Getting to Marlins Park: The Transportation Thread

[Omar]

Getting home on the metro, unless modified for Marlin games, will be an even bigger clog than parking

[marlins02]

http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/mia/bal...rk_parking.jsp

i guess we officially got a shuttle, the train takes a while as we've established but at least we dont just have the small trolleys that might leave you stranded.

[Party]

Well they're going to have courthouse parking according to that link.

[marlins02]

i already bought parking passes for 2 other games but whenever i gotta drive out there ill probably end up doing the court house parking.

[Party]

Posted on Thu, Mar. 29, 2012
Fans can find space near Marlins stadium -- at Walgreens

BY ADAM H. BEASLEY
abeasley@miamiherald.com


TIM CHAPMAN / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
The Walgreen's at 1699 NW Seventh Street, across the street from the new Marlin's Stadium will be selling parking spaces for games, Wendsday March 28, 2012.
For some, lack of adequate on-site parking at Marlins Park is bound to be a hassle. But for the Walgreens across the street, it’ll be a non-traditional stream of revenue.
Beginning with Sunday’s exhibition dress rehearsal against the New York Yankees, game-goers can park in the Walgreens lot located just a block west of the sparkling new baseball stadium.

But don’t expect to do so for free. The asking price for a spot within stumbling distance of the ballpark is $32.49 per car.

Walgreens the drug store chain, is just one of many businesses angling to cash in on fears — either real or exaggerated — that getting to and from Marlins games will be a pain.

Now, you won’t see Walgreens clerks out directing traffic and collecting cash. The company has outsourced the logistics to the third-party vendor 717 Parking Enterprises, which is selling the spots on the website ParkWhiz.com.

Robert Elfinger, a Walgreens spokesman, confirmed that the company’s corporate office has signed off on the plan to rent out roughly 20 spaces for Marlins games, but more than half of the lot will remain open for store customers.

“That’s why we’re working with this group,” Elfinger said. “They will be monitoring the parking lot as well.”

Yet the fact that Walgreens is offering up any piece of its property for non-store-related traffic shows just how valuable some believe real estate surrounding the ballpark to be. Jason Accardi, 717 Parking’s president, said his company has been contracted to sell additional spots by other nearby businesses, although he declined to mention which ones.

When the ball club formally opens its opulent new home Wednesday, nearly 40,000 people are expected to attend. But only 5,700 cars can park in the city-owned garages and lots that surround the ballpark, and most of them are already reserved for season-ticket holders and Marlins employees. The team will make between 1,300 and 1,800 parking spaces available to the public per game. They can be purchased in advance on the team’s website, the Marlins said earlier this month.

Still, on nights the ballpark is near capacity, that will leave many scrambling.

Some will use the garages at the Miami Health District — located just north of the Dolphin Expressway on Northwest 12th Avenue — and catch a trolley to the stadium. Others will take the Metrorail.

But those who plan ahead — and are willing to pay more — have other options.

They can reserve spots ahead on ParkWhiz, the Chicago-based website that lists available parking spaces at both paved lots like Walgreen’s and on private property — the choice of many when the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes played at the old Orange Bowl. If history is any guide, the price for a lawn spot will vary from $10 and up, depending on how close you park to the stadium.

“If you’re looking for a place to park, it’s a lot easier knowing where you’re going and what you’re going to pay than just searching,” said Justin Baker, ParkWhiz’s director of marketing. “They can just show up 10 minutes before a game and bring the pass that they can print off at work.”

Of course, there’s always a risk — particularly if you buy a spot on somebody’s front lawn — that there will be no room left for your car when you arrive. But Baker said ParkWhiz will forbid anyone caught overselling their lot from using its site going forward. Not all property owners will offer their lawns online; some will wait for the first-come first-served crowd.

Then again, why even bother battling rush hour traffic when you can have the driving done for you? That’s the sales pitch of companies like Ballgame Express, which packages a game ticket with a bus pass.

Starting at $55 per person, fans living to the north can buy a seat on a chartered motor coach and a game ticket. Ballgame Express picks up groups at sports bars stretching from Sunrise to Port St. Lucie, drives them to the game and then returns them home at the end of the night.

“Anybody who’s driven to Miami at 5 o’clock is going to encounter traffic from Boca through Fort Lauderdale to Miami,” said Mark Lubow, owner of Ballgame Express. “If you’re not comfortable with the traffic like that, it’s a pretty stressful situation.

“This is a public service, I believe,” he added. “It goes more than just an enterprise that’s trying to make a buck.”

