According to the 2019 City of Miami Beach Resident Survey, someone regularly rides a bicycle in 47% of Miami Beach households; however, 62.5% of residents do not feel safe riding a bicycle in Miami Beach.  According to the same 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.

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 23 Street Complete Street is a Priority 1 project in the TMP. The study area is bounded by the Collins Park Canal to the north, 22 Street to the south, Pine Tree Drive/Dade Boulevard to the west, and the Beachwalk to the east.  The study area is in the Collins Park neighborhood. 

Complete Streets are streets designed to be safe and comfortable for all users, which include pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities.

Key study dates include: 

March 31, 2017 – notice to proceed to Gannett Fleming

April 13, 2017 – internal kick-off meeting

August 7, 2017 – public meeting #1 to introduce the 23 Street Complete Street Feasibility Study and other concurrent mobility studies 

December 13, 2017 – City Commission referral to Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC)

December 20, 2017 – NCAC deferral pending input from the Miami Beach Transportation, Parking and Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities Committee (TPBPFC)

January 8, 2018 – presentation #1 to the TPBPFC

January 24, 2018 – NCAC deferral pending additional community meetings

February 20, 2018 – presentation to the Collins Park Neighborhood Association

October 10, 2018 – field meeting with Collins Park neighborhood representatives

November 16, 2018 – public meeting #2

December 10, 2018 – presentation #2 to the TPBPFC

January 22, 2019 – Presentation to the Collins Park Neighborhood Association (annual meeting)

March 5, 2019 – public meeting #3

March 26, 2019 –meeting with neighborhood business owner

April 24, 2019 – field meeting with neighborhood business owner and Collins Park Neighborhood Association representative

November/December 2019 – individual meetings with 23 Street stakeholders

December 9, 2019 – letter of support from the East Coast Greenway Alliance

December 10, 2019 – resolution of support from the Miami-Dade Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Throughout the study process, there have been internal coordination meetings with other city departments regarding the proposed improvements.  Coordination with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) has also occurred consistently throughout the process given that 23 Street is a collector roadway under the County’s jurisdiction and intersects Dade Boulevard/Pine Tree Drive (a County road) and Collins Avenue (a state road).   

Finally, please note that the 63 Street Complete Street project is being incorporated into the planned FDOT project on Alton Road (from 43 Street to Allison Road) currently scheduled for construction in 2023.  Going forward, the 63 Street Complete Street project will be considered as a separate project from the 23 Street Complete Street project, and the recommended improvements for 63 Street will be brought before City Commission at a future meeting for discussion and approval.

The proposed concept plan for the 23 Street Complete Street is shown in attachment 1.  Whether on foot, bicycle, or bus, the proposed improvements to 23 Street and 22 Street will provide residents, tourists, and others with more travel options, greater safety, and increased accessibility to the surrounding cultural attractions, hotels, and the beach. 

Concept Plan

The 23 Street Complete Street concept plan features:

• A new 3 lane configuration on 23 Street to accommodate all modes

• Implementation as part of the active Collins Park Garage project

• On-Street parking spaces affected will be mitigated in the Collins Park Garage

• A new, safer bus stop with a transit island on 23 Street

• New raised intersections to calm traffic and enhance pedestrian safety at Park Avenue and 22 Street, Liberty Avenue and 23 Street, and Liberty Avenue and 22 Street

• A new traffic signal at the intersection of Park Avenue and 23 Street to reduce delays and queueing on Park Avenue, reduce blocking of the intersection, and provide a signalized pedestrian crosswalk

• Signal coordination between the proposed traffic signal at Park Avenue at 23 Street and the existing traffic signal at Dade Boulevard and 23 Street

• Signal timing optimization for the traffic signals on 23 Street and 22 Street

• New bicycle lanes on a portion of 23 Street, Park Avenue, and 22 Street

• The potential to expand bicycle lanes on 23 Street from Park Avenue to Collins Avenue as Phase 2

• New bicycle boxes at key intersections to improve safety of bicycle turning movements

• Enhanced connections to the Beachwalk at 23 Street and 22 Street. 

