At the May 4, 2022 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Steven Meiner referred this item to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee for discussion. 

The intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street is located within the Orchard Park neighborhood and currently operates as a four leg, two-way stop-controlled intersection.  The eastbound and westbound approaches on 46 Street are stop-controlled while Royal Palm Avenue traffic is not controlled.  Both Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street are classified as local roadways. The existing north-south crosswalks to cross 46 Street have been recently upgraded to high-emphasis crosswalks on the east and west legs of the intersection (Attachment 1).

The evaluating criteria for multi-way stop signs are outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).  The MUTCD specifies the minimum criteria that must be met prior to installation of a multi-way stop control at an intersection.  The criteria are based on crashes and traffic volumes (vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle) at an intersection over various periods of time, including peak periods.

In Miami-Dade County, the approval, implementation, and maintenance of traffic control devices is under the jurisdiction of Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works; however, to expedite the approval process, City’s Transportation and Mobility Department conducts most of the warrant analyses for multi-way stop controls, pedestrian flashing beacons, and traffic signals in-house and works with the County to expedite the installation, if a traffic control device is warranted. 

In October 2017, the Transportation and Mobility Department conducted a warrant analysis to evaluate the need for an all-way stop control at the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street.  Volumes and crash data were evaluated as part of the analysis.  The results of this analysis did not warrant an all-way stop control or any other applicable traffic control and/or safety enhancement device at this intersection at that time.

In April 2019, following continued concerns with pedestrian and vehicular safety at the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street, the Transportation and Mobility Department staff conducted a second all-way stop control warrant analysis.  The results of this subsequent analysis reaffirmed that an all-way stop was not warranted at this intersection at that time.  As an alternative short-term traffic calming measure, the Department recommended the installation of a temporary traffic circle at this intersection.  However, members of the community, including the affected property owners whose concurrence is required pursuant to the City’s traffic calming procedure, did not support a temporary traffic circle at that time.  As such, the concept was discarded.

In November 2021, the Transportation and Mobility Department staff initiated the Orchard Park Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study.  Given the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street is located within this neighborhood, the study is proposing various traffic calming improvements in the vicinity of this intersection to enhance vehicular and pedestrian safety, further described in the Analysis section of this memorandum.

It is worth highlighting that according to the 2019 City of Miami Beach Resident Survey, 74% of respondents expressed that they are most concerned/dissatisfied with pedestrian safety (vehicles not yielding to pedestrians) when crossing an intersection.  As such, expediting the implementation of traffic control improvements to enhance pedestrian safety at intersections is a priority for the Administration.

Using data collected in November 2021 as part of the Orchard Park neighborhood traffic calming study, the Transportation and Mobility Department staff conducted a third warrant analysis for an all-way stop control at the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street. 

The all-way stop control, as indicated and in accordance with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) section 2B.07, is generally applied where the volume of traffic on the intersecting roads is approximately equal.  Other considerations are given to delay of vehicles from the minor approach, safety of the intersection determined by the number of crashes susceptible by an all-way stop control application, and available gaps for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as vehicles on the minor approach.  The MUTCD outlines three criteria that must be met for an all-way stop control to be warranted as part of a traffic engineering study:

1. Warrant 1 – Crash Criteria:
   • Five or more crashes in a 12-month period that are susceptible to correction by a multi-way stop installation, or
2. Warrant 2A - Volume Criteria:
   • The vehicular volume entering the intersection from the major street approaches (total of both approaches) averages at least 300 vehicles per hour for any 8 hours of an average day; and
3. Warrant 2B - Volume Criteria:
   •  The combined vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle volume entering the intersection from the minor approaches averages at least 200 units per hour for the same 8 hours, with an average delay to minor-street vehicular traffic of at least 30 seconds per vehicle during the highest hour.
4. Where no single criteria is satisfied, but where the Criteria 1, 2.a and 2.b are all satisfied to 80 percent of the minimum values.

 The results of staff’s most recent warrant analysis are as follows:

1. Warrant 1 – Crash Criteria:
   • Zero (0) crashes in a 12-month period that are susceptible to correction by a multi-way stop installation. – CRITERIA NOT MET
2. Warrant 2A - Volume Criteria:
   • The vehicular volume entering the intersection from the major street (Royal Palm Avenue) approaches averages 92 vehicles per hour for the 8 hours - CRITERIA NOT MET
3. Warrant 2B - Volume Criteria:
   • The combined vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle volume entering the intersection from the minor approaches (46 Street) averages 19 units per hour for the same 8 hours - CRITERIA NOT MET
4.  Where no single criteria are satisfied, but where the Criteria 1, 2.a and 2.b are all satisfied to 80 percent of the minimum values. - CRITERIA NOT MET

Based on the results of the analysis, an all-way stop control at the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street is not warranted at this time.  The warrant analysis of the intersection also included a feasibility review of other types of devices such as pedestrian flashing beacons, as well as a review of pavement marking and signage conditions.  While the pedestrian volumes are not sufficient to warrant the implementation of pedestrian flashing beacons, to enhance vehicular and pedestrian safety at the intersection, staff is proposing to install new pedestrian crossing signs at the two existing crosswalks and advance warning signs advising westbound and eastbound traffic on 46 Street that north-south (Royal Palm Avenue) traffic does not stop at the intersection.

Speed Analysis

In addition to the vehicular counts collected at the intersection, the City’s data collection consultant also collected speed data.  Speed data, and in particular the 85^th percentile speed, is used to determine if speed mitigation devices are warranted.  The posted speed limit on both Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street is 25 miles per hour (mph).  The following results were obtained:

Royal Palm Avenue:

85^th percentile speed: 29 mph

Percent greater than posted speed limit of 25 mph: 27.2%

Percent greater than 30 mph: 7.5%

46 Street:

85^th percentile speed: 28 mph

Percent greater than posted speed limit of 25 mph: 25.2%

Percent greater than 30 mph: 5.5%

The speed data determined that there is sufficient speeding along both Royal Palm Avenue and along 46 Street approaching the intersection to warrant the implementation of speed mitigation measures which will be implemented as part of the ongoing Orchard Park Neighborhood Traffic Calming Improvements project.  

Orchard Park Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study

The Transportation and Mobility Department is currently conducting a traffic calming study for the Orchard Park neighborhood as part of the Orchard Park Neighborhood Traffic Calming Improvements project.  The project study phase is 80% complete and currently scheduled for completion in summer 2022.  Design is scheduled for completion in winter 2022 and construction is anticipated to be completed in mid to late 2023.  To reduce speeding as vehicles approach the intersection, the City will implement permanent mid-block speed tables both along Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street approaching the intersection as part of the neighborhood-wide traffic calming project (Attachment 2).  In general, speed tables have been shown to be effective in reducing speeds by approximately 20% and reducing pedestrian crashes by approximately 45%.