specific recommendations.”

Lastly, the Board “envisioned that County staff,along with input from Broward residents, busi-nesses, workers, and public officials, [would]assist this panel in reviewing and nominatingprojects for inclusion.”

People for Progress was formed by the businesscommunity and other concerned citizens ofBroward County following years of planning andcommunity involvement and in direct response tothe Transportation goal outlined by the Board ofCounty Commissioners in their Five-Year Plan.For more specifics on the Board of CountyCommissioners’ Five-Year Plan, see their website at:www.broward.org/5yearworkplan/welcome.htm.

The Moving Broward Plan is the product oftheir efforts.

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Introduction

People for Progress

Begun as an initiative of the Broward Workshopand its Transportation Committee, People forProgress was launched to create an open andinclusive dialogue with our diverse communityabout the need to plan and implement a com-plete, user friendly, safe and efficient transitand transportation system for Broward County.

This group of business leaders immediately recog-nized the importance of being able to honestly andopenly discuss the importance of this issue withevery segment of our community. But first theyneeded to satisfy themselves that an investment ofan additional penny sales tax sales tax dedicatedexclusively for transportation made sense.

Importantly, these business leaders had toanswer some very basic questions:

• How would they build into the proposal a sys-tem of checks and balances?

• Would they be able to establish a credibleguarantee that the revenues generated fromthis sales tax would actually go to the trans-portation improvements promised?

• Was this tax investment in our transit and trans-portation infrastructure a worthy investment?

• Was it fair and equitable to all segments of thecommunity and to all of the local jurisdictions?

• Would it do the job, creating the transportationsystem that would save time, money and aggra-vation for the workforce of Broward Countywho today have few transit options and arestuck in traffic burning $3.25 per gallon gas?

• Was the timing right for residents already reel-ing from soaring insurance costs and houserepairs following the 2005 hurricane season?

• With property taxes continuing to rise withhousing values could the people of BrowardCounty afford it?

• And finally, what would Broward County looklike 5, 10, 20 and 30 years down the road ifwe as a community did NOTHING to addressthe transportation crisis that is looming — ifwe simply went forward with the status quo?

All of these questions demanded careful reviewand consideration even before the nuts andbolts of the proposal could come together.Simply put, they demanded real answers, notphilosophical, pie-in-the-sky observations.

Economic Analysis

Taking it one step at a time, this group of com-munity leaders examined each and every ques-tion they knew needed to be honestly answered.

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Introduction

To begin, they carefully examined the economicimpact of the transportation sales tax invest-ment. Their review concluded:

• For every one dollar invested in transporta-tion improvements, an average of six dollarsis returned to the community.

• For every billion dollars invested in transitand transportation projects 47,000 jobs arecreated (our initiative, the Moving BrowardPlan, is a multi-billion dollar program).

• By establishing a local dedicated fundingsource for transportation, our communitycould leverage a 50 percent and a 25 percentmatch from the federal and state govern-ments, respectively. This immediately gener-ates a 3 to 1 return on our tax investment

When this return is enhanced by the fact thatour visitors and tourists contribute approximate-ly 30 percent to the overall sales tax receipts ofBroward County, the conclusion was reachedthat the proposed penny sales tax constituted awise and appropriate investment.

Now, not only would we be able to build aworld-class transportation system for the resi-dents of Broward County, but we would end thepractice of “donating” our locally-generated taxdollars to other communities across the countrywho take advantage of matching federal fundsand build their systems.

People for Progress Safeguards

Next, the People for Progress Team sought tostructure a proposal that would have built inprotections to safeguard against the possiblemisuse of the transportation funds.

To accomplish this goal, they decided to developthe ballot question based upon a Florida Statute(212.055(1)) that specifically spells out theallowable allocation of the revenues generatedby our local initiative. It requires all monies bededicated exclusively to transportation projects.It further requires that the funds be divided,with 75 percent allocated to transit and 25 per-cent allocated to other transportation relatedundertakings.

Adhering to the restrictions of the statute wasonly a first step in protecting our community’stransportation investment.

The team then negotiated with the CountyAdministration to have the current percentageof annual transit program dollars be frozen.This safeguard guarantees that our sales taxgenerated transportation dollars always remainas an enhancement, not a replacement, of theexisting budgeted amount.

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Introduction

Finally, to further ensure our investment wentdirectly to the projects promised, it was deter-mined that all the monies raised through thepenny sales tax sales tax would flow into a sep-arate Transit and Transportation TrustAccount, and not co-mingled with general rev-enue. This trust account would be managed,monitored and audited by an IndependentCitizen’s Oversight Committee consisting ofresidents of our County.

Those volunteering their time and talents forthis responsibility would be appointed by theCounty Commission based upon qualification inan open application process, would represent across-section of our diverse community, andwould sign a declaration stating that their serv-ice would not be hindered by either a perceivedor real conflict of interest.

The Bottom-Line: Our investment made sense(dollars and cents). Our investment would beensured to go where it was proposed to go.But, would it do the job and could we afford it?

Building an Affordable WorldClass Transportation System

It is often argued that Broward County is theposter child of sprawl; a massive suburban com-munity lacking a dominant single employment

center and a populace so wedded to our cars wewill never use mass transit.

That argument would be valid if we were toignore the dramatic commuting habit adjust-ments that have occurred across our nation inthe last three decades. Other car-committedcommunities such as Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotteand Denver have proven that “if you build it,they will ride!”

The first challenge is to build a complete sys-tem, methodically, beginning with meaningfulimprovements for those already using our publictransportation services, some 120,000 per day.Concurrently, we need to complete county-widecongestion relief projects, such as signal syn-chronization and key intersection and roadwayimprovements.

While doubling the mass transit fleet with mod-ern clean-fuel vehicles and while doubling thefunding for the community bus system, we willplan for the implementation of our Bus RapidTransit, Express Bus and Light Rail Transit com-ponents of the Moving Broward Plan.

All of these foundational improvements canand will be completed within the first fewyears of our program because the investmentdollars — starting at $260 million per year —

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Introduction

will be available and exclusively dedicated forthese projects.

People for Progress’ goal is simple: Build acomprehensive, integrated multi-modal trans-portation system, a first-class complete transitsystem that is convenient, dependable, safeand, gets us where we want to go when wewant to get there! We sincerely believe ourtransit and transportation sales tax will achievethese straight-forward objectives.

As to the impact on our individual budgets, weturned to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to con-servatively estimate just what our penny sales taxwould cost the average worker in our community.

What we found was for an individual earningbetween $45,000 and $55,000 annually, theapproximate impact of this additional penny salestax investment would total $45.00 per year.

We carefully considered this impact and com-pared it to the real cost of gridlock and $3.25per gallon gas. We further considered the lossof time and productivity for each and every oneof us and simply imagined: What would we befaced with over the next two decades with theprojected 1,000,000 more residents who willcall Broward County home, their 1.5 million

more cars, and the millions more tourists andtheir vehicles?

This startling picture had us conclude that“doing nothing is not a plan” for our future.By making this investment now, as a community,we will actually determine how our quality oflife will be preserved well into the future. Thetransportation investment is modest comparedto the cost of inaction.

The Moving Broward Plan

The Moving Broward Plan is a compilation ofprojects and programs contained in both theBroward County Metropolitan PlanningOrganization’s Long Range Transportation Planand the Broward County Transit Investment Plan— so we started with some clearly identifiedand universally acknowledged needs. But, it ismuch more!

The Moving Broward Plan details phasing, pri-oritization and partnership. It lays out specificbus headway (frequency) improvements; whereand when planning and implementation ofExpress and Limited Stop type service will beinstituted; the time frame for the planning andimplementation of Bus Rapid Transit and LightRail Transit and the corridors where those serv-ices will be introduced; and the financial plan

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Introduction

to support both the capital and operating costsof all of these programs.

The Moving Broward Plan also addresses thespecial needs our paratransit riders have andhow our doubling of the budget in this area willlead to the improved service quality that weknow is necessary, and that we are obligatedand responsible to provide.

The Moving Broward Plan details the partner-ship between the County and its Municipal col-leagues, with a direct distribution of 10 percentof the sales tax revenues to each city for use attheir discretion on transit and transportationrelated projects and services.

The Moving Broward Plan addresses the oppor-tunity for regional cooperation; setting the stagefor an inter-county transit system, where politi-cal boundaries are seamless and commuters getto where they need to go on time and unencum-bered by who is running the system.

Lastly, the Moving Broward Plan provides thededicated funding source for regional transit andtransportation projects to leverage state andfederal monies, and provides a dedicated rev-enue stream for municipalities to leverage forthe acceleration of their priority projects.Timing is of the essence in order to qualify for

these funds. If we do not demonstrate a dedi-cated funding source by the beginning of 2007,we will miss out on having Broward Countyincluded in the next federal funding authoriza-tion legislation as it is developed for distributionbeginning in 2010, and will have to instead waituntil the next round of funding decisions in 2016— a wait we simply cannot afford!

Essentially, the Moving Broward Plan is theblueprint for our transit and transportationfuture. It is specific to the point of accountabil-ity that projects identified will be completedyet sufficiently flexible to make adjustments ascircumstances and demographics realign. Wehave given the Broward County Commissionexactly what it envisioned when it astutelyidentified transportation as their Number 1Priority and we look forward to presenting thisplan to them for their review, and ultimatelytheir vote to place this issue on the November2006 ballot.

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Introduction

Overview of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN

Broward County has matured into a dynamicurban environment. It offers to its residentsand tourists the full complement of naturalbeauty, art and culture, world class neighbor-hoods and an ever expanding center for businessand commerce. While the assets bring benefits,they also come with challenges. One of thosechallenges is how to effectively deal with thestrain on our transportation system, the vitalinfrastructure for our continued economic andsmart growth.

The Broward County Commission recognizedthese challenges as they prepared their Five-Year Plan in 2005, as stated in the of this Plan.Some basic introduction facts, which supportthe conclusions reached by the Broward CountyCommission, speak to our transportation systemcrisis in Broward County:

• In 2003, a commuter spent an average 52extra hours a year on the region’s roadwaysdue to traffic congestion, compared with 11extra hours in 1982.

• Congestion cost South Floridians approximately$2.6 billion in wasted time and fuel in 2003.

• These costs and delays will only rise with pro-jected population and employment increases

of 48.8 percent and 45 percent, respectivelyaccording to the Broward County TransitInvestment Plan, by 2030.

• Broward County tourism brings millions morepeople to our community and onto our roadsand highways each year.

• By 2030, virtually all of the major countyroads and highways will be even more con-gested during morning and evening rush hoursand these rush hours will become longer.

Virtually every day in the last few months, theSun-Sentinel headlines have contained more ofthe dire situation facing our residents: April 27,2006 a headline read:

“I can’t afford to pay for gas”

A Sun-Sentinel headline on April 11, 2006 read:

“When the bus doesn’t come retireesoften left waiting or stranded”

And on March 29, 2006, the Sun-Sentinel head-line read:

“You Need Deep Pockets to Run a Car; It’sNot Only the Gas that Attacks YourWallet, AAA Says”

The article went on to state that “the averagedriving cost a mix of expenses for small, medi-

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Why is The Moving Broward Plan Needed?

um and large passenger cars — works out to$150 a week. And the average cost of driving acar is now $7,834 a year.”

