| | | | | | | | TO: | Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee Members |
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| FROM:
| Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
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| DATE: | November 6, 2020
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| SUBJECT: | DISCUSSION REGARDING G.O. BOND PROJECT #40 - A CONCEPTUAL STREETSCAPE DESIGN FOR THE 41ST STREET CORRIDOR.
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| | | | | | | | HISTORY:
| On July 31, 2018, the Mayor’s 41st Street Blue Ribbon Committee adopted the 41st Street Urban Design Vision Plan by Alta Planning and Design and Gehl Architects. The Alta-Gehl Vision Plan was a culmination of a 4-week process that included extensive stakeholder engagement, several committee discussions, meetings with business owners and residents, by-passer questionnaires, pop-up workshops, a public survey and a public charrette. The Alta-Gehl Vision Plan report provided an assessment and analysis of the 41st Street corridor, including traffic patterns and walkability studies. Ultimately, it proposed a broad set of recommendations that would help to improve the 41st Street corridor as a “town hub”, with particular focus on improving the pedestrian experience. The report served as “a brief to inform a future G.O. Bond process”.
The Vision Plan report made recommendations for three (3) proposed designs that would increase the shade tree canopy, allow for more open space, and improve human-scale lighting. Of the proposed options, the Mayor’s 41st Street Blue Ribbon Committee and the Finance City Wide Projects Committee both selected the option that focuses efforts on the removal of sidewalk clutter and the reprograming of on-street parking.
During the September 12, 2018 City Commission meeting, the review of the plan was referred to the Land Use and Development Committee for review.
On November 6, 2018, Miami Beach voters approved the $439 million G.O. Bond Program in a voter referendum. The Program was approved with a $15 million budget allocated for quality-of-life improvements to the 41st Street Corridor. The project scope of work includes the renovation of lighting, landscaping, sidewalks, crosswalks, and street furnishings along the high-traffic corridor to enhance public safety, aesthetics, comfortability and walkability for pedestrians.
On November 18, 2018 the Land Use and Development Committee reviewed the plan with Gehl Studio and members of the 41st Street Committee and recommended (1) approving Option #1 of the 41st Street Design and Vision Plan and (2) developing a multi-year work plan by referring to Finance and Citywide Projects Committee to prioritize the budgeted funds for implementation in the G.O. Bond Program.
On December 12, 2018, the Mayor and Commission approved the recommendation of the Land Use and Development Committee, 1) accepting Option #1 of the 41st Street Design and Vision Plan, and (2) referring the item to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee to prioritize budgeted funds for implementation by the G.O. Bond Program.
On January 29, 2019, the Mayor and Commission establish the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee.
On March 13, 2019, the Mayor and Commission approved the issuance of Tranche 1 of the G.O. Bond Program, in the amount of $151.4 million (net of issuance costs).
On April 2019, the Tranche 1 bonds sold on Wall Street. The G.O. Bond Program begins project implementation the very next month in May, 2019.
In March, 2020, the City engaged AECOM to produce conceptual streetscape design options for the $15 million G.O. Bond-funded 41st Street Corridor Project dedicated to quality-of-life improvements for the Middle Beach business district. The scope of work includes conceptual designs for the renovation of lighting, landscaping, sidewalks, crosswalks, and street furnishings along the high-traffic corridor to enhance public safety, aesthetics, comfortability and walkability for pedestrians.
Taking recommendations directly from the Alta-Gehl Vision Plan, AECOM was tasked with presenting conceptual design options to the community that are feasible and executable within the project budget, comply with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) standards, fit within County guidelines of the Bus Express Rapid Transit plan (BERT) and City master plans, and which coordinate efforts with surrounding City projects.
To achieve that, the AECOM team interviewed multiple city departments as well as FDOT and Miami-Dade County representatives, reviewed several Master Plans and previous district studies, and presented-to and polled the members of the Mayor’s 41st Street Blue Ribbon Committee.
On October 1, 2020, a virtual public meeting was held by the City where project consultants, AECOM, presented two different conceptual design schemes for a revitalized 41st Street Corridor. A public Q&A session followed the presentation of the two design scheme options and then a public online survey was released and advertised for one full week. The survey asked a series of questions to determine design preferences and at the end, it asked respondents to vote for their preferred design scheme option overall. A total of 159 survey responses were submitted and an additional couple dozen email responses were received.
