This item was referred by the City Commission at its September 11, 2019 meeting to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee and is sponsored by Commissioner Michael Gongora.

According to the 2019 City of Miami Beach Resident Survey, 67% of residents feel either unsafe or concerned when crossing intersections in Miami Beach.  Specifically, 74% of residents feel that drivers do not yield to pedestrians at intersections.

Pine Tree Drive is a collector roadway under the jurisdiction of Miami-Dade County currently carrying approximately 15,000 vehicles per day. The intersection of Pine Tree Drive/Sheridan Avenue and 26^th Street (see Attachment A) is controlled by a traffic signal and has crosswalks on the east and north legs. There is no crosswalk on the south leg.  The intersection is located at the southern end of a horizontal curve and has significant pedestrian activity due to its proximity to the Scott Rakow Youth Center and a park/playground.

City staff visited the intersection and identified the following safety deficiencies:

·         intersection alignment and horizontal curve to the north reduces visibility for pedestrians and vehicles in both directions and contributes to driver confusion and accidents

·         the east-west pedestrian crosswalk on Pine Tree Drive/Sheridan Avenue is long and does not align with the Scott Rakow Youth Center

·         no pedestrian crossing from the Scott Rakow Youth Center to the playground/park

·         no crosswalk on 28^th Street to cross Pine Tree Drive

·         no east-west crosswalk on the southern leg of the 26^th Street intersection

·         during the afternoon peak hours, many northbound drivers perform illegal u-turns at the intersection to access the Scott Rakow Youth Center parking lot

·         speeding occurs on Pine Tree Drive during the off-peak hours