048-1998 LTC
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
http:\\cLmiami-beach.fl.us
L.T.C. No. 48-1998
LETTER TO COMMISSION
April 21, 1998
TO: Mayor Neisen O. Kasdin and
Members of the City Commission
FROM: Sergio Rodriguez, City Manager
SUBJECT: Status of Several Transportati n Planning/Traffic Studies and Street
Calming Projects.
Several street calming projects have been requested by area residents within the last
two years for North Bay Road, Pine Tree Drive/La Gorce Drive, Alton Road (from
Michigan Avenue to 63rd Street), 41 st Street, and Collins Avenue (from 59th to 63rd
Street) .
The Administration recommends that permanent implementation of these projects be
postponed until two most critical citywide studies are completed and their findings and
recommendations are available to the City: the Municipal Mobility Plan (MMP) and the
Automated Concurrency Management System (CMS). The plan and computer system
are presently under development by the City's consultant, Carr Smith Corradino, and
the City's Planning staff.
1. The Municipal Mobility Plan will be the first citywide transportation plan for
Miami Beach. It will provide the basic framework for dealing with the
challenges of growth management and concurrency, while being sensitive and
responsive to the needs of preserving and enhancing the quality of life and
environment in the residential, commercial, and historic preservation areas of
the City. The MMP will create a phased and prioritized 1 Q-year transportation
plan which will become the implementation component of the Traffic Element
of the Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan.
Three (3) Public Involvement Workshops to receive input on the preliminary
findings of the MMP have been scheduled from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. for April 28
(North Beach), May 4 (Middle Beach), and May 12 (South Beach), as previously
LTC: April 21, 1998
Page Two
detailed in an LTC dated April 17, 1998. A fourth 'wrap-up' public workshop
has yet to be scheduled. After community input is gathered and incorporated,
the MMP's draft final version should be completed by early July, 1998, for
possible submission to and adoption by the City Commission, prior to the
August recess.
2. The Concurrency Management System will be the City's first automated tool for
evaluating proposed projects within the context of existing adequate
infrastructure to accommodate growth. The CMS will develop and recommend
administrative policy and procedures which include modifications to the Miami
Beach Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. Such changes most likely
will include the creation of Transportation Concurrency Management Areas
(TCMA) and/or sustainable community areas, through appropriate mitigation
action plans. The CMS and its software packet are due to be completed by late
July, 1998.
TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECTS. Several traffic calming projects are being spearheaded
by certain neighborhood associations, and are at different stages of development, as
follows:
North Bay Road (City road):
~ A temporary street closure has been implemented.
~ A Carr Smith Corradino study under development has already determined that
the action taken might not be the appropriate solution for the traffic
intrusion/speeding problem. The full study will be completed in two weeks,
approximately.
~ The subject most likely will be brought-up at the MMP Workshop for the Middle
Beach area, scheduled for May 4, 1998, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at The
Tavern Room, 6th Floor of Colonial Bank Building.
Pine Tree Drive/La Gorce Drive Proposal (County roads): A conceptual traffic calming
plan has been devised by Miami-Dade County:
~ It will take three additional months to produce the final design.
~ The six-month trial project will include temporary traffic separators at
intersections, and double white stripes separating the two travel lanes.
~ The trial project will be implemented by the end of 1998.
~ The County may use road impact fees and gasoline tax funds to implement this
trial project.
LTC: April 21, 1998
Page Three
Alton Road, from Michigan Avenue to 63rd Street (State Road):
~ FOOT consultants are conducting a Traffic Calming Study for the above-
mentioned corridor. A draft version will be completed this month for review by
FOOT and City during May, 1998.
~ As a classroom project, FlU students had previously offered conceptual
solutions for traffic calming, some of which may be useful for City roads but are
not allowed on State roads, such as the installation of speed tables. What is
left of the proposal is not aggressive enough to effect lower speeds throughout
the corridor.
Lower Alton Road (Michigan Avenue south to 5th Street) is already deficient
under concurrency standards, has signals at every intersection, and does not
qualify for traffic calming measures. Several traffic mitigation plans have been
devised by the City Planning staff to bring the corridor back into compliance.
