LTC 427-2022 POTENTIAL USE OF ALTON COURT ALLEYWAY AS AN ALTERNATIVE PATH FOR PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLES, AND MICROMOBILITY DEVICESLTC# 427-2022
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MIAMI BEACH
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Man
DATE: October 10, 2022
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL USE OF ALTON COURT ALLEYWAY AS AN ALTERNATIVE PATH
FOR PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLES, AND MICROMOBILITY DEVICES
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide an update regarding the potential use of
the Alton Court alleyway as an alternative mobility corridor for pedestrians, bicycles, and
micromobility devices (i.e. stand-up scooters) in lieu of Alton Road and West Avenue, and in light
of the upcoming reconstruction of the West Avenue corridor.
At the March 9, 2022 City Commission meeting, Vice-Mayor Alex Fernandez sponsored a
resolution directing the Administration to study and identify the costs and methods to transform
the Alton Court and Meridian Court alleyways into safe alternative mobility routes for pedestrians,
bicycles, and micromobility devices. Pursuant to this resolution, the Transportation and Mobility
Department and the Public Works Department jointly conducted walk-throughs, observations, and
prepared a preliminary feasibility analysis of both alleyways. The attached presentation includes
staff's findings and recommendations . This item will be discussed at the upcoming October 19
Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee meeting .
Alton Court is a service alley located between Alton Road to the east and West Avenue to the
west and operates one-way northbound. The alleyway extends between 8 Street and 17 Street
and serves primarily for "back of the house operations" for businesses and also provides access
to private parking for residential and commercial buildings. The alleyway connects to both Alton
Road and West Avenue at each east-west cross street and to the existing green bike lanes on 16
Street. Alton Court ranges between 16 feet and 18 feet in width, has no sidewalks, and
experiences a high level of truck activity often blocking safe passage and limiting visibility. Staff's
assessment identified several existing pavement, pavement markings, and signage deficiencies
that would need to be addressed in order to provide a safe and comfortable walking, cycling, and
riding environment for users. The preliminary estimated cost of the recommended improvements
on Alton Court is approximately $300,000 and does not include any street lighting (if needed).
Funding for the implementation of these improvements would need to be identified.
Should the City Commission wish to pursue the use of Alton Court as an alternative mobility path
for pedestrians, bicycles, and micromobility devices, the Administration would recommend
moving forward with a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of the alleyway as a mobility
corridor and garner community and user feedback. The pilot would commence only after securing
funding and completing the necessary infrastructure and signage, including wayfinding,
improvements along the alleyway.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Attachment: Feasibility Analysis for Alton Court and Meridian Court Alleyways
MT/JRG/MM/DF
Pedestrian-Bicycle-
Micromobility
Alleyways
Feasibility Analysis For:
Alton Court
Meridian Court
Alton Court Alleyway
•Service alley located between West Avenue and Alton Road
•It operates one-way northbound and primarily serves "back of house"functions for businesses and provides access
to private parking for businesses and residential properties
•There are various utilities along the alley
•Some bicyclists use Alton Ct as an alternate to Alton Road or West Avenue;however,the primary use of the alley is
currently vehicular
•There are no sidewalks along the alley
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West Ave
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Alton Ct
Alton Rd
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Existing Conditions –Alton
Ct
•Alley ranges between 16’ to 18’ in
effective width
•Utility poles, manholes, grates, and
other public utilities are serviced
from the alley
•There are various pavement
deficiencies in the alleyway and
sidewalk approaches which create
hazards for users
•Lighting appears adequate on
most blocks with 2-3 LED FPL
fixtures per block and City
maintained-LED fixtures at most
alley entrances
Observations and Findings
–Alton Ct
•Deliveries often block the alley
which may result in inadequate
clear space for bicycles to pass
•Whole Foods (10th Street) has
significantly high truck and
vehicular activity which frequently
blocks alleyway
•Trash collection occurs from the
alley
•Most businesses do not have
customer back door entrances and
will require alleyway users to use
cross streets or the main road to
access businesses
Observations and Findings –
Alton Ct (cont.)
•Alley has high truck activity including trash
collection which makes it inconvenient for cyclists
•Some private parking areas will require
modifications to ensure sight visibility is adequate
•Given alley functions as a controlled side-street, as
well as the limited sight visibility at intersections,
cyclists and micromobility devices will need to
frequently slow down or stop to cross a street
Observations and Findings –
Alton Ct (cont.)
