LTC 013-2016 Operation Traffic Enforcement BlitzM1AMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC#
013-2016
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
Mayor Philip Levine and Members of he City C. mission
FROM:
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE:
January 12, 2016
SUBJECT:
Operation Traffic Enforcement Bli z
Based on policy guidance from the City Commission, beginning in the latter part of 2014, the
Miami Beach Police Department began a campaign to improve traffic flow through aggressive
enforcement of parking, moving and safety violations throughout the city, along with significantly
increased utilization of vehicle tows of violators. The Police Department named this effort
"Operation Traffic Blitz." The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide a summary of
Operation Traffic Blitz in 2015. This operation will continue indefinitely, as the pace of
construction in the City and the traffic challenges remain in 2016.
One important element of the initiative has been to enforce the recently approved and
implemented Freight Loading Zones (FLZ) and Alley Loading Zones (ALZ) areas in South Beach.
These Loading Zone changes were made as part of a larger traffic and parking strategy
designed to ensure that trucks loading/unloading in designated delivery areas do not block lanes
of traffic and worsen congestion. More than 4,700 vehicles were towed in 2015, an indication of
how determined the City and the Department are to achieve compliance with the Loading Zone
plan.
Another element of the plan has involved tasking the Department's Motorcycle Unit to help with
traffic flow issues during the morning and afternoon rush hours. Police officers in Areas 1, 2 and
3 were also assigned to help with this major task. Traffic officers concentrated on enforcing
"block the box" violations, as well as "cutting in" traffic statutes and running red lights at major
intersections. This enforcement effort has been largely focused on the 5th Street, 41st Street and
Collins Avenue corridors.
In the South and Middle Districts, given all the construction along Collins Avenue, West Avenue
and Alton Road in the past year, the Motorcycle Unit has been heavily tasked to assist on many
mornings and evenings with rush-hour traffic entering and exiting Miami Beach on the MacArthur
and Julia Tuttle Causeways. This is very labor intensive and involves four or more officers
controlling the traffic lights exiting town and along the Causeways.
The Police Department also addressed a host of separate traffic complaints from many of our
City's Neighborhood Associations and their members. The principal unit to address traffic
conditions citywide remains the Motorcycle Unit. This team consists of 10 officers. In this new
fiscal year, the Commission has authorized and funded the unit to expand to 15 officers.
Because of vacancies in the Department and gaps in regular patrol staffing, the extra five officers
will not be added to the Motor Unit until mid-2016.
Below are statistics for 2015 on tickets issued under Operation Traffic Blitz:
BLOCK THE BOX
41ST ST CORRIDOR 1130
5TH ST CORRIDOR 924
5TH ST CORRIDOR / LENOX AVE 168
5TH STREET / WASHINGTON AVE 71
MICH/ALTON BOX 103
ALTON ROAD / DADE BOULEVARD 51
INDIAN CREEK / ABBOTT AVE 19
69TH STREET / ABBOTT AVE 23
63rd STREET / LA GORCE DR 80
63RD STREET CORRIDOR 16
16TH STREET / LENOX AVE 24
LINCOLN RD / ALTON RD 49
8TH STREET / WEST AVE 260
TOTAL 2918
FLZ ENFORCEMENT GRAND
TOTAL
MOVERS 2858
PARKERS 7902
BEACH TOWS 2681
TREMONT TOWS 2087
TOTAL TOWS 4768
ARRESTS 26
BREAKDOWN LANE ENFORCEMENT GRAND
TOTAL
EASTBOUND JULIA TUTTLE
24
CAUSEWAY ENFORCEMENT
GRAND TOTAL
MACARTHUR 89
JULIA TUTTLE 70
The MBPD has been successful in these enforcement efforts particularly because of its partnership
with other city agencies, especially the Transportation and Parking Departments. Leaders of all the
Departments continue to meet weekly each Monday morning to assess the past week's issues and
performance and to map a traffic strategy for the coming week that accounts for any upcoming
special events and construction schedules. These meetings will continue in 2016, with the entire
City team attempting to be as flexible and responsive to traffic conditions as possible.
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