And importantly, for emergency response per-sonnel, the increasingly congested roadways canmean the difference between life and death. In a Sun-Sentinel article from March 30, 2006,entitled:

“How Well Do Pompano Paramedics ServeResidents? In A Two-Year Analysis OfEmergency Calls, Here Is What We Found:Every Second Counts.”

It was reported that:

“Six minutes. That's a national standard forthe most amount of time it should take para-medics to respond to a medical emergency.Six minutes is also the time it takes for braincells that are deprived of oxygen to die,causing irreparable damage…. [and]...Response consistently crosses the deadly six-minute threshold in areas such as the north-west, where most of the city's poor residentslive, and Palm Aire, which is largely a retire-ment community.”

Broward County has a bus only transit systemcurrently in place. As of 2005, the operatingdivision, Broward County Transit (BCT) has 287fixed route buses. The County also serves over

20,000 individuals with the TOPS paratransit sys-tem for those who cannot ride the fixed routebuses. In addition, Tri-Rail commuter trainsoperated by the South Florida RegionalTransportation Authority (SFRTA) services pas-sengers in a three-county region, and there arelocal community buses in 22 cities, subsidizedby Broward County, that provide localized serv-ice within a community. However, the system isgrossly under funded. Sometimes in fact, theTOPS shuttle doesn’t come to pick seniors up attheir doctor’s offices, and riders of the fixedroute system are often left waiting an hour fora bus to arrive at their stop. Additionally, con-nections from a local transit stop to an ultimatedestination are sometimes just not there tomake the service convenient.

We cannot expect people to use a system thatcannot get them where they need to go. Butwe cannot improve on a system if there is nomoney available to do so. We cannot offer peo-ple choices to get to work, to school, to shop-ping, to doctor’s appointments, to recreationalactivities and the like if we do not begin now tofund, plan for, and implement integrated, multi-modal public transit system, a system that isnot just for bus riders.

The Broward County Commission stated thisspecifically in their Five-Year Plan: “with limited

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options available to improve traffic on our roadsand highways, Broward County must concen-trate on building a viable public transit systemthat is efficient, economical, and appealing toall segments of the community.” TheCommission further states that it is their mis-sion “to ensure that we are prepared for thisgrowth, and able to maintain high quality of lifefor residents, businesses and visitors.” TheMoving Broward Plan captures their vision andthe goals of the Commission’s Five-Year Plan.

By providing Broward County an integrated com-prehensive transportation network, residentsand visitors in Broward County will have choicesfor moving about the region, they will havelower cost alternatives to the automobile andthe soaring prices of gasoline, public safety willbe enhanced because emergency vehicles canmove through improved intersections, and theenvironment will be preserved through the useof clean-fuel buses. The people of BrowardCounty, and our visitors will have greater con-nectivity between their destinations throughincreased bus and rail services, and our eco-nomic vitality as a community will be sustained,because people won’t lose hundreds of hourseach year in traffic. And because people willhave access to more affordable housing, we cankeep our teachers, firefighters, police officers,nurses, and hospitality professionals living in thesame community in which they work.

The Moving Broward Plan is a transportationsolution for the citizens of Broward County.

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Public transit is experiencing a renaissanceacross America. For ten consecutive years rider-ship has increased and in 2004 over 9 billiontrips were taken on public transit. Transit rider-ship is currently growing faster than vehiclemiles traveled by the automobile.

Fueling this new interest in transit is increasedfunding at the local, State and federal levels. Atthe local level, over 115 communities havepassed local transit initiatives since 2002. In2005, over 80 percent of local communities whowent to the voters for new transit funding weresuccessful (see graph below). Also in 2005, thelargest Federal transit funding bill in historySAFTEA-LU passed Congress and was signed bythe President, providing over $50 billion in newtransit funding for communities across thenation through 2009.

The fastest growing component of transit is rail.New rail systems have recently been opened inHouston, Dallas, Portland, Denver, Salt Lake City,Minneapolis, St. Louis, San Diego, Los Angeles,Sacramento, and San Jose. Extensions to all ofthese systems as well as additional new systemsare under construction in Phoenix, Seattle, andAlbuquerque.

Planning is underway in many other communitiesacross the country for expanded rail, bus rapidtransit and bus projects. Urban areas are usingthese transit projects to stimulate economicdevelopment and coordinate future growth. On average, over 300 jobs are created for every$10 million invested in transit capital projects.In Dallas alone, the community has experiencedover $800 million in new development aroundrail transit stations since the opening of theirlight rail system.

Investing in public transit provides communitieswith additional choices in their fight to copewith growing congestion. As in Broward County,


Recent National Transit Election Results

Source: Center for Transportation Excellence

How are Other Communities Addressing TheirTransportation Needs?

over one third of Americans spend 40 hours ormore each year sitting in traffic. That is a full work-week lost to congestion for millions of Americans.

Finally, the high cost of energy is causing manyAmericans to look for alternatives to having asecond or third automobile primarily for travelback and forth to work. Transit ridership in2005 set an all time record with over 9.7 billiontrips. While the automobile will always be thepredominant mode of choice in this country, ifjust 1 in 10 Americans used transit we couldreduce our dependence on foreign oil by 40 percent equivalent to all the oil imported fromSaudi Arabia.

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The overall concept of the initiative being pro-posed as the Moving Broward Plan is to providethe citizens of Broward with an integrated,multi-modal transit system that will be sustain-able well into the future through a dedicated

funding source. The Plan provides for theenhancement of the existing transit services inthe short term, and the implementation of sev-eral new high capacity and express services inthe next ten years. The funding is based on thepenny sales tax within Broward County.

The integrated, multi-modal transit system will bebuilt around major “trunk” services on the north-south and east-west corridors of Broward County,with multi-modal centers for transfer between thehigh capacity trunks (light rail, commuter rail andbus rapid transit) and the main bus routes andcommunity buses or downtown shuttles.

The Moving Broward Plan will:

• Provide almost $53 million in the first fewyears to synchronize traffic signals through-out the county and a total of over $850 millionby 2030 that will be allocated for roadwayand intersection improvements County-Wide

• Provide $4 million in the first year, and grow-ing by 4 percent yearly as the transit programgrows, for enhanced security for protectingriders and safeguarding our equipment andtransit facilities


What is the Overall Concept of the Initiative and MovingBroward Plan?

Multi-Modal Transit Network Concept

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The evidence is clear: To maintain a sound and vibrant national economyand to enhance Americans’ quality of life, the US must increase its investment inpublic transportation. Providing a broad and sustainable economic stimulus to localcommunities, metropolitan regions, states and the nation, public transportation:• Boosts business revenues and profits• Creates jobs and expands the labor pool• Stimulates development and redevelopment• Expands local and state tax revenues and reduces expenditures required for other

essential public services• Reduces household and business costs and enhances worker business productivity

• Return $26 million each year to the Cities toimplement transportation-related improvementsof their choosing in their own communities

• More than double the funding for communitybus services in a three year period, allowingfor enhancement of existing service to operatefor 12-hour days and weekends and for addi-tional cities to add service if they choose

• Allow seniors to ride for free

• Generate $260 million annually to be usedfor transportation improvements, 30 percentof which will be paid for by sales tax rev-enue generated by tourists

• Provide for 10-minute headways during peakhours on the most heavily traveled busroutes in the County and add over 100 fixedroute buses and add limited service busesin the first few years

• Provide over 65 miles of light rail transit(LRT) on high volume corridors with thebackbone of the system starting on SR7 andbeing extended ultimately to downtown FortLauderdale; development of the DowntownStreetcar and high capacity transit on theFEC; and the extension of LRT along I-595.

• Contain over 39 miles of bus rapid transit(BRT) on east-west corridors with serviceon Atlantic Boulevard or Sample Road,Oakland Park Boulevard, and Pines/Hollywood Boulevard

• Provide express bus service along three pri-mary corridors that can provide immediaterelief to western County residents with longcommutes to Miami-Dade, downtown FortLauderdale, and Palm Beach.

There are several safeguards that will be builtinto this initiative. First, the enabling legisla-tion that allows the penny sales tax to be con-sidered contains specific language that restrictsall expenditures from the revenues generated tobe spent exclusively on transit and transporta-tion projects. Federal, state, county, andmunicipal agencies have further checks and bal-ances built in to the procurement process andthe management of all projects that will be let.

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In addition to providing necessaryrelief to the millions of residentsand tourists traveling daily on ourroads and highways, the MovingBroward Plan will have significanttangible benefits to our economyand our environment. These bene-fits are presented below.

Economic Benefits

The following is taken from materi-al developed by the AmericanPublic Transportation Association(APTA) in 2002. Many of the eco-nomic benefits discussed in thismaterial may in fact be higher by now.

Transit is an EconomicStimulus

An investment in public transporta-tion directly benefits theeconomies of local communities,regions, and entire States wherethe transportation improvementsare made.

• In St. Louis, a 25-year modernization andexpansion of the public transportation system isexpected to bring $2.3 billion in business sales.

• In Chicago, the METRA commuter rail system’s20-year "good repair" strategy could add anadditional $4.6 billion to business sales.

• Analysis of system expansion for New YorkCity’s Metropolitan Transportation Authorityand Chicago’s Regional TransportationAuthority show nearly equivalent statewideeconomic benefits in relationship to costs: inexcess of 2 to 1 for New York State and 1.8 to1 for Illinois.

Transit Creates and Sustains Jobs,Locally and Nationwide

"Every $1 billion invested in the nation’stransportation infrastructure supportsapproximately 47,500 jobs — proving thattransportation continues to be an economicengine and job creator."

The jobs created by transit investments includedurable and non-durable manufacturing jobs, aswell as jobs in non-manufacturing industriessuch as construction, finance, insurance and realestate, retail and wholesale trade, and service.

Public transportation contributes to thenation’s economic strength in two fundamental ways:• Direct dollar investment, multiplied throughout

the economy• Improved transportation options, which create

economic benefits for individuals, households, businesses and governments

Dollars invested in public transportation flow throughall sectors of the economy and a cross section ofAmerican communities, large and small, urban andrural. Through increased jobs, income, profit and taxrevenue, they provide an economic stimulus far exceed-ing the original investment – as much as six dollars forevery dollar invested.*

In addition to directly stimulating the economy,investment in public transportation enhances mobilityfor businesses and households, thereby:• Protecting personal freedom, choice and mobility• Enhancing access to opportunity• Enabling economic prosperity• Protecting our communities and the natural Environment

Every $10 million capital investment in publictransportation can return up to $30 million inbusiness sales alone.

* Under different scenarios, the overall economic benefits of publictransportation investment may be as high as nine to one.

What are the Benefits of the Moving Broward Plan?


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• At plants in Plattsburgh and Hornell, NewYork, and Sacramento, California, hundreds ofworkers assemble orders for rail equipment.

• New York’s MTA-LIRR East Side Access projectis expected to generate 375,000 jobs and $26billion in wages.

