The City of Doral responds to its residents.

 

By: Maggie Santos

Communications & Protocol Manager

City of Doral

 

Para leer en español

DORAL, FL –  We are excited to be entering a new year and decade to continue improving our great City and providing the top-level municipal services that make Doral the premier place to live, work, learn and play. As we prepared to welcome 2020, several residents shared their thoughts with Doral Family Journal on what they hope for moving forward. We thank them for their participation and feedback! Below is some information on those topics.

Mobility

Biking and walking is not only great for your health but also a great alternative to getting around. While there are some challenges with several of our roads being inherited by Miami-Dade County when the City of Doral incorporated, the City has been working to improve that by ensuring that every new road segment constructed is a complete road with sidewalks and lanes that encourage biking and walking. Also, as part of the Doral Parks Bond, the City’s bikeway trail network will be improved and augmented by approximately 5 miles of multi-purpose trails. Existing segments enhancements will include trail lighting, pavement markings, and signage. Our Doral Trolley service is also expanding. Starting February 3^rd, we’ll have two additional trolley added to the midday peak hours during school pickups. Several students use this service to get home and this new addition will help with that demand. That brings the trolley fleet to 16 vehicles now! Recent changes to the routes include service to Florida International University (FIU) and Sunday service.  

Another great and free option is the Freebee service. Freebee is an on-demand, electric transportation that easily gets you around through the use of an app. All you need to do is request this service on your smartphone through the Ride Freebee app.

 

Traffic

Traffic is a regional challenge for South Florida as a whole. There is heightened traffic on weekdays in Doral as we have around 100,000 people that come in and out of our City to either work or traverse through Doral, as we are surrounded by three major highways.

Traffic is a big concern to the City and we continue to work on viable solutions to alleviate congestion in our streets, be it by connecting our grid (eg. NW 102 Ave), enhancing our Trolley service, working closely with Miami-Dade County on traffic light timing (Miami-Dade County owns and operates all traffic signalization), and now with a seat on the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization held by Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez, in which collaboration occurs on important projects like the widening of NW 25th Street.

Another important aspect of decreasing traffic congestion is driver’s following the rules when they’re on the road. Simple actions like not blocking intersections or not texting so you’re fully attentive can make everyone’s rider safer and more efficient.

Our Doral Police does a great job at enforcing these and all laws to protect the quality of life. This fiscal year, 40% of the City’s budget went towards police and public safety to add additional officers that can assist with important issues like traffic control.

 

Economic Development

We’re home to over 10,000 companies with an average of 120 new companies opening each month. The City’s Economic Development Division works to elevate Doral as a world-class international and domestic destination for trade and commerce, collaborating with other intergovernmental agencies, chambers, and organizations to implement programs to help our businesses thrive. We aim to assist our small to mid-sized businesses with business development activities, entrepreneurial education, and grants programs.

We currently have another cycle open for the Façade Improvement Grant Program, accepting applications before March 6, 2020, by 3:30 pm for businesses that are renovating their business structure for a reimbursement up to $10,000. For details, please visit cityofdoral.com.

 

Parks & Recreation

Thanks to the resident’s vision and support of world-class parks, Doral’s parks will only be getting bigger and better! Plans for more green spaces, recreational areas, and facilities are underway as park of the Doral Parks Bond which was approved by Doral voters in November 2018.

Projects include a cultural arts center, White Course Park, aquatic facility, and the buildout of Doral Central Park. The City of Doral has always had the mission of providing top recreational options and experiences for those of all ages and capabilities in our parks.

With these ambitious and exciting new projects, we’ll continue to achieve that at an even higher level. To learn more about all the bond projects, please visit doralparksbond.org.

 

Nightlife

As Doral continues to flourish so do the options for our residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy themselves. In addition to our electric gastronomy and diverse shops, more and more places in our City are offering entertainment.

CityPlace, for instance, has a wide array of venues great for dancing, comedy shows, and bowling. Also, Downtown Doral will soon be the home of the highly anticipated Doral Yard (formerly Wynwood Yard). We are also excited about the revamp of the industrial/commercial district located to the north of the Downtown Doral area, “NODO” — North of Downtown Overlay District. When this area becomes a mixed-use area, we’ll see that come alive as a new and vibrant district.

 

We are happy to provide more information on these and any other City-related topics of interest to the residents. Please reach out to us at ConstituentServices@cityofdoral.com or at (305)593-6725, ex. 3011.