A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD/ COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AT ITS SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 MEETING, AND APPROVING THE FOLLOWING IN REGARDS TO THE CHASE AVENUE AND 34TH STREET SHARED-USE PATH PROJECT: 1) THE PROPOSED CONCEPT PLAN RECOMMENDED IN THE CHASE AVENUE AND 34TH STREET FROM ALTON ROAD TO PRAIRIE AVENUE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FEASIBILITY STUDY, EXCLUDING THE LANDSCAPED TRELLIS STRUCTURES; 2) THE PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE ALTON ROAD AND NORTH BAY ROAD INTERSECTION; AND 3) ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC CALMING REQUESTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY: A) EVALUATING, AS A FIRST PRIORITY, THE TRIANGULAR CIRCULATION CONCEPTS PROPOSED BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE INTERSECTION OF CHASE AVENUE AND 34TH STREET DURING THE DESIGN PHASE OF THE PROJECT; B) EVALUATING A TRAFFIC CIRCLE AT THE INTERSECTION OF 34TH STREET AND PRAIRIE AVENUE; AND C) EVALUATING A TEMPORARY TRAFFIC CIRCLE AT THE INTERSECTION OF 34TH STREET AND SHERIDAN AVENUE AS A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT WHILE A PERMANENT TRAFFIC CIRCLE IS DESIGNED AND PERMITTED.

The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission approve the resolution accepting the recommendation of the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) approving the following:

1. The proposed concept plan recommended in the Chase Avenue and 34^th Street from Alton Road to Prairie Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Feasibility Study, excluding the landscaped trellis structures;

2. The proposed pedestrian and bicycle improvements at the Alton Road and North Bay Road intersection;

3. Additional traffic calming requested by members of the community:

1. Evaluating as a first priority the triangular circulation concepts proposed by the community for the intersection of Chase Avenue and 34^th Street during the design phase of the project;

2. Evaluating a traffic circle at the intersection of 34th Street and Prairie Avenue;

3. Evaluating a temporary traffic circle at the intersection of 34th Street and Sheridan Avenue as a demonstration project while a permanent traffic circle is designed and permitted.

   Should City Commission approve the above recommendation, the Administration will advance the Chase Avenue and 34^th Street shared-use path project to the design and permitting phase using existing G.O. Bond Tranche 1 funds programmed for this project.

The adopted 2016 Miami Beach Transportation Master Plan (TMP) was built on a mode share goal and modal prioritization strategy adopted by Resolution No. 2015-29083 on July 8, 2015, which places pedestrians first; transit, bicycles, and freight second; and private automobiles third.

The Chase Avenue and 34th Street Shared-Use Path is a Priority 1 project in the TMP, located on the north side of the Miami Beach Golf Club between Alton Road and Prairie Avenue. Shared-use paths serve both pedestrians and bicycles and are commonly found along parks and golf courses, separated from the adjacent roadway. Ultimately, this project will connect to a series of paths around the Miami Beach Golf Club.

Key dates include:

August 10, 2018 – Notice To Proceed issued

August 23 to August 25, 2018 – Traffic data collection

August 31, 2018 – Interdepartmental kick-off meeting

September 19, 2018 – Meeting with Parks and Recreation and Miami Beach Golf Club

September 26, 2018 – Field review meeting

October 16, 2018 – Public Meeting #1 (combined with the Alton Road Shared-Use Path project)

• Key comments: minimize hardscape, buffer homes and path users from golf balls, keep the view of the golf course, and incorporate traffic calming.

December 18, 2018 – Public Meeting #2 (combined with Alton Road Shared-Use Path project)

• Key comments: additional time was needed to incorporate traffic calming and gain community consensus regarding the preferred design alternative, and the Alton Road Shared-Use Path concept was supported.

February 19, 2019 – Public Meeting #3 (combined with Alton Road Shared-Use Path project)

• Key comments: community members supported the proposed traffic calming measures and a 10’ wide shared-use path, with the condition that it narrow to 8’ adjacent to the single-family residence at 3186 Prairie Avenue. The community also reiterated support for the Alton Road shared-use path and its continuation north to the intersection of 43rd Street and Alton Road.

The proposed concept plan consists of a new shared-use path along both Chase Avenue and 34^th Street for bicyclists and pedestrians that provides connectivity between the proposed Alton Road shared-use path to the south and the existing green bicycle lanes on Prairie Avenue to the east, traffic calming improvements, and bicycle safety improvements at the intersection of Alton Road/Chase Avenue/North Bay Road (Attachment 1). Below is a description of each project component.

Shared Use-Path Design

As shown in Attachment 2 and detailed below, the proposed shared-use path addresses the following constructability challenges and community concerns:

• Hardscapes are minimized by the proposed ten foot width

• Homeowner concerns are addressed by narrowing to eight feet wide adjacent to 3186 Prairie Avenue

• Utility and light pole relocation are avoided by meandering the path

• Drainage relocation is avoided by building the path over the inlets

• Drainage is enhanced by using porous shared use path pavement and installing bioswales

• Miami Beach Golf Club encroachment is minimized to eight feet along Chase Avenue, except next to the light poles where encroachment is a maximum of 18’, and 0-1’ along 34 Street

• Miami Beach Golf Club player experience is enhanced by new landscaping and 300’ of reconstructed golf cart path

• No net tree loss is proposed

• Tree relocation is proposed for 127 of 215 existing trees along Chase Avenue and 17 existing trees along 34^th Street

