Should Key Biscayne Run the Rickenbacker Causeway?

In this artist’s drawing, the Plan Z concept for the Rickenbacker Causeway is shown. Undated (Plan Z for Miami)

Saying that a redesign of the Rickenbacker Causeway is inevitable, Mayor Mike Davey is putting forward a plan for the Village to manage the Causeway itself.

“I don’t want us playing catch-up or reacting,” said Davey, who says Key Biscayne must push for a Causeway plan that considers the Village’s needs.

“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” he said, noting a proposal from architect Bernard Zyscovich for a linear park is just one idea for the roadway that has gotten some traction, but it’s not the only one. He says if the Village wants to play a role, it’s time to act.

Tuesday’s Village Council agenda includes an item to discuss a solicitation for engineering firms — price unknown — that would put Key Biscayne into the mix.

Firms would be asked to “evaluate existing studies and plans for the Rickenbacker Causeway and generating [sic] a conceptual plan for the Village to finance, improve, and manage the Causeway,” the proposal states.

It further says  “the successful firm will propose several options for financing and managing the Causeway, which may include public/private partnerships and the creation of a Causeway Authority.”

Council Member Ignacio Segurola said he’s a supporter of the idea that Key Biscayne become an active player in the Causeway’s future.

“We don’t have much time. I’m all for it,” he said.

In 2017, then-Mayor Mayra Peña Lindsay held several top-level meetings with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez on the Zyscovich plan, with cost projections topping $300 million. She said that in meetings she attended, there was discussion that tolls could rise to more than $6, creating a burden for residents of lower income communities to access county and state parks.

The plan fizzled, she said, after last year’s fatal bridge collapse at Florida International University. She says it’s critical that Key Biscayne get involved in the discussions and applauded the Council for taking up the matter.

“I think it’s absolutely necessary and brilliant,” Lindsay said.