Miami Gardens, Florida is building a dedicated bike path at its flagship recreation complex, using nearly $600,000 in federal infrastructure funding to give residents a safer way to reach one of the city's most-used public spaces.

The $594,693 grant, flowing through Florida's Department of Transportation from the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant program, will fund construction of a bike path and trail at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex on NW 199th Street. The complex serves as the city's primary parks hub, hosting athletic fields, a community center, and major events for Miami Gardens' roughly 115,000 residents.

The project carries extra weight given where it's being built. Florida has consistently ranked as the most dangerous state in the nation for pedestrians and cyclists, and the Miami metro has repeatedly appeared at the top of national rankings for pedestrian fatalities. Smart Growth America has flagged the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach corridor as one of the deadliest in the country for people walking and biking. Pedestrian deaths nationally hit a 40-year high of around 7,500 in 2022, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Miami Gardens, incorporated only in 2003, was built around mid-20th-century suburban street design that prioritized cars and left few safe options for cyclists or pedestrians. The city sits below the Miami-Dade County median household income, and many residents depend on non-automobile transportation. A separated bike path to a major community destination addresses both safety and basic access.

The funding arrives through FDOT's Local Agency Program, which lets the city manage the project directly while meeting federal design and oversight requirements. The grant was posted in February 2026, suggesting design and environmental review are already complete and the project is moving into construction.

Miami Gardens has pursued a series of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure grants in recent years as part of a broader push to improve quality of life and street safety. This project fits into Miami-Dade County's expanding trail network, which includes larger efforts like the Underline and the Ludlam Trail. No timeline for construction completion has been publicly announced, but the move into the construction phase means work is expected to begin in the near term.