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 sign controlled intersection.  The eastbound and westbound approaches on 46 Street are stop-controlled while Royal Palm Avenue traffic does not stop.  Both Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street are classified as local roadways.  The existing north-south crosswalks on the east and west legs of the intersection to cross 46 Street have been recently upgraded to high-emphasis crosswalks (Attachment 1).

The evaluation 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, the 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 found to be warranted. 

In October 2017, the Transportation and Mobility Department staff 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 adopted traffic calming manual, did not support the installation of a temporary traffic circle at that time.  As such, the traffic circle concept was discarded.

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

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 traffic on Royal Palm Avenue does not stop at the intersection.

Speed Analysis

Speed data, and the 85^th percentile speed in particular, is used to determine if speed mitigation is warranted.  The posted speed limit on both Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street is 25 miles per hour (mph).  The results of the speed analysis are as follows:

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. 

Traffic Calming

The Orchard Park Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study is approximately 80% complete and currently scheduled for completion in FY 2023.  Design is scheduled to commence in FY 2023 and take about one year to complete.  Project construction is anticipated to commence in FY 2024.  As part of the traffic calming project, the City is proposing to install permanent mid-block speed tables both along Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street to reduce speeding as vehicles approach the intersection (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%.