But if you’re planning to travel south on one of Lubow’s charters, be prepared to invest some time. The buses leave for 7 p.m. games at least two hours before the first pitch, and some won’t return home until after midnight.

Now, if you’re willing to spend even more — and can get enough buddies to go in with you — there is a far more exclusive way to the game: Rent your own party bus, an oversized luxury van that’s a fiesta on wheels. That way, you can come and go as you please and leave it up to your driver to hunt for parking. But you’ll likely need to book the bus for the whole night, and on the weekends, that could run upwards to $1,000.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/2...#storylink=cpy

[Party]

Marlins add 3,000 parking spaces

By Margaux Herrera
mherrera@MiamiHerald.com

The Miami Marlins, under fire for failing to provide enough parking spaces for fans or the people who live near the new stadium, said Saturday they have secured an additional 3,000 spaces anywhere from a block to 2 miles from Marlins Park.
The Marlins also announced details of their plans to provide shuttles and trolleys from some of the more distant lots.

However, the new spaces don’t solve the problem for Little Havana residents whose on-street parking was eliminated to accommodate traffic around the new Marlins Park.

The additional spots are located in 14 parking lots at nearby businesses, hospitals and government buildings.

The Marlins have 5,700 on-site parking spots for a stadium that seats 37,442 people. However many of the spots are reserved for season ticket holders. The remaining spots are available for pre-purchase online. Spots are expected to sell out on or before game day, so fans should purchase their spots online early if they want on-site parking, the Marlins said.

Some of the new spots aren’t available online yet, but the Marlins said they expect to get them online soon.

News of the additional spots come barely a week after both the city of Miami and the Marlins said they would not pay for a parking solution for residents. The city commission voted to convert four city-owned lots into residential parking but both parties said they will not pay about $20,000 to clear the lots and install lighting and gravel. Annual maintenance and security are estimated to cost another $20,000, but neither entity agreed to pay those costs either.

“For me the first priority is the residents in the surrounding area,” Commissioner Francis Suárez said. “That has to be solved immediately.”

Suárez is frustrated at how the situation is being handled. “Everything else is for [the Marlins’] benefit,” he said. “The easier it is for people to get into the station, the more likely they are to come back.”

He believes that the Marlins should pay for the lots. But in the event that they refuse, the city has an obligation to pay for the conversion, he said.

“From my perspective, the most unfair outcome would be if the city says we’re not going to pay, the Marlins say they’re not going to pay and all these people are displaced,” Suárez said. “The opening day is April 4 so this has to be solved immediately.”

The Marlins were unable to comment because they are “still in negotiations” with the city on the matter, Marlins spokeswoman Carolina Perrina de Diego said.

For fans who do not find parking, the Marlins have updated their public transportation plan with details on how to reach the stadium from the parking locations.

Two Civic Center lots and the Mahi Shrine Parking lot will be serviced by a free Marlins shuttle that will run from 3 p.m. through midnight. “We can provide the service directly from those lots pregame and post game,” said Claude Delorme, Marlins’ executive vice president for operations and events. The two Jackson Memorial Hospital lots and the Kristi House lots will be served by the city’s free trolley service.

The trolley service, however, only runs until 11 p.m. Games begin at 7 p.m. and should be over before 11, Delorme said.

Some residents said they are concerned about safety in the area. But if a game goes into extra innings and fans do not want to leave early, they can either walk or take a taxi. The furthest of the three trolley lots is 1.3 miles away, and there will be a taxi service on Northwest 16th Avenue that can take people directly to their lots, he said.

The Marlins have also coordinated with Tri-Rail to have a late train on game nights, Delorme said. The last train normally leaves at 9:49 p.m. Fans also have the option to take the MetroRail to Culmer station, then take an express shuttle to the stadium. The shuttle will run 90 minutes before games and 60 minutes afterward.

The Marlins have also identified 8,000 spaces on nearby residential properties that they expect the owners will offer individually.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/3...#storylink=cpy
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List

[tr305]

I think buying a parking pass might have been the best decision i've made in a while. I finally got one right...

[CrimsonCane]

I took public transit to the game today. Got on Metrorail at Brickell. At that hour, trains run every 7 minutes Then, I easily caught one of the City of Miami trolleys outside of the Civic Center with about 50 other people going to the game. Didnt wait more than 10 minutes for the trolley. Another 7-10 minutes and I was dropped off right in front of the 3rd base gate. It was no more than 35-40 minutes door to door, by which I mean my actual apartment to the ticket gate of the stadium and vice versa. And I didn't have to worry about parking or traffic.