• New Orleans expects the economic activitygenerated by its Canal Line to create over1,661 new jobs.

• Tri-Rail in our own community expects itsfive-year public transportation developmentplan to spawn 6,300 ongoing system-related jobs.

Transit Spurs Economic Growth andDevelopment

In communities and regions across the nation,investment in public transportation promotesvital economic growth and development.

Public transportation-oriented development incongested corridors revitalizes neglected anddecayed neighborhoods, frequently serving as acatalyst for new business partnerships betweenpublic agencies and private businesses. Thesepartnerships are often community-based,involving minority-owned enterprises seekingto establish new economic roots in distressedneighborhoods and communities.

• In Washington, DC, the new $90 million NewYork Avenue "in-fill" station on WashingtonMetro’s existing Red Line is being developedthrough an equal partnership between the feder-al and DC governments and local business inter-ests. The station will trigger significant newmixed-use development, revitalizing an underde-veloped and underserved part of DC.

• The 35-mile MetroLink light rail system in St.Louis has sparked construction of a $266 mil-lion Convention Center Hotel, the $60 millionPerforming Arts Center and the $5.8 millionJackie Joyner Kersee Sports Complex.Revitalization of the area around MetroLink’sdowntown Busch Stadium Station includes a$160 million renovation of Cupples Station, a10-building, 12-acre mixed-use development.

Smaller scale, bus-oriented public transportationinvestments are also spurring economic redevel-opment across the country.


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• In Dayton, Ohio, the Wright Stop Plaza occu-pies a historic building and provides easyaccess to and transfers between most routesof the Greater Dayton Regional TransitAuthority. Housing an assortment of shops,the plaza has become a popular downtowngathering place.

• The first phase of Boston’s Silver Line BusRapid Transit (BRT) project opened on July 20,2002. Since the planning process began, over$450 million has been invested in commercialand residential development in the corridor.

Transit Attracts and ConcentratesNew Development

Public transit stations attract and concentratenew development, often in livable and attractivearrangements that encourage public transporta-tion use and reduce reliance on private vehicles.

• The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light railstarter line has generated over $3 billionsince 1996 in development, surpassing the$860 million cost of the project.

• Washington, DC’s Metrorail has generated near-ly $15 billion in surrounding private develop-ment. Between 1980 and 1990 alone, 40 per-cent of the region’s retail and office space wasbuilt within walking distance of a Metro station.

• Developers in places as diverse as northernVirginia, Portland, San Diego, Denver,Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and New Yorkare investing millions in commercial buildings,sports facilities and entertainment complexesaround public transportation stations.

Transit Promotes IncreasedEconomic Activity

In many areas, traffic congestion is puttingthe brakes on economic activity. Businessleaders stress that increased access results inmore commerce and often encourages businessand industry to adopt new, more efficient busi-ness practices that improve productivity andprofitability and reduce costs. Enhanced andexpanded public transportation substantiallyincreases access to and through establishedbusiness and community centers.


“Indeed, development atop Los Angelessubway stops already is revitalizingHollywood Boulevard…from affordableapartments and neighborhood retail atWestern Avenue to a 640,000-square-foot entertainment retail complex and a640-room hotel at Highland Avenue.”

Source: Holt, Nancy D. “Railway AgenciesPlay Bigger Real-Estate Role,” The WallStreet Journal, May 2, 2001.

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• In Manassas Park near Washington, DC, theVirginia Railway Express commuter rail stationhas jump-started commercial activity, helpingrevitalize that community.

• One of the country’s greatest transit successstories, the DART system in downtown Dallassparked a nearly 33 percent jump in retailsales between mid-1997 and mid-1998, asopposed to only a 3 percent rise city-wideover the same period.

• In Atlanta and Washington, DC, average officerents near transit stations rose with ridership,and joint development projects added morethan three dollars per gross square foot toannual office rents.

The benefits to transportation users of a $10million capital investment in public transporta-tion will translate into $31 million in addedbusiness output and $18 million in added per-sonal income over 20 years.

Transit Strengthens Fiscal Health ofLocal and State Governments

Expanded development and economic activitymade possible through public transportation helpcreate and sustain the fiscal health of local andstate governments and strengthen localeconomies. New public transportation-orienteddevelopment expands business revenues, leading

to new jobs and higher wages and salaries, thusincreasing the tax base and revenues flowing tolocal and state governments. Studies show that,nationwide, residential and commercial propertyvalues rise with proximity to rail public trans-portation systems and stations. Typically, stateand local governments realize a 4 to 16 percentgain in revenues as a result of increases in busi-ness profits and personal income generated bypublic transportation investment.

The Washington Metrorail system is expected togenerate $2.1 billion in tax revenues for theCommonwealth of Virginia between 1977, whenthe first station opened in Virginia, and 2010.

Economic Benefits of PublicTransportation Investment

Between 1994 and 1998, the increase in taxablevalue of properties located near Dallas’ DARTlight rail stations was 25 percent higher thanelsewhere in the metropolitan area.

Transit Benefits Individuals,Households and Businesses

Every day, the economic benefits of public trans-portation are felt on personal, regional andnational levels. For every dollar earned, theaverage US household spends 18 cents on trans-portation, 98 percent of which goes towards


The return on dollars invested in publictransportation is far greater than thecosts. This is true in rural and smallurban areas as well as in major metropolitan regions, and at state aswell as regional levels. Under differentscenarios, the overall economic benefitsof public transportation may exceedcosts by as much as nine to one.

Source: Cambridge Systematics, Inc.,Public Transportation and the Nation'sEconomy: A Quantitative Analysis ofPublic Transportation’s Economic Impact,Washington, D.C., October 1999.

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buying, maintaining and operating vehicles, thelargest source of personal debt after home mort-gages. Public transportation can save Americanhouseholds thousands of dollars a year in trans-portation expenditures.

• Americans living in public transportation-intensive metropolitan areas save $22 billionannually in transportation costs.

• The Altamont Commuter Express, running 77miles between Sacramento and San Francisco,can cut annual commuting costs in half, from$5,300 to $2,700.

• Fannie Mae’s pilot program, which provides"location efficient" mortgages, recognizes thathouseholds’ transportation costs are reducedsignificantly with proximity to transit, enablingfamilies to afford better housing options.

As a fundamental component of our economicsafety net for individual Americans, public trans-portation provides for fuller participation of allAmericans in the nation’s economy, a wider rangeof economic opportunities for individuals and busi-nesses, and more avenues for business and indus-try to increase productivity and reduce costs.

• In Atlanta, BellSouth is consolidating its subur-ban offices into three downtown locationsconvenient to the MARTA rail and bus systemin order to increase productivity by makingcommuting easier.

• The location of Motorola’s new cellular phonefactory at the end of the Chicago’s METRAcommuter rail system in Harvard, Illinois,greatly expands the labor pool from which thecompany draws workers.

• In Detroit, the Job Express service operated bythe Suburban Mobility Authority for RegionalTransportation connects 800 employers and16,000 jobs.

• Treasure Valley Transit, in Canyon County,Idaho, provides 91,000 residents spread over583 square miles with access to jobs, schoolsand healthcare providers.

• In Wyoming, the Sweetwater Transit Authorityhelps residents in a 10,000-square-mile areaaccess work sites.

Public transportation provides wide-ranging andlasting economic benefits at the local, state andnational levels. To compete successfully in theglobal economy, our economic strategy in theyears ahead must include a solid commitmentto increase investment in and use of publictransportation.

Environmental Benefits

Transportation’s contribution to America’s energyconsumption and environmental quality is immense.Americans use more energy and generate morepollution in their daily lives than they do in the


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production of all the goods in the economy, theoperations of all commercial enterprises, or therunning of their homes. Any serious effort toreduce our dependence on foreign oil and makesignificant environmental progress mustaddress the way Americans travel.

The vital role of public transportation inimproving energy efficiency and the environ-ment is often under-appreciated. With its fueland pollution advantages, increased use of tran-sit offers the most effective strategy availablefor reducing energy consumption and improvingthe environment without imposing new taxes,government mandates, or regulations on theeconomy or consumers.

Public transportation needs to be an essentialelement in sound national energy and environ-mental policies. Potential threats to the supplyand price of foreign oil as a result of terrorism,conflicts in the Middle East, and OPEC decisionsunderscore the need for a public transportationstrategy that reduces our nation’s dependenceon imported oil. Likewise, ongoing efforts toreduce harmful emissions from our air can bemore effective when they include ways toincrease use of public transportation.

“Conserving Energy and Preserving theEnvironment: The Role of Public Transportation,”a report sponsored by American PublicTransportation Association (APTA), demonstrates

that traveling by transit, per person and per mile,uses significantly less energy and produces sub-stantially less pollution than comparable travel byprivate vehicles. The findings provide clear andindisputable evidence that public transporta-tion is saving energy and reducing pollution inAmerica today — and that increased usage couldhave an even greater impact in the future.

At our current levels of use, the APTA studyfound public transportation is reducingAmericans’ energy bills and keeping the aircleaner. For example:

• For every passenger mile traveled, publictransportation uses about one-half the fuel ofprivate automobiles, sports utility vehicles(SUVs) and light trucks.

• For every passenger mile traveled, publictransportation produces only a fraction of the


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harmful pollution of private vehicles: only 5percent as much carbon monoxide, less than8 percent as many volatile organic com-pounds, and nearly half as much carbon diox-ide and nitrogen oxides.

The study concludes that greater use of publictransportation offers the single most effectivestrategy currently available for achieving signifi-cant energy savings and environmental gains,without creating new government programs orimposing new rules on the private sector.

For example, if Americans used public transporta-tion at the same rate as Europeans, for roughlyten percent of their daily travel needs, the UnitedStates would:

• Reduce its dependence on imported oil by morethan 40 percent or nearly the amount of oil weimport from Saudi Arabia each year

• Save more energy every year than all the energyused by the U.S. petrochemical industry andnearly equal the energy used to produce food inthe United States

• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than25 percent of those directed under the KyotoAgreement

• Reduce CO pollution by three times the com-bined levels emitted by four high polluting

industry (chemical manufacturing; oil and gasproduction; metals processing; and industrialuse of coal)

• Reduce smog across the country by cutting NOxemissions by 35 percent of the combined NOxemissions from the four industries cited above,and cut VOC pollution by 84 percent of the com-bined VOC emissions from these four industries

As responsible citizens of Broward County, and theglobal community at large, we cannot turn ourbacks on the irrefutable environmental benefits ofan efficient and effective transportation system.


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The Broward County Transit Investment Plan (TIP)contains a description of revenues that theCounty could obtain through a one-half cent tax,a special transit dedicated property tax, and afull penny sales tax. The report was presentedto the Broward County Commissioners inSeptember 2005 and to the Broward MetropolitanPlanning Organization in October 2005.

