Government Center station (Miami)

Government Center
Metrorail metro station
Metromover people mover station

Government Center station is located at the base of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center building
Location
  • Metrorail:
    101 NW First Street
    Miami, Florida 33128
  • Metromover:
    138 NW Third Street
    Miami, Florida 33128
Coordinates 25°46′33″N 80°11′45″W / 25.77583°N 80.19583°W / 25.77583; -80.19583Coordinates: 25°46′33″N 80°11′45″W / 25.77583°N 80.19583°W / 25.77583; -80.19583
Owned by Miami-Dade County
Line(s)
Platforms
Tracks
  • 2 (Metrorail)
  • 2 (Metromover)
Connections
Construction
Structure type Elevated
Platform levels 4
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code GVT
History
Opened
  • May 20, 1984 (Metrorail)
  • April 17, 1986 (Metromover)
Traffic
Passengers (2011) 3.2 million[1] (Metrorail) Increase 3%
Passengers (Feb 2014) 299,806[2] (Metrorail (Miami))
Passengers (Feb 2014) 210,134[2] (Metromover)
Services
Preceding station   Metrorail   Following station
toward Palmetto
Green Line
Orange Line
Preceding station   Metromover   Following station
Inner Loop
One-way operation
One-way operation
Brickell Loop
Omni Loop
toward School Board
  MiamiCentral interchange  
Preceding station   Florida East Coast Railway   Following station
  Future services  
TerminusBrightline (2017)
toward Orlando
Preceding station   SFRTA   Following station
  Future services  
TerminusDowntown Miami Link (2017)
Location

Government Center station is an intermodal transit hub in the Government Center area of Downtown Miami, Florida. It is operated by Miami-Dade Transit and serves as an transfer station for the Metrorail and Metromover rapid transit systems and as a bus station for Metrobus, Paratransit, and Broward County Transit buses. The station is located near the intersection of Northwest First Street and First Avenue, a part of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center Building. It opened to service May 20, 1984, next to the site of former FEC railway station.

History

Florida East Coast Railroad station

Main article: MiamiCentral
Schematic of rapid transit and passenger rail service in the Miami metropolitan area in 2017. Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link and Brightline are scheduled to be operational at the Government Center-Miami Central transit complex in 2017.

Next to Government Center site was originally a railroad station developed in April 1896 as the southern terminus of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). The downtown passenger terminal was demolished by November 1963.[3] Although a new station was planned at the Buena Vista yard near North Miami Avenue and 36th Street (US 27),[4] it was never built. The site of the old station was parking lots on the east side of the modern transportation hub until 2014. It is now the construction site of the MiamiCentral station of All Aboard Florida's Brightline.

Metrorail and Metromover station

Development of the civic center was reinvigorated during the 1970s and early 1980s during a Downtown building boom. The boom spurred the development and construction the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, Metrorail, Metromover, and the Miami-Dade Cultural Plaza, which currently includes the Miami Art Museum, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida and the Miami Main Library.

Construction on the present-day Government Center station began in June 1982. The station was primarily designed by the Cambridge Seven Associates in collaboration with Edward D. Stone. The station was built by the Frank J. Rooney Construction Company. Metrorail service, between Overtown and Kendall, following the precise route of the FEC, commenced service May 1984.

An unused, partially completed ghost platform for a future East-West Metrorail line is adjacent to the west side of the mezzanine level below the current Metrorail station and is easily visible to passengers transferring from Metromover to Metrorail. This platform was part of the original design concept which interfaced with the atrium of the Miami-Dade County Administration Building, and the people mover station.

Levels

A Metromover train waiting on the lower level of the Government Center station.
A Metrorail train is approaching the upper level of the Government Center station with the Dade County Courthouse in the background.

The first floor of the Government Center complex is on the ground level of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, which has access to the second level, and the Downtown (Inner) Loop platform of Metromover.

The second floor of the Government Center complex includes the main fare control for Metrorail and operations of the metro system, along with 2 Metromover side metromover platforms. The Brickell and Omni Loop Metromover lines are accessible directly from this level, while the Downtown Loop can only be accessed by the mezzanine or ground level. It also features the Metrofare Shops area, which are open most weekdays until mid-afternoon and closed weekends and federal holidays.