•Milling, resurfacing, and sidewalk repairs must
be performed to address potholes and cracks
that could affect safety and ride-ability
•Cost -$250,000
•Striping and signage must be installed to advise
motorists of the potential presence of
pedestrians, cyclists, and micromobility devices
traveling in both directions along a one-way
alley and across the street
•Cost -$50,000
•Wayfinding signage would help guide cyclists
to/from the alley
Alton Court
Construction
•There will be construction at all alley approaches as part of the
West Avenue Neighborhood Improvement Project
•Connectivity and final elevation of the alley should be considered
to ensure cyclist comfort
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SUMMARY –ALTON COURT
•Pros:
•Alternative pedestrian, bike, and micro-mobility facility during years-long construction of West
Avenue project and for future
•Connectivity to existing 16 Street bike lanes, Lincoln Road, and future 17 Street bike lanes
•Potential to serve as catalyst for future alleyway revitalization and activation
•Cons:
•High truck activity, often blocking safe passage for all modes
•Limited visibility due to private parking spaces
•Lack of direct access to businesses (few back door entrances)
•Does not extend south of 8 Street, thus no direct connectivity to park at 600 Alton or existing 5th
Street bike lanes
•Once West Avenue project is completed, utility of alleyway as an alternative transportation facility
is expected to decrease
•Preliminary Cost: $300,000 for resurfacing, sidewalk repairs, restriping, and signage (excludes lighting
if needed)
•Recommendation: Potentially pursue a pilot contingent upon funding
•Meridian Court is the service alley located between Meridian Avenue and Jefferson Avenue
•Operates one-way northbound
•Lies within the Flamingo Park Slow Streets Pilot network and the South Beach Pedestrian Priority Zone
•Alley has significantly less commercial activity than Alton Court
•There are no sidewalks along the alley
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Existing Conditions –
Meridian Ct
•Entrance is from Meridian Avenue
through the South Shore
Community Center parking lot
which is the future site for Fire
Station # 1
•Alley effective width is 12'so
there is little to no room for a
pedestrian or bicyclist to navigate
around any large truck servicing
the alley, including garbage trucks
•Little to no commercial activity
which significantly reduces heavy
vehicle traffic; however, many of
the multi-family buildings have
parking accessible only through
the alley
Existing Conditions –Meridian Ct
(cont.)
•Pavement is poor and there is spot flooding which
typically affects bicyclists' comfort
•Most private parking is only accessible through the
alley and most exits from parking facilities have
limited sight visibility
•Lighting appears adequate on most blocks with 2-
3 FPL-maintained LED fixtures per block and City-
maintained LED fixtures at most alley entrances
Findings and Observations –
Meridian Ct
•Trash collection vehicles completely block the
alley which can be a safety issue for alleyway
users
•Wayfinding signage is needed to guide alleyway
users to/from the alley and across the streets
•The cost of upgrading this alleyway with new
pavement, signage, and pavement markings
would cost $113,000
•Located within Flamingo Park Slow Streets 2.0
and South Beach Pedestrian Priority Zone
(funded capital project)
•City is pursuing buffered bike lanes on Jefferson
Avenue
SUMMARY –MERIDIAN COURT
•Pros:
•Primarily residential with low vehicle/truck activity, other than trash collection
•Low stress facility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and micromobility
•Cons:
•This neighborhood is already very walkable and bikeable; thus, the investment is not expected to result in significant benefits to mobility
•Preliminary Cost:
•$113,000 for repaving, sidewalk repairs, signage, and striping (excludes lighting improvements if needed)
•Recommendation: Not recommended
Livable Alleys Best
Practices
•Several national and international cities
have recognized alleys as quality
underutilized space that could promote:
•Walkability
•Bikeability
•Places for green infrastructure
•Additional store frontage for greater
economic impact to businesses
•Most cities are considering livable alley
policies concentrated on:
•Establishing hours for delivery/service
operations
•Modifying the type of delivery vehicles
•Developing building policy which promotes
alley livability depending on surrounding
land-use
•Creating a sense of place, including
branding, murals, entrance features, and
community events
Alleyway Handbook/Seattle
Lincoln Road Master Plan –Lincoln Lane
Linden Alley –San Francisco
Day in the Life of a Livable Alley
City of Miami District 5
Alleyway Improvements
•City of Miami has explored the
implementation of traffic calming
and shared-lane markings on City
alleys to promote bicycling and
provide connectivity to parks
•Many of the improved alleys were
unpaved alleys and lighting is still
a concern for some users (based
on feedback on social media)