At its January 15, 2020 meeting, the City Commission approved a referral to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee to discuss the West Avenue Phase II Project, specifically the motion passed by the Sustainability Committee concerning recommendations for the project.

WEST AVENUE PROJECT TIMELINE 

JANUARY 27, 2016 - MARCH 1, 2017:  START OF PROCUREMENT PROCESS, CITY MANAGER SHORT LISTED PROPOSERS, COMMISSION APPROVED RANKING

MARCH 22, 2017:  WEST AVENUE PHASE II PROJECT CONTRACT AWARD TO RICMAN

• On March 22, 2017, the Mayor and City Commission awarded a design/build service to Ric- Man Construction Florida, Inc. (Ric-Man)., for West Avenue Phase II Project Improvements (the " Project").

DECEMBER 13, 2017:  COMMISSION REFERRED ALL RESILIENCE PROJECTS TO SRC FOR EVALUATION

• At that time, Ric-Man had completed approximately 60% of the project design. However, further development of this project was postponed, including its design, as directed by City Commission.

• On January 5, 2018, Change Order No. 2 was executed to include the above-ground improvements to the Project, with no additional time extension.    

• During the months of January through March 2018, the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee reviewed and evaluated the City's design criteria for stormwater management and also sought independent outside review by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a partner of a professional network that provides resiliency building tools, called the 100 Resilient Cities Network.    

APRIL 2018:  PARTNERSHIP WITH THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

• April 16-19, 2018, the City partnered with the ULI in order to review the City' s Stormwater Resiliency Program with a three day panel assignment.  The ULI's findings were not only a validation of the City's initial efforts, but also a call to raise standards to ensure a livable and sustainable community.  A report was published.

MAY 31, 2018: WEST AVENUE PHASE II PROJECT SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RESILIENCY ACCELERATOR

• On May 31, 2018, the project was selected to participate in the Resilience Accelerator, a partnership between 100 Resilient Cities and the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at Columbia University.   The Rockefeller Foundation funded this program with a $3.7 million grant to connect the diverse challenges of a global network of cities to the expertise of the world's top schools of planning and design. 

• In June 2018, the 100 Resilient Cities and Columbia University held meetings with City staff and members of the community to present information and obtain feedback on the project.

• On August 6, 2018 the Resilience Accelerator held a three day workshop with Columbia University and multi-disciplinary expertise primarily to review and assist the City to keep the West Avenue Project moving forward by integrating a more holistic resilience approach with focus on strategy and design; stakeholder engagement; benefits and costs.

• During the Resilience Accelerator workshop, the team worked through concerns identified by the community, as well as other issues raised during the workshop, including road elevation; road harmonization with private properties; turning lanes vs. roadway medians; pedestrian and bicycle prioritization; enhanced walkability; enhanced tree canopy; stormwater quality; baywalk connectivity and construction phasing.

• Over the course of the three day workshop, the team identified appropriate enhancements based on the Project's life cycle, existing and future site challenges, and feedback from the local community.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018:  RESULTS PRESENTED TO SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY COMMITTEE

• On September 26, 2018, staff presented the findings of the Resilience Accelerator Workshop to the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee.  

OCTOBER 17, 2018:  CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTS RECOMMENDATIONS

• On October 17, 2018, the City Commission accepted the recommendations of the Resiliency Accelerator and the final ULI Report for implementation.

• The City Commission directed staff to look into alternate road systems, replacing the typical limerock road base with an alternate asphalt blacktop base. 

• Based on the Accelerator Program recommendations, the project elements to remain in the project include 3.7' NAVD Minimum Road Elevation and three continuous vehicular travel lanes.  The participants reached a consensus as it relates to street cross- sections, road elevations, traffic lanes and stormwater criteria, therefore, the project will continue to be developed based on this consensus including the Resilience Accelerator and Design Criteria Professional recommendations.    

• The Resilience Accelerator participants recommend for the pedestrian space to be maximized, with the new proposed criteria will require that 40 feet of ROW be dedicated to bicycles, pedestrians and greenspace, and only 30 feet be dedicated to vehicles.    

• The preferred approach is to focus on enhancing the pedestrian and bicycle experience where possible along West Avenue and at the bay front and Collins Canal street ends, with more pedestrian friendly spaces, such as small plazas, public art, and other aesthetic improvements.

• The West Avenue typical section South of 14th Street will reflect two 5.5' wide protected bike lanes, one on either side of the road; two 10' wide lanes, one northbound and one southbound vehicular travel lane and one 10' foot two way center lane; a 17' "Rambla style" sidewalk with enhanced tree canopy and landscaping on the east side of West Avenue and a 5' ADA sidewalk and 4' planter on the west side of West Avenue.  

• Maintaining high water quality standards are an integral component to the success of this project, therefore, the design will address the quality of the water being discharged from the pump station into Biscayne Bay through pollution control devices.

The City has done extensive outreach with this project since its inception.  From November 14, 2017 through October 1, 2019, public meetings were held with the community including the West Avenue Neighborhood Association (WAVNA) and the North of Fifth Neighborhood Association (NOFNA), to present the findings of the Resilience Accelerator Workshop as well as numerous one-on-one meetings with residents wishing to discuss harmonization.

The Project has undergone extensive review and the City has incorporated numerous design changes in the project.  Based on the City' s internal review, ULI Report and recommendations from the Resilience Accelerator, the following items were included in the project:

1. Updating the design criteria for storm protection from a 5- year to a 10- year storm event;
2. Installing permanent stormwater generators

3. Resurfacing the Alton Court alleyway from 8th Street to 14th Street;
4. Increasing resident participation to include public interface, presentations, exhibits, meetings and design work, related to private property harmonization;
5. Updating and enhancing with additional landscaping and lighting to accommodate more tree canopy, wider sidewalks where possible, and pavers to provide an enhanced pedestrian experience and connectivity to the baywalk, as well as the enhancing the 10th Street street-end;
6. Resurfacing and striping of West Avenue from 6th Street to 8th Street;
7. Protecting all specimen trees defined by the City Code throughout construction. The landscape designer and the contractor will work with the Urban Forester to ensure specimen trees are protected during construction to minimize the impacts to mature tree canopy;
8. Installing a concrete sidewalk addition on the north side of 6th Street between West Avenue and Alton Road.

The following is a breakdown of the West Avenue Phase II Project contract costs:

Original contract cost: $42.50 M.

Change order to include the above ground: $4.70 M

Change order to include the resilience accelerator recommendation $24.40 M

Grand total: $71.60 M