   

Along Collins Avenue, striping and bicycle sharrow lanes (shared vehicular/bicycle lanes) are proposed to enhance bicycle connectivity to an enhanced public beach access path as well as to the proposed bicycle lanes on 23 Street and 22 Street.  Construction phasing of the Collins Avenue improvements is pending determination of cost efficiencies gained through partnership with the Collins Park Garage. 

Bicycle lanes on Pine Tree Drive and Dade Boulevard are being studied as part of separate feasibility studies and will be presented to the City Commission for review at a future date. 

Community Outreach

At the suggestion of the community, staff visited 12 neighborhood businesses and met with most of the property owners or their representatives, including the One Hotel, the W Hotel, local nightclubs, Miami City Ballet, and Miami-Dade Public Library to present the proposed concepts and gauge support for the 23 Street Complete Street project. 

There was general support for the project; however, the following concerns were expressed by the community during the public process:

• Placement of bicycle lanes on 23 Street

• Need for bicycle parking along the path between the One Hotel/Roney Plaza and the W Hotel which provides access to the Beachwalk

• Need to improve the aesthetics of the fixed bridge at Dade Boulevard/23 Street

• Operation of the proposed traffic signal at 23 Street/Park Avenue which will be in close proximity to the existing traffic signal at 23 Street/Dade Boulevard

• Impacts to traffic flow given the reduction of one lane in the westbound direction

Of note is the support from the bicycling and pedestrian community for the project.  The statement of support from the East Coast Greenway Alliance is shown in attachment 2.  A resolution of support was passed at the December 10, 2019 Miami-Dade Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting, and will be attached to this agenda item once received.    

Community Input

Extensive community input was gathered throughout the process and incorporated into the study recommendations, including:

• A speed table at Park Avenue and 22 Street, which was preferred by the community instead of the roundabout originally proposed

• Flexible loading zone to potentially incorporate both freight and valet operations in front of the Palm Court building, instead of the parklets which were originally proposed

• Bicycle lanes on 23 Street in Phase 2, instead of Phase I as originally proposed

   

Concept Plan Benefits

The recommended 23 Street Complete Street concept plan will:

• Improve aesthetics and accessibility to important cultural attractions, hotels, and the Beachwalk for residents and visitors

• Promote economic development in the study area, as research has consistently shown that property values and retail sales increase after installation of bicycle lanes, pedestrian amenities, and traffic calming in a neighborhood

• Improve safety for all users by providing for all modes of transportation in the study area, because all roadway users will have a dedicated space

• Improve intersection operations through the addition of a new traffic signal, signal optimization

• Calm vehicular traffic and improve pedestrian safety by installing raised intersections/crosswalks

• Implement an important complete street and bicycle network project recommended in the adopted 2016 Miami Beach Transportation Master Plan

Traffic Impact

As part of this feasibility study, the City’s consultant performed a microsimulation analysis to quantify the anticipated delays and queues as a result of the proposed lane repurposing (i.e. elimination of one westbound lane).  While some intersections are anticipated to experience additional delays and queueing, the microsimulation analysis showed that all intersections in the study area can process the vehicular traffic within one traffic signal cycle.

Costs

The table below includes the planning level cost estimate for the 23 Street Complete Street project, as recommended in the final draft feasibility study.  It is worth highlighting that the below estimate does not account for any potential cost savings that could be generated by including some of the improvements as part of the City’s active Collins Park Garage project.

Phased Implementation

General Obligation Bond funding in the amount of $1.5 million has been allocated for this project.  Given that most of the above improvements could be implemented as part of the active Collins Park Garage project, savings in design and construction costs are anticipated.  Unfunded components could be implemented in a future Phase 2.