• Enhanced, new landscaping is proposed which can be designed to block stray golf balls

• A two foot painted buffer on the north and south sides of Chase Avenue and 34th Street will visually reduce the effective width of the roadway from a driver's perspective

  Traffic Calming Improvements

  Speeding and cut-through traffic in the neighborhood has been a concern of the community for some time. A traffic calming study for the Central Bayshore neighborhood was approved by the Bayshore Homeowner’s Association and subsequently by City Commission on February 17, 2017. The 2017/18 Capital Budget and G.O. Bond Program both fund traffic calming improvements in this community. At the October 16, 2018 public meeting for the Chase Avenue and 34^th Street Shared-Use Path project, residents raised concerns with speeding and cut-through traffic. Speed data was collected and indicated that the 85th percentile speed along Chase Avenue is approximately 34 MPH. This is four miles per hour above the posted speed limit. As a result, the City will be adding two speed tables along Chase Avenue between Alton Road and 34^th Street as part of the G.O. Bond funded Central Bayshore Traffic Calming Project which is currently in design.

  Alton Road and North Bay Road Intersection Improvements

  From the onset of the study, concepts from the Alton Road and North Bay Road Intersection Bicycle Improvements Study (a TMP

  Priority 1 Project) were incorporated into the Chase Avenue and 34^th Street design concepts.

  Recommendations from this study improve safety for bicycles and pedestrians, and accommodate a new southbound left-turn movement by bicyclists. This would promote continuity for southbound bicyclists connecting to the proposed Chase Avenue and 34^th Street shared-use path. This also promotes continuity for northbound bicyclists using the existing (and future enhanced) Alton Road bike lanes on the east side of Alton Road.

  The community supported the proposed intersection design, which includes:

• Maintaining the existing pedestrian crosswalks on the north and west legs of the intersection

• Installing new pedestrian crosswalks on the south and east legs of the intersection

• Installing new bicycle crossing markings for the east, south, and west legs of the intersection

• No bike lane would be required on the north leg of the intersection, as the connecting facility to the east is on the south side of Chase Avenue

• Installing camera detection technology for bicycles and vehicles

• Creating pedestrian phases at the new crosswalks

  Implementation and Funding

  The City anticipates implementing both Chase Avenue and 34^th Street Shared-Use Path and Bayshore Neighborhood Traffic

  Calming projects concurrently, given that both projects are fully-funded in the 2018 G.O. Bond Program Tranche 1.

  The preliminary cost estimate for design and construction of the proposed Chase Avenue and 34^th Street shared-use path is $590,000. The project is included in the 2018 G.O. Bond Program (Project # 43 - Protected Bicycle Lanes and Shared Bike/Pedestrian Paths).

  The preliminary cost estimate for design and construction of the proposed traffic calming improvements is $400,000. The project is included in the 2018 G.O. Bond Program (Project # 42 - Pedestrian Neighborhood Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Friendly Streets).

  The estimated cost of the Alton Road and North Bay Road intersection improvements is approximately $362,000. Given that the proposed intersection improvements would be located within FDOT right-of-way, the City will work with FDOT to include these improvements in the future FDOT Alton Road Project from N. Michigan Avenue to 43^rd Street.

  Meetings with Individual Property Owners

  In addition to the three community meetings that were held to discuss the concepts, staff has been meeting regularly with the two property owners to address their specific concerns, including the proposed landscape barriers, the number of speed tables on Chase Avenue, the proposed traffic circle at the intersection of Chase Avenue and 34^th Street, and the location of proposed traffic circles in the Central Bayshore traffic calming plan. As a result of several meetings and frequent communication between city staff and the two property owners on their concerns, following is staff’s proposed path forward:

1. As requested by the two property owners, the City will consider an additional traffic circulation concept for the
   intersection of Chase Avenue and 34^th Street during the design phase;

2. As requested by the two property owners, the City will eliminate the proposed landscaped trellis structures along Chase Avenue and 34^th Street due to concerns with homeless activity;

3. The City will retain the two proposed speed tables along Chase Avenue between Alton Road and 34^th Street, as the additional speed table requested by the two property owners was evaluated by staff and found to not meet minimum spacing requirements;

4. As requested by the two property owners, the City will evaluate a traffic circle at the intersection of 34^th Street and Prairie Avenue; and

5. As requested by the two property owners, the City will also evaluate a temporary traffic circle at the intersection of Sheridan Avenue and 34^th Street as a demonstration project while a permanent traffic circle is in design and permitting phase.

Based on the above outcome of the meetings with the two property owners, the Administration believes that the community concerns have been addressed.  More community meetings will be held during the design development phase of the project.

September 25, 2019 NCAC Meeting

At the September 25, 2019 NCAC meeting, the Committee passed a motion approving the following:

1. The proposed concept plan recommended in the Chase Avenue and 34^th Street from Alton Road to Prairie Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Feasibility Study, excluding the landscaped trellis structures;

2. The proposed pedestrian and bicycle improvements at the Alton Road and North Bay Road intersection;

3. Additional traffic calming requested by members of the community:

1. Evaluating as a first priority the triangular circulation concepts proposed by the community for the intersection of Chase Avenue and 34^th Street during the design phase of the project;

2. Evaluating a traffic circle at the intersection of 34^th Street and Prairie Avenue;

3. Evaluating a temporary traffic circle at the intersection of 34^th Street and Sheridan Avenue as a demonstration project while a permanent traffic circle is designed and permitted.