All in all, a very hassle free trip. And, the trolleys were even more prompt on the return trip. The only hiccup I can foresee going forward is the frequency of the Metrorail on the return trip. By the time the game winds down, the train is only running every 30 minutes. I happened to only wait 15 minutes for the return trip at Civic Center. I can imagine some frustration if I just miss the train and have to wait almost half an hour for another one to arrive. But, as someone who has frequently taken the last train/bus of the night in Boston, I know that that's the inevitable price you have to pay for late-night public transit.

I noticed that it was pretty evenly divided amongst the people using the shuttles from Culmer and the trolleys from Civic Center. I will test out both and see if one is more efficient/reliable than the other. I am also considering the possibility of biking to the stadium and then taking my bike on the train back home. (I saw 2 people do this tonight).

[Party]

How was the MetroRail usage?

For the UM game, at most 20 people were at Civic Center after the game.

[CrimsonCane]

I'd say it was about 20-25 at Civic Center and another 25-30 at Culmer judging by the jerseys and shirts I saw. Mind you, we left quite early because I am hoping to have all of my filings in order so that I can leave early on Wednesday and I needed to come home and finish a brief. Not to mention, the game was moving at a snail's pace.

I would imagine that a good number of people relied on the Metrorail. There was definitely more people on the train when I was going to the stadium. I presume that they all would have to take it back as well.

It will likely be my preferred option for weekday games. I will probably buy parking passes for the weekend games because it'll be easier to coordinate with my family on those days so that we'd all be able to go in 1 car and the train is definitely not as frequent on weekends.

[Bobbob1313]

I may be taking advantage of the tri-rail service they're going to be offering. Just have to see how it looks on weekdays.

[BigGameFish]

I took public transit to the game today. Got on Metrorail at Brickell. At that hour, trains run every 7 minutes Then, I easily caught one of the City of Miami trolleys outside of the Civic Center with about 50 other people going to the game. Didnt wait more than 10 minutes for the trolley. Another 7-10 minutes and I was dropped off right in front of the 3rd base gate. It was no more than 35-40 minutes door to door, by which I mean my actual apartment to the ticket gate of the stadium and vice versa. And I didn't have to worry about parking or traffic.

All in all, a very hassle free trip. And, the trolleys were even more prompt on the return trip. The only hiccup I can foresee going forward is the frequency of the Metrorail on the return trip. By the time the game winds down, the train is only running every 30 minutes. I happened to only wait 15 minutes for the return trip at Civic Center. I can imagine some frustration if I just miss the train and have to wait almost half an hour for another one to arrive. But, as someone who has frequently taken the last train/bus of the night in Boston, I know that that's the inevitable price you have to pay for late-night public transit.

I noticed that it was pretty evenly divided amongst the people using the shuttles from Culmer and the trolleys from Civic Center. I will test out both and see if one is more efficient/reliable than the other. I am also considering the possibility of biking to the stadium and then taking my bike on the train back home. (I saw 2 people do this tonight).

I also live in Brickell. Couple questions:

1. The civic center...is that the stop in front of the court house? The one with a metrorail, outerloop, and innerloop stop??
2. Are the trolleys for Marlins Park specially marked??

I would not mind using this system.

[CrimsonCane]

I also live in Brickell. Couple questions:

1. The civic center...is that the stop in front of the court house? The one with a metrorail, outerloop, and innerloop stop??
2. Are the trolleys for Marlins Park specially marked??

I would not mind using this system.

1. You're thinking of Government Center. Civic Center is 3 additional stops (It goes Brickell - Gov't Center - Overtown - Culmer - Civic Center). Civic Center is the stop for the main Jackson hospital, the criminal courthouse, the jail, and the state attorney's office.

2. The trolleys are City of Miami trolleys that not only take people to the stadium, they also circulate people around the Jackson Health District (it's a massive complex; I believe it's actually the largest contiguous hospital complex in the United States). The trolley for the stadium picks up right outside the Civic Center station's entrance/exit on the Southbound lane. The trolleys look like this. Just make sure you get on a trolley and not a normal County bus, they share the same stop outside Civic Center. When all else fails, just remember that the trolley is free.

[Jorge18]

I live out west (152 ave and Coral Way)

Left my house at 5:10 and was in my seats by 6:00. The traffic was a little bad, but it moved quick. Getting inside the garages was a breeze.

So glad I got the parking passes after seeing people charging $25 to park 2-3 blocks from the stadium.

[tr305]

It wasn't too bad exiting out of your spot ? I'm going tomorrow for first time.