From BHA News, Winter 2010
FDOT addressing Brickell safety concerns
The solution that was supposed to make pedestrian life on Brickell safer has yet to show its promise at 1770 Brickell Avenue where the Florida Department of Transportation's flashing pedestrian beacon at the mid-block crosswalk was installed last year.
The problem is most drivers are not yielding or even slowing down for pedestrians when the beacon is activated. The way it is supposed to work is simple: Pedestrians push a button to activate the flasher. An audible message then tells the pedestrian to stand at the curb and wait for traffic to stop before crossing. Drivers are simply supposed to stop, when they can do so safely, when they see the flashing yellow beacon indicating a pedestrian wants to cross.
Tweaks were made to the system in January, but FDOT officials say now it is a matter of driver education and police enforcement to get the system working correctly.
"From an engineering standpoint, we've done just about everything we can do. We need to initiate with the police a regular cycle of enforcement," FDOT engineers and specialists including Alan El-Urfali, Carl Morse, Carlos Perez and Kristof Devastey told the BHA Board of Directors at their January meeting.
FDOT engineers and spokeswoman Alicia Gonzalez said they are launching an active educational outreach campaign and asking police for enforcement assistance. The bilingual insertion in this issue, paid for by FDOT and its media relations group, carries the educational message about the system.
The system was the result of a Brickell Avenue Pedestrian Safety Study that BHA had been advocating for some time. BHA residents have wanted to see vehicular traffic slow down on Brickell Avenue to make it safer for both cars and pedestrians, and have pushed for more traffic signals along the corridor toward that end.
26th Road and Brickell Avenue intersection gets fresh look
In another matter of traffic safety on the southern end of BHA territory, FDOT has agreed to study the 26th Road left turn lane heading north onto Brickell Avenue. There is one left turn lane but drivers one lane over frequently make an illegal left turn as well, often to the peril of the properly turning car, caught off-guard and often cut-off by the second turning vehicle. The configuration of the lanes at this intersection right before the wide Rickenbacker toll plaza entrance seems to encourage the illegal maneuver.
BHA has been urging attention to this intersection for years to no avail up to now ("Residents' Request Rejected," BHA News, Spring 2006) save for some added pavement markings which residents say are not particularly effective.
BHA advocate Blanche Back, a resident of Brickell Biscayne on 25th Road, has been among the most persistent of the voices asking for something to be done at the intersection before a terrible accident leaves someone dead or severely injured. Vowing to "bring it up in every meeting" until action is taken, her pleas, echoed by many neighbors, were heard in January. In a letter last month FDOT said they would review the intersection to “evaluate the eastbound left turn movement" to see if “geometric improvements are possible." (See letter reprinted to the left.)
BHA will keep neighbors aprised of the findings of the FDOT's study and what can be done to improve the intersection.
Advanced Warning: System for the Brickell Avenue Bridge complete
In other FDOT/Brickell Avenue news, the department reported successful completion of the system to provide motorists with advanced notification of when the Brickell Avenue Bridge is in the up position. FDOT officials said it's been operational since July 2009 and have not heard of problems with it.
The BHA extends it gratitude to Alicia Gonzalez for her active participation in hearing Brickell neighbors' concerns.
From BHA News, Fall 2009
Trolley Talk - $4.1 million in stimulus funds stretched citywide
Last spring Brickell neighbors learned that the City identified federal government stimulus funds that would pay the capital costs of a trolley system for the Brickell neighborhood and business districts, an idea - a dream really -voiced by many over the years but never before with a source of funding. Inspired by the success of the rubber-tired Coral Gables trolley system, a four-mile route was identified, selected to ease traffic congestion and improve the movement of people in Miami's central core of Downtown, Brickell and Biscayne Boulevard.
All were sold on the idea, seeing it as the ideal solution for the area with its dense residential base and huge influx of workday traffic. The trolley could permeate side streets and parts of the city that are currently unreachable by the rail system, including Brickell Key and Brickell Bay Drive. Residents were asked to answer a survey about how much they would use the trolley, which BHA and others posted on their websites. Everyone wrote letters of support for the plan. Everyone got on board.
Since last spring the trolley plan has grown to include a Health District line, Allapattah line, Coral Way line, Overtown loop and Downtown line with routes stretching from NW 40th Street south to Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, interconnecting at some point with the Coral Gables trolley line. Westward, the Allapattah line goes to 27th Avenue.
It's ambitious. Some Brickell residents and business people who are eagerly awaiting implementation worry how far that $4.1 million in capital funding will go, now that it's a citywide undertaking. And then there’s the nagging question of where the ongoing operational funding is going to come from. Niggling items like insurance, maintenance, drivers. A tough question as we read daily about the City struggling to cut roughly 20% of a half-billion dollar budget. And worrisome given that Assistant City Manager Bill Anido reports, as conveyed by Assistant Transportation Coordinator Lilia I. Medina, that as of the end of September they "have not determined an operational date" and further, which department is going to be responsible for operations and maintenance "is still under discussion within the City of Miami."
However, Jose Gonzalez of the City Manager's Transportation staff, provided this reassuring update on the Biscayne-Brickell service:
"FDOT has committed to fund 50% of the annual cost to operate the Biscayne-Brickell trolley service for a three-year period (under the State's Transit Service Development Program) once service begins. Due to the State's financial contribution, the City envisions implementing this service in advance of the other trolley routes funded with stimulus dollars. It should also be noted that the City is implementing the Biscayne-Brickell trolley service in strong partnership with the DDA."
April 2009: Advanced Warning System for the Brickell Avenue Bridge Underway
The Brickell Avenue roadway is slated for major repair work from SE 25th Road to SE 5th Street in 2010-2011. This Public Meeting will present details of the Florida Department of Transportation's construction plans, and invite residents to comment and voice their concerns. It is an opportunity to hear directly from FDOT officials, and most importantly, how they will minimize disruption to residents throughout the residential corridor and the Brickell business district during construction. All are urged to attend this public meeting.
A series of previous meetings and discussions have been held over the past two years with FDOT. BHA has advocated for conversion of the roadway to an asphalt surface for a smoother ride and uniform appearance. With all but some 3% of FDOT roadways asphalt as opposed to concrete as is Brickell Avenue, it seemed a logical choice. Plus, many residents recall the concrete repair project in the 1990s that had disappointing results. The road got its patchwork look then, and the ride did not quiet down.
However, FDOT has decided, due to time, expense and other factors, that Brickell Avenue (also U.S. Highway 1) must remain concrete. The project will entail repairing and replacing the existing concrete slabs rather than redoing it completely. Advances in diamond grinding, we are promised, will greatly improve the ride of the roadway and make Brickell Avenue more uniform.
From BHA News, Winter 2008