On October 15, 2020, AECOM presented the results of the survey and open feedback sessions to the Mayor’s 41st Street Blue Ribbon Committee. Based on community and committee feedback, AECOM proposed an idea to create a third hybrid design scheme that would combine the preferred elements of both Scheme 1 and Scheme 2. The Committee made a motion supporting the production of a third, hybrid design.
On October 22, 2020, AECOM presented the same survey results presentation to the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee, which also made a motion to support the development of a third hybrid scheme.
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| Staff recommends approval of AECOM’s hybrid design scheme as presented. This recommendation is based on the extensive committee and community feedback that has been received since early 2018, and from the most recent public meeting and community survey results.
Survey results showed that the community’s preference for Scheme 1 vs. Scheme 2 was split. Feedback made it clear that some elements of both design options were desired for the final product. Survey results are:
1. Which on-street parking option do you prefer?
• Remove ALL on 41st (Scheme 1) – 43.31%
• Keep some on 41st (Scheme 2) – 56.69%
2. Which sidewalk option do you prefer?
• Widened sidewalk (Scheme 1)– 57.89%
• Flexible Sidewalk/Parking (Scheme 2) – 42.41%
3. Which sidewalk material option do you prefer?
• Branded paver design (Scheme 1): 57.59
• Colored textured concrete (Scheme 2): 42.41%
4. Which shade option do you prefer?
• Replace with shade trees (Scheme 1) – 38.61%
• Keep royal palm trees (Scheme 2) – 61.39%
5. Which seating option do you prefer?
• Fixed seating throughout (Scheme 1) – 42.86%
• Fixed seating at midblock (Scheme 2)– 57.14%
6. Would you like to see a gateway feature?
• Yes – 78.34%
• No – 21.66%
7. Would you prefer more bicycle parking on 41st Street or on the side streets?
• More bike parking on 41st Street only – 10.1%
• More bike parking on side streets only – 50.32%
• More bike parking on both 41st Street and side streets – 39.49%
8. Which streetscape scheme is your preference overall?
• Scheme 1 – 49%
• Scheme 2 – 51%
Aside from survey results, there was written feedback received via feedback form and/or email that showed significant concern for the removal of too many on-street parking spaces. While there was a strong desire to widen sidewalks along 41st Street, there was also some dissent for the removal of parking. Staff also notes that in the 2019 City of Miami Beach Resident Satisfaction Survey, 67% of respondents thought there is “too little” on-street parking available in the city. For this reason, AECOM’s hybrid scheme proposes widening sidewalks where possible, while also keeping most on-street parking spaces available for public parking.
TIMELINE:
Currently, the project is scheduled across all four (4) Tranches. The timeline and funding issuances are scheduled as follows:
Tranche 1 issuance 2019: $1.5 million
Tranche 2 issuance 2022: $1.5 million
Tranche 3 issuance 2025: $6 million
Tranche 4 issuance 2028: $6 million
With Tranche 4 ending in 2031, the current timeline has this project on a track to be completed in approximately (10) years from now.
The Administration recommends advancing the funds allocated for Tranches 3 and 4 up to Tranche 2, therefore putting the project on a track to be fully completed by 2025. The request for a fast-tracked timeline was also recommended in formal motions made by the Mayor’s 41st Street Blue Ribbon Committee (October 16, 2020), and the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee (October 22, 2020).
In the 2019 City of Miami Beach Resident Satisfaction Survey, 41st Street was named in the top three places or facilities that residents visit most in the city. The fast-tracked option would allow the city to execute all improvements at once, during one uninterrupted construction phase that would begin and end in Tranche 2, giving residents and business owners a beautiful revitalization and quality-of-life upgrade to the frequented corridor.
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION:
The Administration recommends approval of the conceptual streetscape design, as presented by AECOM. The approval of the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (NQLC), and then of the City Commission, would allow G.O. Bond Project #40: 41st Street Corridor to advance into its next phase of design which will be managed by the Office of Capital Improvement Projects.
In addition, the administration recommends a fast-tracked timeline that would have the project completed by 2025, rather than its current track which has it completed by 2031.
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| | | | | | | | Applicable Area
| Middle Beach |
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| | | | | | | | Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? | | Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds? | | Yes | | Yes | |
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| | | | | | | | Strategic Connection
| Neighborhoods - Enhance the beautification, physical appearance and cleanliness of neighborhoods. |
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