Following the review of various parameters such as outstanding FDOT concerns with the Shulman concepts, ease of implementation, and funding availability for both the North Beach Entrance Signs and the 71 Street Bridge Enhancements, the Administration recommends proceeding with the following strategy, contingent upon the allocation of additional funds being requested through the FY 2019/2020 capital budget process:

North Beach Entrance Signs

1) Move forward with the design, permitting, and construction of the “Folly” Entrance Sign at 71 Street/West Bay Drive.

2) Pursue the acquisition of the property located at the southeast corner of Harding Avenue and 87 Street currently owned by the Archdiocese of Miami at the appraised value of $24,080; and, on a parallel path, move forward with design, permitting, and construction of the “Canopy” Entrance Sign at Harding Avenue and 87 Street.

71 Street Bridge Enhancements

1) Short-term: Move forward with the short-term improvements for the bridge and the bridge approaches as proposed by City staff and conduct the lane elimination study and structural analysis contingent upon allocation of the additional funds ($560,000) being requested through the FY 2019/2020 capital budget process.

2) Long-term: Depending upon the outcome of the structural analysis, the City will either request future funding for the construction of the concepts as proposed by Shulman (with no bridge rehabilitation); or collaborate with FDOT to include the improvements proposed in the Shulman concept design as part of a future FDOT 71 Street Bridge rehabilitation project.

BACKGROUND

In December 2014, the City Commission approved a project proposed in the North Beach Revitalization Strategies plan for the installation of “iconic” city entrance signs at the Harding Avenue and the 71 Street entrances in North Beach. Additionally, the City Commission approved aesthetic enhancements to the 71 Street Bridge connecting Town Center with Normandy Isles. Both projects were also endorsed by the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach.

North Beach Entrance Signs Design Concepts as proposed by Shulman and Associates

In 2015, the City engaged Shulman and Associates to prepare design concepts for the new iconic entrance signs.  Following an extensive process of presentations and iterations to narrow the options and determine a preferred alternative, the final concepts for the entrance signs were presented to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for review and input given that both 71 Street and Harding Avenue are state roads under FDOT jurisdiction. Following various meetings between the City and FDOT to discuss the preferred design concepts, FDOT rejected the concepts proposed by the City due to outstanding concerns with the proposed entrance signs cantilevering over 71 Street and Harding Avenue.   In particular, FDOT expressed concerns with the size of the signs, lighting, clear zones, and visibility of the existing traffic signals in proximity to the entrance signs.  Attachment A depicts the originally preferred design concepts for the entrance signs as developed by Shulman and Associates.

71 Street Bridge Enhancements Design Concept as proposed by Shulman and Associates

On a parallel track, Shulman and Associates completed various concepts for the 71 Street Bridge connecting Town Center and Normandy Isles.  Currently, the bridge has an offset typical section consisting of three (3) lanes in the eastbound direction, two (2) lanes in the westbound direction, bicycle lanes, and sidewalks. In its existing condition, the bridge lacks decorative features, bicycle protection, and decorative lighting that would enhance the structure and promote revitalization efforts in the area. The concept proposed by Shulman and Associates includes a reduction in vehicular lanes from five (5) to four (4) (i.e. two (2) lanes in each direction), a concrete median, landscaped planters, planter-protected bicycle lanes, and decorative street lighting.   Given the 71 Street Bridge is under FDOT jurisdiction, City staff met with FDOT staff to discuss the Shulman design concept for the bridge. FDOT expressed concerns with the additional weight on the bridge as a result of the proposed median, planters, landscaping, and lighting.  Following the meeting with FDOT, Shulman developed an alternative design concept which proposes planters attached to the outside of the bridge; however, FDOT had similar concerns regarding the additional weight that the planters would have on the bridge and advised that the two concepts presented for the 71 Street Bridge would require an in-depth structural analysis and, depending on the outcome of the analysis, structural modifications to the bridge.  Attachment B depicts the design concept developed by Shulman and Associates for the 71 Street Bridge.

North Beach Entrance Signs

Given FDOT’s outstanding concerns with Shulman’s cantilever design for the entrance signs, City staff directed Shulman to develop revised design concepts similar to the original design, but which would address FDOT’s concerns with the cantilever structure over both Harding Avenue and 71 Street. Attachment C depicts the revised design concepts for the entrance signs developed by Shulman. Additionally, Shulman was tasked with developing a preliminary construction cost estimate for each sign concept. The anticipated cost for design and construction of the two (2) proposed North Beach entrance signs is approximately $690,000. Currently, funding in the amount of $267,000 is allocated in the City's Capital Plan for the design and construction of the North Beach Entrance Signs (Project No. 64190).  The funding shortfall of $423,000 will be requested as part of the 2019/2020 capital budget process.

