The City’s beachwalk is a highly utilized shared-use path that serves recreational and work trips throughout the City.  It is the public trail with the highest volume of activity in Florida; however, its popularity coupled with its constrained width contributes to frequent conflicts among pedestrians, bicyclists, and other users resulting in numerous crashes, including some with serious injuries.  An additional concern for residents as well as the Administration is the intermixing of pedestrians and unauthorized motorized/electric devices, including electric stand-up scooters, electric bikes, and electric skateboards, among other motorized devices operating illegally on the beachwalk.  Although Section 70-67 of the City Code prohibits motorized means of transportation on the beachwalk, among other pedestrian facilities throughout the City, the growing popularity of these electric devices poses a significant safety concern for pedestrians and an enforcement challenge for Police.

Pursuant to the recommendation of the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (NQLC) at its March 4, 2020 meeting, various city departments, including Police, Communications, Property Management, and Transportation and Mobility, collaborated to develop a holistic approach to address the pedestrian safety concern on the beachwalk through better signage and enhanced enforcement.  This effort resulted in the installation of 142 new regulatory signs along the beachwalk and at all beachwalk entrance points to assist Police and Park Rangers with enforcing applicable provisions of the City Code.  In addition, the City has recently installed 70 advisory signs along the beachwalk to advise users that the area is a pedestrian-friendly zone where permitted/non-motorized devices such as bicycles, skates, and skateboards must slow down and yield to pedestrians.

In March 2021, the Miami Beach Police Department initiated a daily beachwalk pedestrian safety detail entitled “Clear Path”.  Since the beginning of 2022, Police Officers and Park Rangers have conducted regular enforcement of the beachwalk, including enforcement of Section 70-67 of the City code prohibiting motorized means of transportation on the beachwalk as provided in Attachment - MBPD & Park Rangers Enforcement Jan-Mar 2022. 

At the July 21, 2021 NQLC meeting, to further enhance pedestrian safety on the beachwalk, Transportation and Mobility Department staff presented a concept for a potential pilot project consisting of segregating cyclists and pedestrians through striping and signage along a typical 15’ wide section of the beachwalk.  As part of the pilot, staff would monitor user compliance to measure effectiveness.  At the meeting, Committee members expressed a concern with the anticipated cost of the pilot project. 

At the September 20, 2021 NQLC meeting, Transportation and Mobility Department staff presented a refined concept for a pilot project including the location, approach and methodology, duration, and a reduced cost.

At the October 29, 2021 NQLC meeting, the Committee recommended that the City move forward with the pilot project and collaborate with the Middle Beach Neighborhood Association (MBNA) to deploy the pilot as expeditiously as possible.

Given that approximately 70% of the entire length of the beachwalk is only about 15 feet wide, the beachwalk segment between 15 Street and 24 Street was identified by staff as a representative and suitable location for the pilot given its 15-foot width and the high amount of pedestrian and bicycle activity that occurs daily along that segment.  The pilot location was also endorsed by the Police Department.  This segment is approximately 4,800 feet in length with various access points and is currently monitored by over 10 police cameras which can be utilized to gather key data and analytics for the pilot and conduct the required effectiveness study.  

The Transportation and Mobility Department staff worked with the Parking, Police, and Communications departments to plan and deploy the pilot project.  The pilot consists of a painted white line along the approximate centerline of the 15 feet wide beachwalk providing 8 feet of width for two-way bicycle travel on the east side of the facility and 7 feet of width for two-way pedestrian travel on the west side of the facility.  The City has painted symbols on the beachwalk pavers to help guide bicyclists and pedestrians to their appropriate side of the beachwalk.  Additionally, signs have been installed along the pilot segment advising users of the rules of the pilot.  The signs include a QR code to connect users to a project website where they can provide input and feedback on the pilot.  The second attachment depicts a sketch of the pilot configuration and signage.

The data collection effort for the pilot project includes the following:

•  Volumes of pedestrians and bicyclists
•  Bicycle speeds
•  Volume and speed of motorized (prohibited) vehicles
•  User adherence to the demarcation (i.e. volume of pedestrians encroaching into the bicycle path and bicyclists encroaching into the pedestrian path)

In November 2021, Transportation and Mobility Department staff coordinated the pilot with the MBNA.  Following various discussions and walk-throughs of the pilot segment, the City and MBNA jointly identified key issues that needed to be addressed prior to the roll-out of the pilot, including trimming landscape encroachments from private properties and overgrown vegetation from the dunes and removing excessive amounts of sand from the beachwalk which were reducing the effective width of the path.  To address this issue, the Communications Department worked with Code Compliance to warn and cite private properties for improper maintenance of the landscape resulting in the encroachments.  While the encroachments have been corrected for now, City staff will continue to monitor the pilot segment closely and conduct trimming and sweeping as needed to ensure a clean and clear path and maximize the potential for a successful pilot. 

Current Status

The City commenced the implementation of the pilot in February 2022; however, work was temporarily stopped during Spring Break to avoid any closure of the Beachwalk.  The work was resumed in late March 2022 and is anticipated to be completed by April 22, 2022 (scheduled pilot roll-out date, weather permitting).  At the onset of the pilot, City staff will reach out to properties along the pilot segment to provide some collateral material regarding the pilot.  The City will collect and analyze data for up to 12 months to ensure a broad data sample that accounts for seasonal activity on the beachwalk.  The City may terminate the pilot at any time if it determines the pilot is highly ineffective or poses public safety concerns.