Florida State statute (F.S. 212.055(1)) permitscertain counties and cities to levy up-to a onepercent sales tax for programs with fixed guide-way elements. Broward County is included inthis provision. Two Florida jurisdictions —Jacksonville and Miami-Dade County — havetransit sales tax surcharges. By provisions ofthe statute, most funds must be dedicated tobuild, operate and maintain transit systems. To receive funding for major transit projects,known as New Starts by the Federal TransitAdministration (FTA), communities must showthe financial capacity to pay for their share tobuild (capital funds), and operate and maintain(O&M funds) the New Starts projects, while alsosupporting their existing transit services. Thelocal funds must be “earmarked”, or dedicated,for transit use so they cannot be shifted else-where causing a decrease in transit service ben-efits promised with the New Start project.

Broward County government’s contribution toBroward County Transit (BCT) has been verysmall for a County of 1.8 million residents.Only $60-70 million from County gasoline taxesand general fund go to operate, build or main-tain the current bus system with 120,000 dailyriders. While ridership has grown 30 percent inthe last five years, actual bus service (hours ofvehicle operations) has grown only 12 percent.Bus equipment and support facilities are inade-quate for major service growth. This source isnot dedicated to transit (except for the 9 centLocal Option Gas Tax) and can vary over time.Current funding is therefore both inadequateand unreliable as a federally-mandated “dedi-cated” source for funding for a major expansionof services.

Demand has been constrained to expand theCommunity Bus system, the TOPS program (theADA-Transportation Options program for peoplewith disabilities), express buses to employmentareas in Miami-Dade or Palm Beach Counties.There has been no funding of major capitalprojects proposed by the Florida Department ofTransportation, the South Florida RegionalTransportation Authority, or the South FloridaRegional Planning Council.


Why is a Sales Tax Proposed and Not another FundingSource?

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Thus, the penny sales tax is needed for Broward tocatch-up on deficiencies and to develop new tran-sit facilities and services for a growing community.

According to the Broward County BudgetDepartment in the TIP in 2005 a sales tax at thislevel would yield $260 million. Actual collec-tions will grow with the overall economy, popu-lation growth and inflationary trends. Due toBroward’s population growth and economictrends, the sales tax is anticipated to increasein “real” term by 2.3 percent annually, exclud-ing inflationary trends.

An additional benefit of a penny sales tax fortransportation is that the cost is shared withvisitors and non-residents. Visitors and non-residents contribute to Broward’s traffic conges-tion and transportation challenges. In Florida,the millions of tourists that visit our Countyeach year will contribute an estimated 30 per-cent of all sales tax collections from the pennysales tax. With a transportation sales tax, visi-tors and non-residents will help share the costsof improving Broward’s transportation network.


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The November 2006 General Election providesseveral advantages over a separate electionconducted at any other time. First, the ballotwill include a gubernatorial election which typi-cally generates higher electoral participationand interest. Second, the Safe, Accountable,Flexible, and Efficient Transportation EquityAct: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authoriz-es federal transportation funding for the five-year period of 2005-2009. A transportationsales tax effective on January 1, 2007, providesthe local funds necessary to demonstrate a localfinancial commitment for projects to be consid-ered in the next federal transportation fundingcycle beginning in 2010. If we do not submitprojects for consideration in this cycle, before2008 when the next Authorization is scheduledto be developed, Broward County must waituntil the subsequent federal cycle which beginsin 2016. Approval of the penny sales tax initia-tive in 2006 or early 2007 will allow theadvancement of major project planning anddevelopment putting the program in-line forfunding in 2010 and beyond.


Why must the Initiative be on the Ballot in November 2006?

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The Moving Broward Plan projects come fromthe current transit planning documents, including:

• The 2005-2030 Broward County TransitInvestment Plan prepared in 2005.

• The Metropolitan Planning Organization’s(MPO) 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan(LRTP), prepared in December 2004

• The 2005-2009 Broward County TransitDevelopment Plan.

• Other transportation plans and studies con-ducted by a variety of organizations includingVisionBROWARD, the Florida Department ofTransportation, and the DowntownDevelopment Authority.

The Moving Broward Plan utilizes a planninghorizon of 2030, consistent with other planningdocuments. As no planning has yet occurredbeyond the 2030 date, the establishment of acontinuing dedicated funding source will permitfuture projects and system expansion needs tobe funded and implemented.

Projects included in the Moving Broward Planare being refined through a series of publicworkshops to identify and confirm the communi-ties’ needs. The resulting Moving Broward

Plan will be presented to the Board of CountyCommissioners for approval and inclusion in thereferendum package.

Upon adoption and implementation through thereferendum, the Moving Broward Plan will beincorporated into the county, regional, state andfederal transportation plans as adopted, and willbe the designated plan for use in requestingfunding assistance from state and federal fund-ing sources. The Citizen’s Oversight Committewill be responsible for implementing the Moving

Elements of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN

How was the Moving Broward Plan Developed?

Broward Plan, reporting on progress, and updat-ing the Moving Broward Plan through activecommunity involvement and coordination withthe region’s transit and transportation planningand operating entities.

The Moving Broward Plan will be updated andamended based on:

• Program development progress

• Service implementation performance policies

• Results of annual audits

• Community input into the implementation process

• Participation of the region’s transportationplanning and funding entities

The referendum language will require reviewand update of the Moving Broward Plan atleast every five years to provide for the use ofFederal and State funds that may become avail-able or to take into consideration unforeseencircumstances, and when necessary. Suchreview by the Citizen’s Oversight Committe willconsider recommendations from local govern-ments, transportation agencies, interest groups,and citizens of the County.

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The Moving Broward Plan includes improve-ments to or development of new:

• Traffic control (signal synchronization) and traf-fic flow (road and intersection improvements)

• Enhanced security

• Passenger Amenities

• Bus service

• Paratransit service

• Community bus service

• Transit center, Park-and-Ride Lots and Express Bus

• Bus rapid transit (BRT)

• Light rail transit (LRT)

• Downtown Streetcar

• FEC High Capacity

The Moving Broward Plan will provide a com-prehensive and multi-modal transportation sys-tem. The Plan will provide immediate relief tothe existing users of our transportation systemand to our Cities who have desperate needs toimprove their community bus systems, or insti-tute new ones, and critical needs to synchronizetraffic signals County-Wide and improve localroadways and intersections.

At the same time that the Moving BrowardPlan will be enhancing the foundation of ourtransit and transportation network, the Plan willbegin planning and designing for the futureexpansion of an even more aggressive and high-capacity program. Each element will be a pieceof the whole puzzle and the results will be acomprehensive system that provides choices,connectivity, and reasonable costs to each andevery one of us trying to go east/west andnorth/south on our way to work, play, school orrecreation. The Moving Broward Plan will pro-vide economic and environmental benefits whileenhancing mobility for all of us, all of whichwill be consistent with the strategic goals setforth by the Broward County Commission intheir 5-year Work Program.

We all have different needs for our travel; theMoving Broward Plan will provide benefits thateach and every one of us will be able to tangi-bly measure and experience as we move forwardin making Broward County a premier place to liveand work.

The components of the Moving Broward Planare presented in the pages that follow. Thisdiscussion that follows in this section providesthe costs that will be allocated from the penny

What are the Components of the Moving Broward Plan?

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sales tax revenues for primarily capital improve-ments (building/constructing the particularprojects or service). The Moving Broward Planwill account for both capital and operating costsof the multi-modal transportation system. For adiscussion of both components of the cost,please see the “Cost of the Moving BrowardPlan” section later in this document.

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Probably everyone driving around BrowardCounty has experienced the frustration of gettingstuck at a traffic signal for what can seem likehours. And you no sooner get through one trafficlight, only to get stuck at the next one. Or, youcannot make a turn at an intersection becausethere are no turn lanes and the traffic is backedup for blocks. Most importantly, for everyone’ssafety, emergency vehicles often get stuck in thesame kind of intersection congestion. As statedin the “Why is the Moving Broward PlanNeeded” section of this plan, response times ofsix minutes or greater can lead to “irreparabledamage” to the brain, and six minutes is oftenthe response times in parts of Broward County.

The Moving Broward Plan will address thisproblem and will provide over $850 million tosynchronize traffic signals, and improveroads and intersections throughout theCounty. Approximately almost $53 million willbe allocated in the first two years to theseefforts. Systems will be developed in coordina-tion with public safety and emergency medicalservices (EMS) to provide faster response times.Service plans and improvements will also facili-tate hurricane evacuation and recovery.Traffic signal synchronization will be the highestpriority. Plans will be coordinated with munici-

palities and Florida Department of Transportation(DOT). Penny sales tax funds will also be used tomatch or leverage more funds from the State orU.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

The Moving Broward Plan will also include atraffic flow improvement plan for major con-gested streets. Funded from the $850 million,the improvement plan will include:

• Improvements to intersections with extralanes and turn-lanes

• Improvements to public safety and emergencymedical service travel with GPS and signalmodulation technologies

• Hurricane evacuation and service restoration

• Installations of bus bays to minimize traffic delays

• Improvements to traffic signs

• Safety improvements in critical areas

• Coordination with street beautification programs

Funds will also be used to maintain and operateupgrades and traffic flow technology.


What are the Traffic Control and Traffic Flow Improvements?

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Every transit agency in the Country has been onvirtual high-alert since the tragic events ofSeptember 11, 2001, and safety and security onand around transit facilities have been top pri-orities for operators and users of the systems.In particular in Broward County, riders havebeen seeking increased security at our busstops. But like every facet of the transportationnetwork discussed in this Plan, nothing can bedone without the necessary funding.

The Moving Broward Plan will allocate $4 mil-lion within the first year of the Plan, and thiswill grow by 4 percent annually as the transitprogram grows. Over $156 million will be allo-cated to safety and security measures by theyear 2030.The enhanced security system is designed toaugment transit operations through;

• Providing personnel at key sites to monitor activities

• Having roving patrols in problem areas

• Blend sworn officers and private contractors tosafeguard transit riders, premises and facilities

• Staff and operate CCTV systems and otherremote surveillance

• Develop user awareness programs for transitusers, especially school-age riders and older residents regarding transit safety and awareness


What are the Enhanced Security Improvments?

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Anyone who has attempted to wait for the busin Broward County has probably encounterednon-existent bus stops, broken benches, unevenpavement on sidewalks or no sidewalks, and thelike. Most stops probably have inadequate shel-ter from the weather and little to no signage.The Cities and the County share responsibilitiesin the development and implementation ofthese passenger amenities for the bus service.The difficulty has been, as with many otheraspects of the overall transit and transportationsystem, is that there just has not been enoughfunding to address the various issues facing boththe Cities and the County.

The Moving Broward Plan, in the first year,will allocate $8 million to immediatelyimprove inadequate bus stops and passengeramenities. Another $8 million will be allocatedto these improvements in the second year.

The Moving Broward Plan will include:

• Repairs to existing bus stops

• Provision of shelters with lighting and elec-tronic messaging signs

• Other features to improve passenger waitingand loading areas

A total of $40 million will be allocated towardthe improvement of these amenities within thefirst five years. By the year 2030, $136 millionwill be spent on upgrading stops, sidewalks,benches, signage, and shelters.


What are the Passenger Amenity Improvements?

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Today, Broward County Transit operates 287diesel buses along 40 fixed bus routes. The rid-ership of this service is 36,000,000 riders eachyear. The bus service today operates for morethan 1.2 million hours each year.

