Coral Gables' Transportation Advisory Board failed to reach a quorum Tuesday, leaving it unable to vote on a trolley extension to South Miami, a proposed scramble crossing at Ponce de León Boulevard and Miracle Mile, or any other item on its agenda.

The board has held only two official meetings in all of 2026, according to city Legistar records.

Chair Roland Rodriguez told colleagues at the session that the city received $60,000 toward a Pedestrian Master Plan, though city staff said they were still executing the agreement to receive the funding. Rodriguez also noted the City Commission postponed action on the scramble crossing after commissioners requested additional review. The board could take no formal position on either item.

Board member Henry Pinera briefed colleagues on an interagency effort involving Miami-Dade County, South Miami and the University of Miami to explore extending the Coral Gables trolley across U.S. 1.

"It was a meeting with South Miami, part of an interagency effort to be able to use the trolley for South Miami, the Gables, and University of Miami," Pinera said. "It's setting the rules of what, where, when, how, and all that other stuff."

The board could not formally weigh in on the trolley proposal. It could not approve its own minutes or send a single recommendation to the commission.

Board's inability to meet comes as the city's transit agenda keeps expanding

The city's transportation agenda has grown while the board has struggled to convene. The Southern Loop trolley route, launched in late 2025, was nearing 2,000 riders per month as of city ridership data from May. That figure remains far below the Ponce route, which draws roughly 83,000 riders monthly.

The city also approved a new interlocal agreement with Miami-Dade County governing its circulator service, extending a framework first established in 2010. The agreement defines a "circulator" as a service where at least 70% of the route falls within the municipality.

Rodriguez acknowledged at the meeting that the board's 2025 annual report to the City Commission was "largely generic." He said he plans to circulate a draft of the 2026 report, due Oct. 1, for board review in advance.

Local editorial board demands the city explain the breakdown

The Gables Gazette editorial board published a formal call Wednesday for the city to account for the board's dysfunction. The editorial demanded that the city publish the board's 2026 meeting and attendance record, identify vacancies or scheduling obstacles, clarify membership rules, and explain how it intends to restore regular operations.

The editorial argued that when the board cannot conduct business, public examination of transportation proposals does not move elsewhere. Residents lose their one documented forum for input before decisions reach the commission.

The city had not publicly responded to the editorial's demands as of Saturday. The Gables Courier reached out to the city manager's office for comment and did not receive a response.

No next meeting date for the Transportation Advisory Board appears on the city's Legistar calendar through the end of July.