The FOOT project for lower Alton Road, scheduled for construction in 1999-
2000, will add median and improved left-turn movements.
Arthur Godfrey Road/41 st Street (State Road):
~ The merchants have requested that more time be allowed for pedestrian
crossing at intersections, which essentially amounts to traffic calming. Traffic
data collected for the MMP has preliminarily determined that 41 st Street is
already deficient under concurrency standards. The fact that the corridor is a
primary hurricane evacuation route complicates the street calming issue even
further.
~ There may be an opportunity, in the near future, to designate the roadway as
a constrained corridor and seek some resolution under State Statutes. Only
then it may be possible to install certain traffic calming features on this major
artery of Miami Beach.
Proposed Traffic Circles on Dade Boulevard (County Road):
~ For the traffic circle on Dade Blvd. at Purdy Ave., only a rendering has been
produced by Kimley-Horn, Associates, as part of the Venetian Causeway Master
Plan. No traffic studies have been conducted.
~ For the traffic circle on Dade Blvd. at Meridian Ave., existing vehicular and
pedestrian traffic data from the MMP has been used by Carr Smith Corradino to
make a cursory evaluation of the traffic circle proposal.
LTC: April 21, 1998
Page Four
The MMP consultants have reviewed the data and concluded the following:
* The present traffic volumes of LOS Band C, the westbound left turn delay
at midday peak, and the intersection geometry and scant accident history do
not justify the creation of a traffic circle at this location.
* A traffic circle could create a turning movement problem for trade show-
bound trucks delivering heavy equipment or large boats, and would further
constrain the movement of an average 50,000 daily visitors during the
annual Boat Show.
* Traffic circles generally inhibit safe pedestrian crossings at intersections and
could cause pedestrian-vehicle conflicts when there is major activity at the
Convention Center.
* The project may also require costly right-of-way acquisition and replacement
of dilapidated seawall, in order to be done properly.
Traffic/Environmental Study for Collins Ave., from 59th to 63rd Streets (State Road).
Furthering a request made by area residents last year, the City submitted Resolution
No. 98-22689, dated March 18, 1998, to the Miami-Dade County Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO), agreeing to match up to $20,000 any 1997-98 funds
the MPO may be able to allocate for the above-mentioned study. The following is their
response:
<> The MPO Director has identified $50,000 in planning funds for this purpose.
<> With a City match, $70,000 would be available for the study.
<> The MPO Director's proposal will be submitted to the Transportation Planning
Council (TPC) for consideration, on May 11, 1998 at 2:00 p.m.
<> The MPO Governing Board will act on the TPC recommendation at the Board
meeting scheduled for June 20, 1998, at 11 :00 a.m.
<> The MPO funds will be made available (through the reimbursement method) as
soon as the resolution is signed.
<> The City will then release Requests for Proposals for consultant services.
NOTE: Waiting for the results of this new study, the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) has decided to postpone construction of their at-grade project
for 63rd Street at Indian Creek Drive, the preferred solution to the existing flyover.
The Administration believes that the alternatives being developed through the
Municipal Mobility Plan and the Concurrency Management System will effect major
progress in the management of traffic, as it relates to growth management and
sustainable community issues. This comprehensive plan and computer program will
give us the tools to analyze, evaluate, and recommend solutions to potential traffic
intrusions and impacts on a local, area, and citywide basis.
LTC: April 21, 1998
Page Five
Therefore, the Administration emphasizes that the implementation of any street
calming project should wait for the mid-year completion of and guidance from the
MMP.
In addition, the MMP will recommend policy decisions which the City Commission
must consider in order to ensure that the City will achieve controlled development
while enhancing the quality of life and environment within the residential, commercial,
and historic preservation areas of Miami Beach.
SR/JG/aj
cc: Assistant City Managers
Executive Assistants to the City Manager
Department Directors
Steven Hurwitz, Chief of Staff-Mayor
Joseph Johnson, Planner
Amelia Johnson, Transportation Coordinator
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