The Moving Broward Planwill include almost a dou-bling of the bus fleet, amore than doubling of thehours that the service willoperate each year, anincrease in the number ofbus routes, and an antici-pated doubling of the num-ber of bus riders by theyear 2030. A total of 78

clean-fuel buses will be purchased in the firsttwo years to immediately enhance the existingservice on the most heavily traveled bus routesin the County. A total of 276 new clean-fuelbuses will be purchased by 2030. The totalnumber of hours of bus service each year willincrease to over 2.4 million hours annually. Busroutes will increase by 2030. And the numberof bus riders is anticipated to increase to over114 million each year.

The addition of these new clean-fuel buses willallow for significant service improvements onnumerous routes.

Increased Frequency within theFirst Two Years:

Routes with buses every 10 minutes

• Route 1/10 — Federal Highway

• Route 2 — University Drive

• Route 7 — Hollywood Boulevard/Pines Boulevard

• Route 18 — State Route 7

• Route 22 — Broward Boulevard

• Route 72 — Oakland Park Boulevard

Routes with buses every 15 minutes

• Route 36 — Sunrise Boulevard

These improvements will add an additional 78clean-fuel buses to these routes within the firsttwo years.


What are the Bus Service Improvements?

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Local Route Improvements, NewRoutes, and Major Restructuring ofExisting Routes Within the FirstFive Years:

Local Route Improvements

• Sheridan Street

• Sample Road

• McNab Road/Cypress Creek Road

• Commercial Boulevard

• Miramar Parkway/Hallandale Beach Boulevard

New Routes

• Atlantic Boulevard

• Griffin Road

• Sterling Road

• Nob Hill Road

• Flamingo Road

• S.W. 136th Avenue

• Pembroke Road

Routes along Nob Hill Road, Flamingo Road, andS.W. 136th Avenue will connect to routes thatserve Miami-Dade County, providing regionallinkages to our neighbors to the south.

Major Restructuring of Routes

• Hillsboro Boulevard

• Sawgrass/Dykes Road

• Davie Road

• AIA

These improvements will add an additional 166clean-fuel buses to these routes within the firstfive years.

New Limited-Stop Type ServiceBeginning in 2012:

Limited-stop service is a hybrid between localand express service, where the stops may beseveral blocks to a mile or more apart to speedup the trip. This type of service will be imple-mented on:

• Federal Highway

• Sunrise Boulevard

• Powerline Road

• Sheridan Street

• Atlantic Boulevard

• Sample Road

These improvements will add an additional 32clean-fuel buses to these routes beginning in 2012.


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Services will be monitored to maintain qualityand cost-effectiveness. Modifications will bemade as needed to assure residents of high-quality and efficient service.

New bus maintenance facilities will also bedeveloped. The Moving Broward Plan alsoaccounts for the replacement of buses consis-tent with industry practices (typical lifespan ofa bus is 12 years). The Moving Broward Planalso includes costs for operating the system,which are between $103 million in 2007 to $198million by the year 2030.

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Currently, Broward County Transit operates theTransportation Options (TOPS) program for peo-ple with disabilities who qualify under theAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) asparatransit eligible. Nearly 16,000 riders arecurrently certified to use the TOPS program,and another nearly 3,000 are eligible under theTransportation Disadvantaged program. TheTOPS program provides essential transportationfor people with disabilities who need to travelto school, work, medical services, social orother activities. The service parallels the fixedroute bus service throughout the County. During2005, 962,000 passenger trips were provided for

these individuals. Approximately$20 million was spent on providingthese services in 2005.

The Moving Broward Plan takes intoaccount the enormous importance ofenhancing this service, both on aquality basis and a quantity basis.With the minimal funding for para-transit, Broward County has donethe minimum in serving this popula-tion. We have an obligation and aresponsibility to provide greaterservice in quantity, in quality, and in

reliability to those individuals that have noother means of traveling from their homes toanywhere in the County.

The Moving Broward Plan will allocate almost$50 million in the first two years, approxi-mately $10 million more than is currently allo-cated. The investment in paratransit serviceswill increase each year concurrent with the fixedroute bus service increases, to an investment by2030 of over $45 million each year. Thesefunding increases, in current dollars, will providean extra 125 percent more funds for the TOPSprogram to both expand the program andenhance quality. The total investment in para-transit services by 2030 will be over $920 million.

This investment will be used to make improve-ments in customer service improving reliability,service area coverage, provider response time,and providing additional back-up service whenneeded. Additional resources will be used toaccommodate increases in wages for drivers andsupport personnel. The ADA paratransit systemwill continue to grow as the transit systemexpands, providing additional service to meet andexceed the service standards established for theprovision of ADA Complementary Paratransit.


What are the Paratransit Improvements?

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Broward County currently operates CommunityBus program that provides localized bus servicein 22 communities. Broward County Transit'scommunity bus service is designed to increasethe number of destinations within city limitsthat residents can access through public transit.All community buses connect to BCT fixedroutes and are wheelchair accessible andequipped with bike racks. Today, the Countyspends approximately $5 million annually in sup-port of the Community Bus program.

The program began as a partnership between theCounty and Cities that were interested in provid-ing service more tailored to meet the needs ofthe Cities’ local residents. Each City that partici-pates in the Community Bus program creates its

own routes and schedules. BrowardCounty pays for a share of the operatingcosts of the buses, while the participat-ing Cities pay the remainder of the oper-ating cost. Cities have the ability to addany additional service that they like ontop of what the County pays for. Thebuses used for the service is paid for byBroward County through its capital pro-gram fund. The Florida Department ofTransportation and the Federal TransitAdministration are also funding partners

in the program. Buses are replaced by theCounty based on wear and mileage limits. The Cities that currently provide Community Bus service are:

• Coconut Creek• Cooper City• Coral Springs• Dania Beach• Davie• Deerfield Beach• Fort Lauderdale• Hallandale• Hillsborough Beach• Lauderdale-by-the-Sea• Lauderdale Lakes• Lauderhill• Lighthouse Point• Margate• Miramar• North Lauderdale• Oakland Park• Pembroke Pines• Plantation• Pompano Beach• Sunrise• Tamarac

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What are the Community Bus Improvements?

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The Moving Broward Plan will double thefunding for the Community Bus program inthe first two years to over $11 million eachyear. Through this funding, participating Citieswill be able to extend their daily hours of oper-ation, operating 12-hour days and providingweekend service if they choose. Cities thatwant to begin the program in their communitieswill now have the funding available to do so. Inthe first two years, the number of CommunityBuses operating in Broward County Cities couldincrease to 165. By the year 2030, funding forthis program would more than triple to over $18million annually (or a total of $352 million sincethe passage of the sales tax initiative), which willallow for over 260 Community Buses to be oper-ating in our communities. Through the fundsprovided in the Moving Broward Plan, theCounty will continue to purchase the buses andwill continue to provide 50 percent of the fundsneeded to operate the service. The Cities willthen be responsible for the other 50 percent.Cities will be able to use the sales tax revenuesthat will be returned to them each year and/orexisting local funds for their portion of the oper-ating costs.

The County will use funds from the sales tax pro-ceeds to provide the matching share for capitalequipment for the Community Bus program, withremaining funding assistance from the FloridaDepartment of Transportation and the FederalTransit Administration. Vehicles will be purchasedand replaced through the MPO capital planning

process, and consistent with federal requirements.Performance standards for the Community Busprograms will be developed by mutual agree-ment between the participating City and theCounty, and will be expected to vary by commu-nity based on level of service and connectivityto the County-Wide transit system.


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TRANSIT CENTERS

One of the most important overall objectives ofthe Moving Broward Plan is to provide a multi-modal transportation network that providesgreater connections between different modes oftravel. One of the most effective ways to pro-vide this connection is through the developmentof community transit centers. Transit centersprovide focal and transfer points for communitybus routes, for local and regional routes, andultimately Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail Transitwhen it is developed through this Plan. They canenhance the neighborhoods they serve and canact as stimuli for economic development.

Broward County currently has three transit cen-ters: Lauderhill, West Broward, and DowntownFort Lauderdale. The Moving Broward Planwill double the number of transit centers inthe first two years, adding three out of thepriority candidates including: Hollywood’sYoung Circle, Pompano Beach Square, SawgrassMills, and Coral Springs. Within five years, anadditional three transit centers will be devel-oped around the County.

PARK-AND-RIDE LOTS

Paralleling the development of the TransitCenters, will be the development of a series ofpark-and-ride lots. Park-and-ride lots are gen-erally located in suburban areas and are provid-ed for users of express bus service. The lots aresituated between suburban residential areas anda central business district.

The Moving Broward Plan will allocate $30 mil-lion in the first two years for the developmentof Transit Centers and Park-and-ride lots.Another $15 million will be allocated each yearfor each of the following four years. An addi-tional $90 million will be spent on these twoelements by the year 2030. By 2030, theMoving Broward Plan will dedicate $180 millionfor Transit Centers and Park-and-ride lotsimprovements.

But the park-and-ride lots will not work unless abus is programmed to operate in conjunctionwith them. That is where the Express Bus sys-tem enters the picture.


What are the Transit Center, Park-and-Ride Lot and ExpressBus Improvements?

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EXPRESS BUS

Express bus provides a system of buses that canspeed up longer trips, especially in metropolitanareas during heavily-traveled peak commutinghours. The service operates over long distanceswith very few or no stops between a park-and-ride lot, operating on the freeway, to a centralbusiness district. The capital cost to initiateand expand the service is relatively low. Theservice frequency can be easily adapted tomeet peak period, off-peak period and specialevent demand. Capacity on the buses is some-what limited by vehicle size.

The Moving Broward Plan will include many ofthe previous proposed concepts for express busrouting along the I-75/Sawgrass Expressway/I-595 corridors. However, the Moving BrowardPlan will expand upon these routes to ensurethat Broward County residents who need totravel longer distances, and outside the County,will also be given a choice to not driving theircar and sitting in traffic for hours and hours,commutes which are sure to increase alongthese already over-capacity freeways.

The concept is one of regionalism, a conceptthat Miami-Dade is already providing in southBroward County through their solely-fundedexpress bus service to downtown Miami.

Broward County has an equal responsibility toprovide service for these longer trips as manycommuters travel from the western regions ofour County south to Miami-Dade and north toPalm Beach.

The Moving Broward Plan will include theimmediate (within the first year) purchase of 12express buses:

• Four of which will operate from possible park-and-ride lots in Miramar and Weston south alongI-75 to Miami-Dade’s Hialeah Metro station.

• Four of which will operate from the same lotsin Miramar and Weston north along I-75 andthen east along I-595 to downtown FortLauderdale.

• Four of which will operate from a park-and-ride lot in Coral Springs along the SawgrassExpressway to Boca Raton, another majorcenter of employment for many BrowardCounty residents.

Each successive year of the Moving BrowardPlan will add new express buses for theseroutes, and/or others as are determined to benecessary. A total of 99 express buses will bepurchased by the year 2030.


