A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MAY 24, 2021 CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP ON BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH. 

The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission approve the resolution accepting the recommendations of the May 24, 2021 City Commission Workshop on Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety in the City of Miami Beach.   

At the February 19, 2021 Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee meeting, at the request of Commissioner Ricky Arriola, the Administration provided an update on the Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan projects and a preliminary review of the Cambridge, Massachusetts Cycling Safety Ordinance.  At the meeting, the Committee recommended that the Administration research leading international cities on the forefront of cycling, including Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm, as case studies to identify best practices and opportunities to model policy and implementation strategies.  Furthermore, the Committee recommended that the Administration conduct a Commission workshop on bicycle and pedestrian safety wherein both the Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan and the Cambridge Cycling Safety Ordinance could be discussed in greater detail, including identifying challenges and opportunities related to potentially adopting a similar ordinance in Miami Beach.

At the April 29, 2021 City Commission meeting, the Commission adopted Resolution No. 2021-21675 accepting the recommendation of the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee to conduct a Commission workshop on bicycle and pedestrian safety on May 24, 2021.

On May 24, 2021, the City Commission hosted a workshop on bicycle and pedestrian safety.  At the workshop, City staff presented a PowerPoint (attached).  The presentation included a background on the City’s adopted 2015 Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP), Transportation Master Plan, and Street Design Guidelines; a status update on the implementation of master plan projects; case studies of various international and national cities on the forefront of bicycle mobility and key takeaways on innovative policies and implementation strategies; and challenges and opportunities in Miami Beach, including advancing quick-build bicycle-pedestrian projects in advance of long-term neighborhood improvement projects.

After discussion, the City Commission recommended that the Administration take the following actions:

• Decouple short-term bicycle-pedestrian projects from long-term neighborhood improvement projects and provide the economic impact of decoupling projects to address safety issues.
•  Refer an item to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee to discuss bicycle-pedestrian projects that could be decoupled and the reasons set forth.
•  Collect data, including crash data, to track progress on mode-shift and measure effectiveness of bicycle-pedestrian projects.

Based on the 2019 Resident Survey, 73% of residents are concerned or dissatisfied with pedestrian safety (vehicle yielding to pedestrians) when crossing the street at an intersection. Based on the same survey, while 64% of residents feel somewhat safe when riding their bicycle in the City, 37% of residents feel unsafe.  47% of residents responded that at least one person in their household regularly rides a bike. 33% of residents consider bicycling the most viable alternative to using cars for trips within Miami Beach.

The Administration is aggressively looking for ways to advance the implementation of master plan projects, including deploying quick-build/temporary projects to improve bicycle safety and comfort and close gaps in the bicycle network in short order.