The Key Biscayne Council approved spending $950,000 to move forward with the innovative Shoreline Rickenbacker renovation design this week. Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado said she can deliver the project and was nonplussed when it came to skeptics – even if it be Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Appearing on the Anti-Social podcast last week, Levine Cava said the Shoreline is a hard sell considering the county’s budget challenges and Gov. Ron DeSantis pushing for the elimination of the property tax – the financial lifeblood of municipalities.
“This past session, there were the eliminations of certain business taxes that made substantial cuts to our transit budget,” Levine Cava said. “So you know, this is a very dynamic situation and the county will never be able, on its own, to be able to fund a project of that scale.”
When asked about the mayor’s comments by the Independent, Regalado said, “I will say Daniela was also lukewarm about the Underline when we started it, and now she’s a big fan. So I’m sure the same thing will happen with the Shoreline.”
The idea is that the Shoreline could follow the model of the Underline, another project championed by Regalado. The Underline is a 10-mile linear park, urban trail, and public art destination being built under the Metrorail, underutilized land beneath the elevated tracks, into a green space with walking and biking paths, art, and recreational amenities like a dog park and outdoor gym.
The Underline is the first project to be done on time and on budget at the County for over 35 years, Regalado said. “And it was done this way,” she added.
The Shoreline design was financed by developer David Martin and utilizes a viaduct to avoid the traffic snarls on Virginia Key, while turning that island from the asphalt jungle of its current state into parks and fields.
It was Key Biscayne resident Eugene Stearns who first approached Martin with the idea.
Stearns, speaking to the Council on Tuesday, said if the Rickenbacker is left to the County to redesign it will be turned into what is happening to the MacArthur Causeway. Currently, MacArthur from the mainland to Watson Island resembles more of a Mad Max movie set than any viable way to move traffic.
READ MORE: Miami-Dade Mayor defends 200% increase in Rickenbacker tolls; sees no changes to air rescue service
“A road that is mindlessly stupid – I mean, there’s no other way to say it. And frankly, paved from one end to the other,” Stearns said. “And that’s what the County was planning for Virginia Key. Asphalt and concrete. And then requiring all kinds of expensive stormwater removal systems.
Key Biscayne Council Member Ed London is another skeptic. He told Regalado he loved the design, but that he couldn’t think of a bigger waste of money than to put $950,000 towards the Shoreline because no one knows how much the design with its viaducts and lavish green spaces will cost, or even if it’s viable.
“You’re persuasive, you’re diligent, you’re forward-thinking, you’re creative, and you’re one hell of a saleswoman,” London said.
The no-bid contract passed by a 6-1 vote with the Friends of the Underline for advisory services. The money had been previously set aside, but Tuesday’s vote actually committed the funds.
“I stand here with my track record, and you have my word, not because I’m a good salesperson, but because I keep my word, I’ve put the time in on this,” said Reglado, who said she plans to run for mayor to succeed Levin Cava as Miami-Dade mayor in 2028.
Mayor Joe Rasco also had a word for skeptics, saying a traffic-focused Rickenbacker plan is an issue that is of utmost importance to Key Biscayne, but that traffic is not nearly as important to County planners.
“No one’s going to do this for us, nobody,” he said. “Nobody’s going to step up. This is Key Biscayne’s issue. So if it’s Key Biscayne’s issue, we got put Key Biscayne money in it to try to find what those solutions are.”
Regalado told the Council that she is working on private donations that could offset the cost of the $950,000, saying that $165,000 has been collected.
Reglado also said the plan is “to put a pin” in an environmental study for the replacement of the Bear Cut Bridge so that the Shoreline plan can catch up and be considered as an option. Currently, the County has no money in the budget for renovation of the Rickenbacker, she said.
“You have my word that I am working on all the financing vehicles available to the county to make this happen,” Regalado told the Council.
And even Levine Cava said the Shoreline is already a possibility, even if the headwinds are against it.
“I think it could happen if there were enough support federally, and then the state could provide a match if they were so inclined, because they do have funds to match federal infrastructure grants,” she said.
Rasco put it this way: “This is our attempt to go forward and do something to figure out whether this, this dream is feasible. If the dream is not feasible, we’ll go to plan B.”
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a WLRN News partner.