It is worth noting that the site located on the southeast corner of Harding Avenue and 87 Street consists of 1,204 square feet of unimproved property.  The site is triangular in shape and is located at the northernmost tip of the 8600 block of Harding Avenue.  The site is owned by the Archdiocese of Miami who also owns several properties across Harding Avenue.  The Archdiocese has contacted the City and expressed an interest in selling the site at the $24,080 value currently assessed by the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser.  Purchasing the property from the Archdiocese will be required to install the proposed entrance sign at this location, thus,  $26,000 is being requested as part of the 2019/2020 capital budge process for this land acquisition.  Inclusive of this land purchase, the total amount of additional funds being requested for the North Beach Entrance Signs is $449,000.   

The proposed entrance sign at 71 Street and West Bay Drive is located on FDOT right-of-way and would require that the City secure an FDOT permit for installation of the sign and a maintenance memorandum of agreement between the City and FDOT.    

FDOT has a specific process for Gateway Signs and Monument Signs proposed to be located on state roads.  The process is outlined in the Manual of Uniform Minimum Standards for Design, Construction, and Maintenance for Streets and Highways (Florida Green Book). For the proposed North Beach entrance signs on Harding Avenue and on 71 Street, the process requires that the City submit a package to FDOT District Six consisting of the selected design concept for each location, a City Commission Resolution, and an application for review. Once the FDOT District Six Design Engineer completes his/her review and approves the design concept, the package is forwarded to FDOT Central Office in Tallahassee for further review. The initial review at the District and Central Office level is anticipated to take approximately three (3) months.  Following approval from FDOT Central Office, FDOT will send a letter to the City to proceed to the final design phase. At that point, the City will need to complete construction drawings including all structural calculations for the proposed signs. Once construction plans have been developed, they will need to be submitted to FDOT District Six Office and FDOT Central Office for final review and approval. The final review phase is anticipated to take approximately three (3) months.  Thus, the entire process from submission of the application to FDOT District Six to final approval of construction drawings by FDOT Central Office is estimated to take 12 months.

71 Street Bridge Enhancements

Based on FDOT concerns with the structural capacity of the bridge, City staff performed a high-level cost estimate for the structural analysis, design, and modifications to the bridge structure for the initial design concept proposed by Shulman. Staff’s estimate is based on various bridge rehabilitation projects in the region. Considering the need for final design drawings as well as potential structural rehabilitation work on the bridge to carry the additional load, the cost to implement the Shulman design concept would be approximately $5.8 Million. This cost includes $300,000 for final design drawings, and approximately $3.5 Million for bridge rehabilitation in addition to the estimated $2 Million for the construction cost of the aesthetic enhancements proposed by Shulman.  Given the $1.14 Million currently allocated to the 71 Street Bridge Enhancement Project (Project No. 64160), the City would need to budget an additional $4.66 Million to implement the Shulman concept, if a structural analysis concludes that bridge rehabilitation would be required and if the cost of the rehabilitation project is fully funded by the City (i.e. no FDOT contribution).

Given the current funding status for this project, staff developed an alternative design concept with higher ease of implementation and cost-effectiveness which focuses on eliminating or reducing the need for any structural work on the bridge. Similar to the Shulman concept, the City’s concept includes elimination of one (1) eastbound lane through the bridge; however, the landscape installations are limited to the bridge approaches only in order to avoid structural work on the bridge. In addition, the City’s concept includes restriping of the bridge to include buffered/protected bicycle lanes and artistic patterns painted on the bridge walls and sidewalks.  The City’s concept includes decorative lighting on both the approaches and the bridge. The improvements will need to be approved by FDOT. Attachment D depicts the revised 71 Street Bridge enhancement concept design developed by City staff.

The preliminary cost for the lane elimination study is estimated to be $160,000 and the cost for the structural analysis is estimated to be $300,000. Design and construction of the City’s concept developed for the bridge approaches is estimated at $882,000. The cost for design and construction of the City’s concept developed for the bridge is estimated at $315,000. The total cost for the design and construction of the enhancements proposed by staff was estimated to be $1.4 Million plus the $300,000 for the structural analysis needed to determine the viability of the proposed Shulman concepts (for a total of $1.7 Million).  Given the $1.14 Million currently available in this project, and in order to move forward with the short-term improvements to the bridge and the bridge approaches and conduct the structural analysis, funding in the amount of approximately $560,000 would need to be allocated as part of the Fiscal Year 2019/2020 capital budget process to fill the funding gap in the existing capital project.

As part of the ongoing capital budget process, the following requests are being submitted for Fiscal Year 2019/2020 funds for the below existing capital projects:

• ENTRANCE SIGNS TO NORTH BEACH (Project Number: 64190) - an additional $449,000 is being requested comprised of $26,000 for acquisition of the parcel at Harding Avenue and 87 Street currently owned by the Archdiocese of Miami and $423,000 for design and construction of the "Folly" and "Canopy" entrance signs at the two (2) selected entrance locations.

• PAINTING & LIGHTING OF BRIDGES (Project Number: 64160) - an additional $560,000 is being requested comprised of $300,000 for a structural analysis of the 71 Street Bridge and $260,000 to fully fund the proposed short-term bridge enhancements.

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