Residents and elected officials in Miami Lakes are preparing to fight a county proposal to open the Northwest 154th Street bridge.
There are two closed spans over Interstate 75 between Miami Lakes and Hialeah, at Northwest 154th Street and Northwest 170th Street.
The northern span was the subject of litigation in the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami between the town, which wants to keep it closed, and Miami-Dade County, Hialeah and Lennar Corporation and its contractor Downrite Engineering, which seek to open it. On Feb. 16 the court issued an opinion that allows Miami Lakes to return to county court and challenge the parties again in that case.
County Commission Chair Jose “Pepe” Diaz proposed opening the Northwest 154th Street bridge on the agenda of the Feb. 8 to the county Transportation, Mobility and Planning Committee.
Diaz is not a member of the committee and was not present during the meeting.
Several officials from the town spoke against Diaz’s proposal.
Mayor Manny Cid asked that the item be tabled until County Commissioner Rene Garcia -- who represents Hialeah and Miami Lakes -- and Diaz could participate and for Cid’s negotiations with Hialeah Mayor Steve Bovo to continue.
But on Feb. 11, Bovo tweeted that he has been working with the town “in hopes that we will have a solution soon to open the bridge at 170th and have a pathway for 154th.”
Cid told the committee about a 2007 agreement between Hialeah and the town to keep Northwest 154th Street closed.
“Our entire town council is opposing the opening of this bridge,” Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano told the committee.
A study done four years ago found opening the bridges would be detrimental to the town, she said.
Also, Ruano said she did not understand how the residential developments which rose along Northwest 97th Avenue were allowed to be built without additional exits from the area and other infrastructure.
Vice Mayor Jeffrey Rodriguez said, “You’re not benefitting the residents on either side by opening this bridge.”
Councilman Joshua Dieguez sent a letter to Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who chairs the county committee.
Dieguez called the resolution “premature” and “unnecessary” and like Cid, asked that Diaz’s proposal be deferred to allow Miami Lakes and Hialeah to find a resolution with Garcia.
Two residents who live west of I-75 spoke in favor of opening the bridge, with one citing the need for being able to leave the neighborhood during an emergency if Northwest 97th Avenue is blocked.
County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who represents District 6 in southeast Hialeah, said “the time has come to open everything
that was closed before.
“It’s not fair that some areas are totally closed, nobody bothers them and then others have to pay for that,” Sosa said.
The transportation committee voted to move the item forward to be heard by the full commission at a future meeting.
Meanwhile, residents are signing a protest petition started by Miami Laker Bryan Morera.
He is an attorney and vice president of the Satori homeowner’s association, a luxury community at the northwest end of Northwest 154th Street.
As of Feb. 14, the Change.org petition had drawn 2,750 signatures, including from town councilmembers.
“For my community, traffic off the bridge will bottleneck and the main entrance to Satori will be rendered unusable,” Morera, 30, said on Feb. 11. “It will affect Hidden Lakes and other communities too.
“I’ve lived in Miami Lakes since I was 9 years old,” he said. “This is my home. I don’t want to see it ruined.”
Later that night during the Miami Lakes town council meeting, Dieguez said the town was looking for an outcome that would be equitable for residents living on both sides of the bridge.
“Reading [Diaz’s] resolution, one gets the impression that this is something both sides want, something that is necessary without any traffic improvement,” Dieguez said, calling the proposal “deliberately misleading.”
Dieguez proposed a resolution for the Florida Department of Transportation that describes the history of the bridge dispute; the county’s efforts to open it, town opposition and a study of ramps to I-75 for both municipalities.
“I want the Florida Department of Transportation to see that we are making a sincere effort to resolve this problem and not merely saying no,” Dieguez said.
Councilman Luis Collazo said when he first met with Diaz, there was no compromise from the county official on keeping the bridges closed.
“It’s very hard to play fair when we’re being fouled all the time,” Collazo said.
Collazo predicted the town may face more litigation.
“All the signs point that we’re being dragged into another fist fight when we have made multiple attempts to be fair, multiple attempts to be reasonable, multiple attempts to present alternatives that are not lopsided,” Collazo said.
Collazo said that the council was not backing down on the issue.
Dieguez received unanimous council support for his proposed resolution.