The third floor of the complex is a mezzanine for Metrorail and Metromover trains. Access to the Metrorail platform above and both Metromover platforms below provides for easy transfers. A ghost platform for the never built east-west line is located on the floor.

The fourth floor of the complex is the Metrorail Orange and Green Line platform. This section of the station is composed of 2 tracks (one for southbound trains and one for northbound trains) and 1 island platform. It is the highest transit platform of the Miami-Dade Transit system in height and can hold up to 8 Metrorail cars. The station is equipped with WI-FI, escalators, and elevators to the mezzanine level, which provides access to Metromover platforms and the second level.

Future

Main article: MiamiCentral

The Florida East Coast Railway still owns the land alongside the current Government Center station and is returning inter-city rail service to the site with an intermodal transit hub serviced by their Brightline service to Downtown West Palm Beach and a newly-introduced SFRTA Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link line to West Palm Beach at Mangonia Park in 2017.

Places of interest

Transit connections

Government Center with the Dade County Courthouse in the background and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida in the foreground on the right

Metrobus

Route # Route Name Route Map Note
2 The Mall at 163rd Street via NW 2 Ave and North Miami Avenue Map Weekend service terminates at NE 84 St and 2 Ave
3 Aventura Mall via Biscayne Boulevard Map 24-hour service
7 Dolphin Mall via NW 7 St Map
9 Aventura Mall via NE 2 Ave Map
11 Downtown Miami ↔ Florida International University (FIU) Modesto Maidique Campus via Flagler Street and West 107 Ave (SR 985) Map 24-hour service; alternate terminus at Mall of the Americas
21 Northside station via West 12 Ave Map
51 Flagler MAX (Downtown Miami ↔ West Miami to West 137 Ave via Flagler St) Map Weekdays only; limited-stop
77 Downtown Miami ↔ Miami Gardens at Miami Gardens Drive/North 183 St or 199 St via NW 7 and NW 2 Ave. (US 441) Map
93 Biscayne MAX (Aventura via Biscayne Boulevard) Map Weekdays only; limited-stop
95 95 Express (Golden Glades Tri-Rail station and Park and Ride Lot via I-95) Map Afternoon rush hours only
C (103) Miami Beach via MacArthur Causeway Map
S (119) Aventura Mall via Miami Beach and Collins Avenue Map 24 hour service
120 Beach MAX (Aventura Mall via Miami Beach and Collins Ave) Map Limited-stop
195 Dade-Broward Express (Ft. Lauderdale at Sheridan St or Broward Blvd via I-95) Map
Map		 Weekday peak-hours only
207 Little Havana Connection (Downtown Miami ↔ Little Havana via SW 7 St & 1 St) Map
208 Little Havana Connection (Downtown Miami ↔ Little Havana via Flagler Street & SW 8 St) Map
246 Night Owl (Downtown Miami ↔ The Mall at 163rd St via Civic Center) Map Overnight service only
277 NW 7th Ave MAX (Downtown Miami ↔ Golden Glades station via NW 7 Ave) Map Weekday rush hour only; limited-stop
500 Midnight OWL (Downtown Miami ↔ Dadeland South station) Map Overnight service only

BCT

Route # Route Name Route Map Note
95 95 Express (Downtown Miami ↔ Pines Boulevard (SR 820) at Flamingo Road (SR 823) via I-95 and Pines Blvd) Map Weekday rush hour only; limited-stop
595 595 Express (Sunrise BB&T Center ↔ Downtown Miami and Brickell via I-95) Map Weekday rush hour only; limited stop

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/news_technical_reports_archive.asp
  2. 1 2 "RIDERSHIP TECHNICAL REPORT". Miami-Dade County Transit. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Howe, Ward Allan (Nov 3, 1963). "THE FLORIDA RUN: Railroads Anticipating a Busy Winter—New Schedule Effective Dec. 13". New York Times. p. XX13. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  4. ↑ Einstein, Paul (Sep 23, 1963). "It's Coming Down This Week!". The Miami News. p. 2A. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
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