I visited the new Underline trail when I was in Miami last week.
The Underline is supposed to replace and to be a big improvement over the M-Path, the simple trail that was created under or next to the southern branch of Metrorail when the train line was built in the early 1980s. The plan is that the new trail will separate pedestrians and cyclists and be surrounded by high-quality recreational spaces. It’s being paid for by both government agencies and private funds.
The Underline trail, the old M-Path, Metrorail, and the Metromover in Miami and its southern suburbs. Because the Underline, the M-Path, and the Metrorail line occupy the same narrow corridor, showing them all in a way that makes sense is a real cartographic challenge. The base data here come mostly from the Geofabrik version of OpenStreetMap. They have been modified substantially.
Only the first four-tenths of a mile (700 m) of the Underline trail has been completed. This segment lies entirely in Brickell, a high-density, generally upscale residential and commercial area just south of Miami’s traditional downtown. Brickell has a surprisingly large number of pedestrians on just about all of its sidewalks, and the trail here seems in some ways like a continuation of the surrounding bustling neighborhood. It’s often full of people, although I believe it’s reasonable to hypothesize that probably most users of the Underline’s initial segment are barely aware that they’re on a recreational trail.
The Underline in Brickell.
One of the characteristics of the trail in Brickell is that the rail line is raised quite a bit above the street level in order not to impede boat traffic on the Miami River.
Underline distance markers on the high columns supporting Metrorail tracks, Brickell.
The enormous Metrorail columns provide plenty of room for huge distance markers and identifying and directional texts. Markers showing southbound distances, however, are aspirational. The finished Underline Trail ends just south of the point shown in the photograph below. Note that one of the dogwalkers in this photo is on the bicycle path. When I was there, no one seemed to be paying any attention at all to the distinction between walking and cycling paths.
Dogwalkers on the Underline. View north from Southwest 13th Street. This is as far south as the Underline now goes, 9.60 miles and 15.30 km from its eventual southwestern terminus.
South of Southwest 13th Street, the old M-Path has been left in place for approximately six-tenths of a mile (1 km). It runs under the tracks for a short distance and then alongside them. There is no separation of pedestrians and cyclists, but there really doesn’t need to be, since there are few users.
A runner checking his telephone near the current northern end of the old M-Path, just south of Brickell.
Between the first two stations south of Brickell—Vizcaya and Coconut Grove—the old M-Path is closed and is being turned into a continuation of the Underline (phase 2). An alternate route on local streets through low-density, more or less middle-class neighborhoods has been marked, but I saw very few people using it.
A runner working her way through the M-Path/Underline detours near Vizcaya station.
South of Coconut Grove, the old M-Path has for the moment been left in place. It continues to the end of the Metrorail line at downtown Dadeland (at the Dadeland South station), a distance of about six miles (10 km).
I walked this path when I was in Miami. It’s probably fair to say that, in its current state, the M-Path is not a very enticing trail. The trains overhead, despite being supported by concrete columns, are noisy, and (far worse) users are almost always right next (or very close) to South Dixie Highway (U.S. 1), a major arterial (with Ponce de Leon, another heavily-trafficked road, on the other side of the train line for much of the way).
The M-Path along South Dixie Highway, probably in Coral Gables. The emptiness of the path is pretty typical.
There are numerous street crossings. In some cases, pedestrians and cyclists are aided only by a crosswalk; in others, there’s a traffic light to help, but users must sometimes wait a couple of minutes for a walk light to appear.
M-Path street crossing just north of the Dadeland South station, protected only by a crosswalk.
Since Miami-area drivers can’t be trusted to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks or when they’re making a turn, none of the street crossings seems very safe, except for the one where Snapper Creek Expressway joins the South Dixie Highway, where a bright red bridge has been installed.
Bridge across Snapper Creek Expressway near Dadeland North. This is the only bridge on the M-Path.
The trail for the most part passes through what might be called an ordinary American suburban arterial commercial landscape. Automobile-oriented businesses and occasional residential structures line the parallel streets. Near certain stations, the trail consists of a narrow corridor through linear parking lots. The overhead Metrorail line is the trail’s chief distinguishing feature. There are also some new, tall apartment buildings in several places that are sometimes considered to be TOD projects.
For the moment, the M-Path seems to attract very few users. I saw perhaps five or six people during the couple of hours I was on the trail.
This remaining segment of the M-Path is supposed to be transformed into a continuation of the Underline trail in phase 3. It’s a little hard to see how the trail could be improved enough to make it a really attractive place, but perhaps I’m wrong. The literature on the Underline has alluring images of large groups of people walking, cycling, sitting, or playing in the midst of native vegetation, but of course no one has plans to get rid of the Metrorail tracks or the South Dixie Highway or all the level crossings.
Sign at Vizcaya station advertising Phase 2 of Underline construction. Note how much more verdant and well-peopled the Underline is projected to be than is the current M-Path. There is no hint in the image on the sign that the Underline is right next to a busy highway,
Still, recreational trails in many car-oriented parts of the United States (for example, Dallas) attract a surprisingly large number of users. The city of Miami really has no other long-distance hiking/running/biking trail. The fact that the short paths near the junction of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay get quite a lot of use suggests that there is a market for a facility like the Underline. But the trails near downtown don’t border highways; they don’t have level street crossings; and they provide stunning views of Miami’s impressive new skyscrapers and of traffic on its busy waterways.
Miami Riverwalk, the recreational path along the Miami River.
The views from most of the right-of-way of the projected Underline are of an ordinary American carscape. The designers of the phases 2 and 3 of the Underline have a difficult assignment.
Map revised 23 February 2022.