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Once the immediate improvements (traffic syn-chronization; fixed route bus and paratransitservice increases; enhanced security; and tran-sit centers, park-and-ride lots, and expressbuses) have been implemented, the MovingBroward Plan will begin a more aggressiveimplementation of even higher-capacity sys-tems. The overall initial intent will be to getprojects done as soon we can immediately, andcontinue increasing these foundational services,and then supplement that foundation with thedevelopment of projects that provide evengreater frequencies, greater connectivity, andhigher capacity services. One of the first ele-ments of the more aggressive program is theimplementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

Bus Rapid Transit is enhanced transit serviceusing low-floor buses operating within a servicecorridor with a reduced number of stops (typical-ly 1 to 2 per miles), expedited operating speedsdue to traffic signal management favoring thebuses, on frequent headways (often 5 to 15 min-utes apart in peak hours). Vehicles can be mod-ern and train-like in appearance and function.BRT can operate on exclusive transitways, HOVlanes, expressways, or ordinary streets. Aregional example of BRT is the South MiamiBusway. BRT can consist of dedicated lanes for

all or part of the route and/or elevated or under-ground separated rights-of-way. The average triplengths for BRT range between 4 to 6 miles.

Planning and design for the Bus Rapid Transitprogram will actually begin within the first fewyears of the Moving Broward Plan. While somelimited-stop type bus service will be implement-ed immediately, the most efficient form of a BusRapid Transit system is one in which the busoperates in dedicated lanes. Obviously, the con-cept of a lane being dedicated to buses is onethat will require a great deal of planning, design,and engineering, and the concept will need to becarefully developed in coordination with allaffected parties (the Cities through which theBRT would travel and who would be effected bythe dedication of these lanes, Broward Countywho would operate the buses, and the FloridaDepartment of Transportation who is responsiblefor maintenance of our streets).


What are the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Improvments?

The intent of the Moving Broward Plan will beto begin these dialogues early so that openingof the first Bus Rapid Transit line in BrowardCounty will be within the first five years. Threeprimary corridors will be planned, designed, andimplemented as BRT lines:

• A North County BRT line along Sample Road orAtlantic Boulevard

• A Central County BRT line along Oakland ParkBoulevard

• A South County BRT line along PinesBoulevard/Hollywood Boulevard

These high capacity, high speed BRT lines willprovide integral east-west linkages between thenorth-south arteries: the SR 7/441 Light RailTransit corridor when it is completed, the exist-ing Tri-Rail corridor, the FEC corridor when it isdeveloped, I-95, and I-75.

Approximately $780 million will be allocated todeveloping the Bus Rapid Transit lines, with fund-ing beginning as early as 2008. When completed,Broward County will have over 39 miles of BusRapid Transit.

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Light Rail Transit (LRT) is a flexible transporta-tion mode which consists of a system of light-weight passenger rail cars operating singly or inshort, two-car trains, on fixed rails in right-of-way that is not separated from other traffic formuch or all of the way. LRT can operate inmixed traffic on tracks embedded in the street(like streetcars), on an at-grade right-of-waywith street and pedestrian crossings, or on afully segregated exclusive right-of-way. A dis-tinction of light rail vehicles is that vehiclesdraw power from an overhead electric line via atrolley, pantograph or catenary wire. Stationspacing can be .5 to 1.5 miles depending on thetype of service being provided. Line haul,longer service can be served with traditionallight rail, whereas, short distance service canbe provided by streetcar light rail. The averagetrip length is 4.4 miles.

To initiate the Moving Broward Plan’s compo-nent of Light Rail Transit, a starter segment willbe engineered and constructed using only localfunds generated from the penny sales tax rev-enues. This starter segment will allow for anaccelerated start of the Light Rail Transit sys-tem and will not require that we wait to initiateand complete the federal funding process.

An initial 12-mile segment will be constructedon SR 7, within the first five years of theMoving Broward Plan implementation. Thissegment will extend along SR 7 from I-595 toAtlantic Boulevard. For this initial segment,$600 million will be allocated from the MovingBroward Plan. Completion of this segment willbe 2012.

The next segment of the LRT system will extendfrom SR 7 along Broward Boulevard to FortLauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.This segment will be an additional 6 miles inlength and an additional $300 million will beallocated to construct this line. Completion ofthis segment will be 2013.

After completion of this line, high capacityimprovements will be implemented along the FEC.These are discussed in the following section.

An additional two miles will extend the LRT sys-tem along I-595 to University Drive. This segmentwill be funded with a total of $100 million fromthe fund. This line will be completed by 2014.

An additional 10 miles of the LRT system along SR7will extend to both adjacent county lines. A total


What are the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Improvements?

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of $500 million will be allocated for these segments.The remainder of the LRT system will be con-structed along the I-595 from University Drive toSawgrass Mills/Bank Atlantic Center by the year2029. The Moving Broward Plan will allocate$650 million for this 11-mile segment.

A total of $1.65 billion will be allocated for theLight Rail Transit system by the year 2030.


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The Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad is anapproximately 82-mile rail corridor extendingfrom Miami-Dade to Jupiter in Palm BeachCounty. Approximately 25 miles are withinBroward County. The FEC is an active freightcorridor, which once also had passenger service.The Florida Department of Transportation is cur-rently studying the potential for re-institutingpassenger rail on the corridor to serve thenumerous residents and businesses that areadjacent to its tracks. The current study isexpected to be completed in 2007. Given thatthe conclusions of that study are not known atthis time, it is difficult to assume what type ofhigh capacity transportation might ultimately beimplemented on this corridor.

For purposes of the Moving Broward Plan, it isassumed that a high capacity system will be imple-mented in this corridor. The cost to construct permile will be assumed to be between that of BusRapid Transit (at $20 million per mile) and LightRail Transit (at $50 million per mile). The Plan’sbudget therefore assumes $25 million per mile toconstruct this segment. A total of $625 million willbe allocated from the Moving Broward Plan forthis 25-mile segment. The development of thiscorridor will be completed by 2018.


What are the FEC High Capacity Improvements?

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The Downtown Streetcar consists of the 2ndStreet Rail Link and the CBD (Andrews Avenueand Northeast 3 Avenue) Rail Link. According to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown DevelopmentAuthority (DDA), components of the rail systemwill include an environmentally friendly systemthat travels on a fixed rail, an enhanced pedes-trian streetscape which includes wider side-walks, paving patterns, cross walks, lighting,street furniture and shade trees, and anIntelligent Transportation System includinginformational kiosks at the transit stops whichprovide “real time” information on the transitroute and the arrival of the next vehicle, andsignal preemption.

The DDA is already planning a 3-6 mile systemthat will run from near Fort Lauderdale –Hollywood International Airport, through thedowntown and northward towards Sunrise. The system will be developed in phases. Therehave been funds earmarked by Congress for thisproject that has just started detailed planning.


What are the Downtown Streetcar Improvements?

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The Cities will receive benefits in several ways:

• Ten percent from the total revenues generatedby the penny sales tax will be distributed directlyto the cities based on their population. Withestimated annual sales tax revenues of $260 million, a total of $26 million would be distrib-uted to the Cities. With this amount in cash, thecities can further leverage their share by bond-ing, at a conservative ratio of 15 to one, increas-ing the available $26 million to almost $400 mil-lion for transportation projects of their choice.

• Each City will also benefit from the 10 percentthat is set aside for County-wide traffic signaland traffic flow improvements (traffic synchro-nization).

• Each City will also benefit from the County-widetransit projects that are paid for by the remain-der of the sales tax revenue. These projects,including the overall bus service improvements,paratransit enhancements, Bus Rapid Transit(BRT), and Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects willextend across multiple jurisdictions.

The Cities will have the discretion to spend their10 percent on any transit and/or transportation-related improvement of their choosing in theircommunity. Some of the projects that theCities can allocate their funds toward include:

• Roadway improvements

• Sidewalks

• Local signal improvements

• Bikeways

• Trails

• Transit facilities, vehicles, and service.

The Cities will also be able to use their 10 per-cent allocation to retire debt used to fund eligi-ble transportation projects.

The table that follows lists the direct distribu-tion that will be allocated to each City. A moredetailed listing of the specific projects that willbe within each City, or will affect each City, willbe appear in the Plan once the input from thecommunities has been received.

As shown in the table, each City will receive anannual distribution of 10 percent from the totalrevenues generated. All municipal allocationswill be made by formula based on annual popula-tion estimates provided by Bureau of Business andEconomic Research (BBER) of the University ofFlorida. It should be noted that no allocation wasmade to the unincorporated portions of the Countyas it was assumed that these areas would beannexed into adjacent Cities before the imple-mentation of the Moving Broward Plan.

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What do the Cities Receive?

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City 2005 Pop.Percentage of

Distribution(Est.)

Allocation basedfrom $26 M Poolon Population

Coconut Creek 48,340 2.85% $741,010 Cooper City 29,369 1.73% $450,201 Coral Springs 126,852 7.48% $1,944,531 Dania 28,647 1.69% $439,134 Davie 83,726 4.94% $1,283,447 Deerfield Beach 75,160 4.43% $1,152,137 Fort Lauderdale 171,344 10.10% $2,626,555 Hallandale Beach 35,716 2.11% $547,495 Hillsboro Beach 2,302 0.14% $35,288 Hollywood 143,025 8.43% $2,192,449 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea 6,278 0.37% $96,236 Lauderdale Lakes 32,166 1.90% $493,077 Lauderhill 58,637 3.46% $898,854 Lazy Lake Village 34 0.00% $521 Lighthouse Point 10,833 0.64% $166,060 Margate 54,982 3.24% $842,826 Miramar 108,387 6.39% $1,661,479 North Lauderdale 40,925 2.41% $627,345 Oakland Park 31,803 1.88% $487,512 Parkland 20,073 1.18% $307,702 Pembroke Park 5,778 0.34% $88,572 Pembroke Pines 151,045 8.91% $2,315,389 Plantation 85,157 5.02% $1,305,383 Pompano Beach 101,712 6.00% $1,559,157 Sea Ranch Lakes 730 0.04% $11,190 Southwest Ranches 7,447 0.44% $114,156 Sunrise 89,736 5.29% $1,375,575 Tamarac 58,711 3.46% $899,989 Weston 61,042 3.60% $935,721 West Park 13,721 0.81% $210,331 Wilton Manors 12,439 0.73% $190,679

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The schedule for implementation of theimprovements in the Moving Broward Plan willbe aggressive, as described below, with signifi-cant improvements in the transit system beingmade immediately – beginning six months fol-lowing the passage of the penny sales tax meas-ure. The significant revenue generated by thepenny sales tax will enable Broward County tobring to its citizens a vastly improved and fullyintegrated transit system, and major trafficflow improvements, within the first five yearsfollowing passage.

In addition to the immediate and short-termimprovements, work will begin immediately onthe long-range improvements, such as the LRTand BRT components of the Plan that willrequire extensive planning, public input, coordi-nation with FDOT, adherence to a lengthy feder-al process, and long design and constructionperiods. A description of the Plan improve-ments that will be implemented within eachtimeframe follows.

• Immediate improvements, those that will becompleted within the first two years, willinclude increases in peak period and offpeak/weekend bus service frequencies on

routes along Federal Highway, University Drive,Hollywood/Pines Boulevard, State Road 7,Broward Boulevard, Sunrise Boulevard andOakland Park Boulevard with the addition of 78new clean fuel buses.

Additionally, 12 new coach-type buses will bepurchased to provide Express Bus service fromnew Park and Ride facilities on the west side ofthe county--in places like Miramar, PembrokePines, Southwest Ranches, Weston, Sunrise,Coral Springs, and Parkland—to Miami, down-town Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton via I-75,the Sawgrass Expressway and I-595.

Other immediate improvements will include theadvancement of much needed County-Wide traf-fic signal synchronization and the doubling offunding for Community Bus. The county willalso begin major traffic flow and streetimprovement projects, and planning will alsobegin for the SR 7 Phase I LRT as well as theMid-County BRT project.

• Short-term improvements, those that will becompleted within five years, will include theimprovement of bus service on 19 more busroutes, and the addition of six new routes

Schedule of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN

When will the Improvements in the Moving Broward Plan be Made?

64

with the purchase of 166 more clean fuelbuses. With the distribution of 10 percent ofthe penny sales tax proceeds annually to thecities, local street improvements and otheramenities will begin to be implemented.Additional Express Bus service and construc-tion of Phase I of the SR 7 LRT will begin.

• Long-range improvements, those that will becompleted beyond the first five years, willinclude the build-out of the LRT system andthe various BRT routes. Additional bus pur-chases will bring the fleet up to 596 standardvehicles and 99 BRT/Commuter Express busesby the year 2030. Additional service will beprovided on all existing and new routes, aswell as, expanded Express and Limited servicewill be provided. At the local level, the dis-tribution to the cities over time will enablemajor improvements to streets and roadwaysas well as passenger amenities.

The chart which follows, provides a comparativeschedule for the planning, engineering and con-struction of the major capital projects that arecomponents of the Moving Broward Plan.


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Moving Broward Plan Major Projects Implementation Schedule

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The total cost of the Moving Broward Planthrough the year 2030 will be $12.6 billion,which includes all of the Capital costs for thePlan’s implementation (construction of majorprojects and purchase of new equipment) aswell as the operating costs of the expandedtransit system through the period The discussionwhich follows, and the charts below illustratethe costs for the various system components,and the sources of funding including how theproceeds from the penny sales tax will be spent.

Transit Capital Improvement Costs

The Moving Broward Plan will feature a num-ber of major capital improvements betweennow and 2030, as described in the “Overview ofthe Initiative and Moving Broward Plan” sec-tion of this Plan. The costs listed below andillustrated on the Chart represent total capitalcosts of $5.46 billion for the period 2007-2030in constant dollars (2005-06) and includes fund-ing of these program components from federaland state formula programs as well as the pennytax and other county sources:

• Bus fleet expansion from 308 to 596 standardcoaches, and the addition of 99 commuterand BRT vehicles including normal vehiclereplacement: $721 million.

• Community bus fleet expansion from 65 unitstoday to over 260 buses. Since the service lifeof these buses is about 6-years, over the peri-od over 1000 units will be purchased under anormal replacement cycle. The total cost forthis component of the program is $61 million.This cost represents the County share for thepurchase of the Community Bus vehicles,assuming that Community Bus is expanded inexisting Cities and added to Cities that cur-rently do not have Community Bus.

• $170 million will be spent to upgrade existingand develop new bus garages.

• $180 million will be spent to upgrade theexisting transit centers; develop 8-10 newcenters, and develop park-and-ride lots.

• $136 million is budgeted for passenger ameni-ties such as upgrades to bus stops, shelters,sidewalks, and information systems.

• Nearly $2.7 billion is programmed for majorLight Rail (LRT) and high capacity transitlines. Another $780 million is budgeted forBus Rapid Transit projects on major corridorsthroughout the county. These projects will befunded using State and Federal funds to covernearly 64 percent of their cost and Countyfunds the balance. It is anticipated that theState Road 7, 12-mile starter LRT project

Cost of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN

What will the Moving Broward Plan Cost?

What is the Total Cost of the ProgramThrough 2030?

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would be financed with only State and localfunds that can then be used as the localmatch to future Federal grants. Some of theremaining phases of the LRT and the BRTprojects are anticipated to qualify for FederalTransit Administration “New Starts” funds(under Section 5309, discretionary funds). Apremium over-match — about 37.5 percent isbudgeted versus the standard 25 percent toimprove Broward County’s chances of gainingproject approvals and a share of the NewStarts funding pool.

• $611 million has been budgeted for programcontingency to meet FTA’s capital funding

standards. Grantees are required by FTA tomeet strong financial qualifications and thisbudget is designed to show that there arededicated funds for the transit improvementprogram — including buses, plus a contingencyto meet unforeseen problems.

Direct Distribution to the Cities,County-Wide TrafficSynchronization And RoadwayImprovement Costs

The Moving Broward Plan proposes that tenpercent of the penny sales tax proceeds be dis-tributed directly to the Cities for discretionarytransit and/or transportation related improve-ments for their specific community. Fundingallocations will be based on population. In thefirst year, the allocation to the cities will be $26million. An estimated $859 million will be allo-cated to the Cities by 2030.

The Moving Broward Plan proposes that tenpercent of the penny sales tax proceeds be dis-tributed directly to the Cities for discretionarytransit and/or transportation related improve-ments for their specific community. Fundingallocations will be based on population. In thefirst year, the allocation to the cities will be $26 million. An estimated $859 million will beallocated to the Cities by 2030. Should the

Moving Broward Plan Capital ProgramComponents Through 2030*

*Includes all sources of funds

Where will the Sales TaxProceeds Go?

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Cities elect to leverage these funds throughbonding, over $400 million per year could beavailable to fund local transportation projects.

Transit Operations Costs

By 2030, annual transit operating costs will growconsiderably as a result of the increased servicesto be provided. It will take an estimated $7.1billion to operate all the existing and new transitservices programmed. The County’s budget in2005-2006 was about $100 million — with about20 percent of these operating funds coming frompassenger fares and the rest from CountyGeneral funds, Local Option Gas taxes and dedi-cated state and Federal grants for transit. TheMoving Broward Plan will include the following:

• By 2030, yearly bus operating and maintenance(O&M) costs will grow to over $205 million

• ADA paratransit costs will grow from about$20 million in 2005 to over $45 million

• Community Bus costs will grow from about$4.5 million in 2005 to nearly $19 millionannually by 2030

• The cost to operate new rail and high-capacitytransit systems is estimated at $82.5 million in 2030;

• A transit security program will be establishedin the first-year that will grow from $4 millionto almost $10 million annually in 2030

• Six percent of O&M funds are set aside forprogram administration costs.

• By 2030, the total transit O&M costs will beabout $383 million annually, including theoperating costs dedicated to Para transit andCommunity Bus services — compared to $100million in 2005.

• The dedication of these funds will serve asevidence to the FTA of the County’s ability tofund the operation of existing transit services,expanded transit services and new LRT, BRTand high-capacity transit services. This evi-dence is required by FTA in order to obtainFederal New Starts funding grants for majorcapital projects.

What Will it Cost to Operate theSystem Through 2030?

Funding the Program

Funding for implementation of the MovingBroward Plan will come from several sources:

• It is estimated that the penny sales tax willprovide over $3.5 billion toward operatingcosts over the Plan period and $3.3 billion forcapital projects and vehicle purchasesthrough 2030. Tax revenues generatedbeyond 2030 will allow the system to continueto be operated and maintained in a state ofgood repair, and will provide continuing capi-tal matching funds for system enhancementand expansion.

• An additional $1.5 billion in fundingwill come from farebox revenues,which will grow over the period tocover approximately 30 percent ofoperating costs.

• Broward County will continue to con-tribute “maintenance of effort (MOE)”funding for transit from existing gen-eral fund and local option gas taxes(LOGT), and the municipalities willcontinue to contribute to CommunityBus operations. Over the period 2007through 2030, the County MOE is pro-posed to be “frozen” at $70 millionper year, for a total of over $1.6 bil-lion. These sources are vital to planintegrity and meeting both capital andoperating and maintenance (O&M) needs.

• For capital projects, funding will also comefrom state and Federal grants. For the majorprojects, FTA New Starts (Section 5309) fund-ing will be sought in the amount of $1.3 bil-lion, representing 37.32 percent of the capitalproject costs. An additional 25.36 percentwill come from State of Florida matchingfunds. Federal “Formula” grants underSection 5307 will provide another $264 millionfor capital projects.

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Transit Operations Funding Sources


Funding Sources for the Capital Projectsin the Moving Broward Plan

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Accountability of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN

THE TRANSIT & TRANSPORTATIONTRUST

People for Progress recommend a trust accountbe established for the receipt and distributionof revenues generated by the penny sales tax.This account shall be maintained separatelyfrom any and all other county revenues andshall be appropriated exclusively for projectsapproved and incorporated in the MovingBroward Plan.

Ten percent (10%) of the revenues generated bythe transit sales surtax will be distributeddirectly to the cities incorporated in BrowardCounty based upon population. Revenuesreceived by each city can be appropriated forprojects as they deem necessary but only fortransportation or transit purposes. Use of theserevenues for any other purpose will result inforfeiture.

THE CITIZENS INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

People for Progress recommend an independentoversight committee be established to super-vise, monitor and annually audit the revenues

generated by the transit sales surtax and causefor an Annual Report be prepared and distrib-uted to the citizens of Broward County. Thecommittee members shall be appointed by theBoard of County Commissioners.

This independent oversight committee shall con-sist of nine (9) members. These members willbe selected from applications submitted by reg-istered voters of Broward County and shouldrepresent the broad diversity of the County.

Applicants for the oversight committee shallpossess the requisite skill sets and experienceconsistent with the financial, construction andoperational aspects of the Moving BrowardPlan. Appointments shall be made from the fol-lowing categories:

• One (1) member of organizations representingthe engineering community interests inBroward County;

• One (1) member of organizations representingthe urban/transportation planning communityinterests in Broward County.

• One (1) member of organizations representingenvironmental interests in Broward County.

What are the Transit and Transportation Trust and theCitizen’s Oversight Committee?

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• One (1) member of organizations representingbanking interests in Broward County.

• One (1) member of organizations representingfinancial management and accounting inter-ests in Broward County.

• One (1) member of organizations representingconstruction interests in Broward County.

• One (1) member of organizations representingtransit/transportation management interest inBroward County.

• One (1) member with experience and knowl-edge of federal and/or state programs support-ing local governments in their transportationplanning, design, and construction efforts.

• One (1) member representing the community-at-large.

The selection review committee should be com-prised of nine (9) members:

• Five (5) appointed by and representing theBroward County Commission.

• Three (3) appointed by and representing theBroward League of Cities.

• One (1) representing the community-at-large.

While advisory in nature, People for Progress rec-ommend the members of the Citizens IndependentOversight Committee serve a three year term.

The oversight committee will work in concertwith the goals and objectives of the long rangetransportation plan of the Metropolitan PlanningOrganization (MPO) and the Broward CountyTransportation Investment Plan.

They will review projects and proposals on amonthly basis, make necessary recommenda-tions and cause to have an annual report of theactivities of the trust consistent with acceptedauditing guidelines.

People for Progress further recommend thateach member of the Citizens IndependentOversight Committee be free of any perceivedor real conflict of interest and declare same ina signed statement.


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Two elements are incorporated into the MovingBroward Plan that will provide the opportunityto track the progress of implementation.

The first is that each year, the Citizen’s Trustwill publish an annual report that will specifythe status of projects, programs, operations,municipal participation, progress made in imple-mentation, matching funds attracted from stateand federal sources.

An annual fiscal and compliance audit will beperformed according to generally acceptedaccounting standards and Government AuditingStandards issued by the Comptroller of theUnited States by the South Florida RegionalPlanning Council, as an independent planningorganization, to gather the status informationfrom the participating local governments, aswell as the progress towards implementation ofthe Moving Broward Plan. The audit will con-firm that the requirements of the sales surtaxhave been met. Additionally, at any time, theCounty Auditor will have the authority torequest and review specific information toensure that funds are spent in accordance withthe provisions of State Statute.


Will the Public be Able to Track the Progress?

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Implementation of the Moving Broward Planwill be one of the largest and most complexundertakings ever attempted by BrowardCounty. It will involve extensive planning andcoordination among several state and countyagencies as well as the involvement of numer-ous private and public organizations. It will alsoinclude the largest outreach and public partici-pation/involvement program in the county’s his-tory. Managing this effort will require a man-agement organization that is highly skilled andexperienced in major program implementation.

Currently, transportation planning in BrowardCounty is not unified, with various projects andservice improvements proposed within thisMoving Broward Plan under study by differentagencies. Agencies involved in transportationplanning include: the Broward County MPO,Broward County Transit (BCT), the South FloridaRegional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), andthe Office of Multi-Modal Planning at FDOTDistrict 4.

The Broward 2030 Transportation Plan wasdeveloped by the MPO. The recently completedBroward County Transit Development Plan,which covers improvements to the bus system,was developed for FDOT by a consultant under

the management and guidance of BCT and theMPO. The Broward Central LRT study and theFEC Corridor study are being managed by, FDOT.As the Moving Broward Plan and the supportingpenny sales tax measure is advanced to BrowardCounty Board of Commissioners for approval,the advent of this major new source of revenueprovides an opportunity to unify the County’splanning efforts under a single focused leader-ship. For the Plan’s implementation, Peoplefor Progress recommends that Broward Countydesignate a single, focused organizationaccountable to the taxpayers and their electedofficials. None of the organizations currentlyinvolved in the various transit studies are ideal-ly suited to the stewardship of the entireMoving Broward Plan’s implementation.

FDOT’s office of Multi-Modal Planning is a plan-ning organization, and while FDOT as an agencyhas extensive experience in managing thedesign and construction of major roadway proj-ects, other than the initial implementation ofTri-Rail commuter service, it has no experiencein the development of Bus and Rail transit orwith the FTA New Starts program. As a stateagency, FDOT is also not accountable to theBroward County Commission. Further, as prima-rily a highway builder, FDOT has no formal rela-

Management of the MOVING BROWARD PLAN

How will the Moving Broward Plan be Managed?

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tionship with the Federal Transit Administration(FTA), the agency through which federal grantsfor public transit flow, and is not certified to bea grant recipient.

As a subsidiary division of the County’sCommunity Services Department, the BrowardCounty Mass Transit Division is primarily anoperating agency, and has no experience in themanagement of planning, design or constructionof major capital projects and BRT or rail sys-tems. The agency’s planning expertise is prima-rily focused on bus scheduling and routeimprovements. The BCT Development Plan forFY2005-2009, was developed in collaborationwith the MPO. BCT will continue to play a keyrole in the operation of the transit system, how-ever it is not organized or equipped to managethe overall program.

The SFRTA is South Florida’s only regional transitagency, providing commuter rail service toMiami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.The agency also operates a shuttle bus systemserving its stations and provides intermodal con-nections for each of the three counties’ bus sys-tems. SFRTA is governed by a board consistingof county commissioners and business represen-tatives from the three counties, two appointeesof the governor, and one FDOT District secre-tary. The SFRTA has recent experience with

major construction projects; the double track-ing of the line and numerous new station proj-ects, and it has a regional mandate for transitplanning. It could be a candidate for overallplan manager. Being a regional agency however,requires that all decisions and expenditures bea consensus of the Board, which is only partiallyaccountable to the Broward County Commissionand taxpayers.

The passage of the sales tax measure and theimplementation of the Moving Broward Plan,presents the unique opportunity to bring togeth-er all of the transit planning activities within thecounty under one organization. This unifiedapproach would ensure that all of the projectsand system improvements funded by the Planare complimentary and well coordinated, result-ing in the seamless public transportation systemthat the Plan promises. It is the recommenda-tion of the People for Progress that the BrowardCounty Commission consider the establishmentof a new agency, modeled after other successfultransit program organizations around the coun-try, to complete the detailed planning andimplementation of the Moving Broward Plan.

Key Elements of an ImplementingOrganization

In establishing a new organization to implementa multi-billion dollar program such as the


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Moving Broward Plan, finding a senior execu-tive with the appropriate experience is the firststep. An “Executive Director” for the newagency must be a visionary, but also a pragmaticbuilder, who can not only manage an internaland consultant staff, but is adept at buildingsupport among external stakeholders and thegeneral public. The Executive Director will bethe county’s top transit chief accountable forthe Plan’s implementation and its contact per-son for dealing with state and federal fundingand regulatory agencies. For a planned transitprogram the size of Broward’s, a national searchfor such an individual would be appropriate.

The Executive Director for the Moving BrowardProgram should be brought in at a very highlevel of the county government, equivalent toan Assistant County Administrator, the AirportDirector, or Port Director. Key functional unitsunder this new position would include:

• Planning, consolidating the various publictransportation planning groups currently dis-persed to several entities.

• Finance and Administration, responsible forthe program’s budget, management of theprogram’s finances including state and federalgrants; and Procurement Services for adminis-tration of the professional services contractsneeded to support the program as well as the

contractors and vendors building the projectsand supplying vehicles and equipment.

• Engineering and Program Managementresponsible for the design of transit facilitiesand systems and the management of the over-all program’s design and construction.

The new department would be totally focusedon the implementation of the program andwould be the administrator of the sales tax pro-ceeds, distributing them as appropriate to thecities and operating agencies in accordance withthe Plan. The new Transit Department wouldensure that local transit projects funded by theprogram are compatible with the overall MasterPlan for the county and the region. Oversightof the Department would be provided by theBroward County Commission, with input fromthe Citizens’ Independent Oversight Committee.Operations of the county’s bus system wouldremain with the current operating department,BTC, which would expand as appropriate to han-dle new services. Close coordination betweenthe new agency and BCT would ensure that thesystem operator provides the operational inputneeded to the program.

A SUCCESSFUL MODEL

This type of program-oriented organization hasbeen used in many cities at the beginning of a


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Proposed Public Transit Organizational Chart

major transit program. In the mid 1970’s, thismodel was utilized to start up and implementthe Miami-Dade Transit (then Dade County)Metrorail system. A core staff of key profes-sionals led the program supported by severalconsultant teams. As the program was builtout, the organization evolved from a design andconstruction management operation to an oper-ating organization.

In Broward County, the largest capital programto date has been the Airport Expansion Program.

On that program, the Aviation Director, who is ahigh level executive, has a Deputy Directorresponsible for the management of the pro-gram. Day to day airport operations and minorcapital projects are handled by a separateDeputy Director. With this separation of respon-sibility, the expansion program is unencumberedby the day to day issues that arise in operatingthe airport, and there is a clear focus on theimplementation of the program.

A model organization chart for the proposednew Public Transit organization is shown below.


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Section 212.055(1) of the Florida Statutes allowscharter counties, with voter approval, to imposea discretionary sales surtax of up to one-percent(one cent) for transit and transportation proj-ects. Sales surtax proceeds may only be usedfor transit and transportation purposes specifiedin Statute including:

• Development, construction, operation andmaintenance of roads and bridges.

• Expansion, operation and maintenance of abus system.

• Expansion, operation and maintenance of a fixedguideway rapid transit system (light rail, rail,monorails, automated people movers, etc.).

• Payment of principal and interest on bondsissued for construction of fixed guideway rapidtransit systems, bus systems, roads and bridges.

• Pledge for county bonds needed to refinanceexisting bonds or new bonds issued for con-struction of fixed guideway rapid transit sys-tems, bus systems, roads and bridges.

The Office of the County Attorney’s opinion is thatno more than 25 percent of sales tax proceedsmay be used for “non-transit” purposes (roads andbridges) while the remaining 75 percent must beused for transit-related projects and activities.

A referendum is required before the County mayimpose the penny sales tax. The referendummay be held on any date set by the CountyCommission as long as the County provides prop-er notices required by Section 100.342, FloridaStatutes. The County may hold the referendumduring a general election, separate election orby a mail ballot.

January 1 is the date on which the penny salestax may take effect. Prior to the imposition ofthe penny sales tax, the Board of CountyCommissioners will have to take the followingactions:

• Notify the Florida Department of Revenue byOctober 1 if the referendum or considerationof the ordinance that would result in theimposition of the penny sales tax is scheduledto occur on or after October 1.

• Notify the Florida Department of Revenue ofthe imposition of the penny sales tax withinten days after the final adoption by ordinanceor referendum of the imposition of the pennysales tax, but no later than November 16 priorto the effective date.

• Enact an ordinance levying the penny sales tax.

Appendix

Charter County Transit Sales Tax Specifics

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Revenue Estimate and Allocation

If approved by the voters on November 7, 2006,a penny sales tax could generate $261 millionper year beginning January 1, 2007. TheFlorida Department of Revenue will administer,collect and enforce the penny sales tax. Fundswill be remitted by the State to the Board ofCounty Commissioners which will, in turn,deposit them in a specially-designated account.

Revenues from the penny sales tax will be usedfor transportation purposes only and within thelimitations of Florida Statute Section212.055(1). As required by Statute, a minimumof 75 percent of the proceeds must be allocatedfor public transportation projects.

The table below identifies the potential 2007revenue yields allocated between transit andnon-transit purposes.

Exemptions

As with other sales taxes, food, prescriptionmedicines, health services, residential rents,and other items specified in Florida Statutes,are exempt from the penny sales tax, including:

• The sales amount above $5,000 on any itemfor tangible personal property.

• General groceries.

• Medicine dispensed according to an individualprescription and medical products and sup-plies such as medical appliances, commonhousehold remedies, prescription eyeglasses,dentures, and orthopedics.

Appendix

Allocation Penny Sales Tax

Public Transportation $197,750,000Projects (75%)

All Transportation (25%) $65,250,000

Total $261,000,000

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May 11, 2006 - Broward Workshop · May 11, 2006 To the residents of Broward County, The People for...

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