In May 2020, and in response to shifts in the needs of communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released a guideline for the implementation of Open/Slow Streets.  NACTO defines Open/Slow Streets as streets with low vehicular volumes and low to moderate speeds where through-traffic can be discouraged such that the road is prioritized for bicycles and pedestrians.

The City’s Modal Prioritization Resolution, adopted by the City Commission in 2015, places pedestrians first; bicycles and transit second; and private vehicles third. Furthermore, the City’s Transportation Master Plan, Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan, and Street Design Guide, adopted by the City Commission in 2016, propose policies and strategies to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety and calm traffic, particularly in residential neighborhoods.  As such, the Transportation and Mobility Department is progressively looking to adopt measures to address the multimodal mobility needs of the community and provide safer streets for all users.

At the July 29, 2020 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Mark Samuelian sponsored a referral item to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (NQLC) to discuss the implementation of an Open/Slow Streets pilot program in the Flamingo Park neighborhood.

At the September 23, 2020 NQLC meeting, the Committee discussed open/slow streets in Miami Beach and recommended that the Administration pursue a slow streets pilot program in the Flamingo Park neighborhood.

At the October 14, 2020 City Commission meeting, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2020-31465 accepting the recommendation of the NQLC to implement an open/slow streets pilot in the Flamingo Park neighborhood.

Pursuant to this City Commission direction, the Transportation and Mobility Department staff conducted an in-depth review of the Flamingo Park neighborhood streets to determine the scope and scale of an open/slow streets pilot program in this neighborhood.  Various streets were considered for inclusion in the pilot program given their connectivity to Flamingo Park, Feinberg Fisher Elementary K-8 School, Publix supermarket, and pharmacies.  While the Administration’s requested budget was approximately $150,000, the City Commission approved a limited budget of $75,000 for the deployment and maintenance of the pilot program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021/2022.

In October 2020, the Transportation and Mobility Department deployed the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Slow Streets Pilot Program on an expedited schedule utilizing temporary and readily available construction signs and barricades (i.e. ROAD CLOSED - LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY) to rebalance the mobility needs of the community and provide an opportunity for safe walking and cycling during the pandemic.  Following concerns from the neighborhood regarding the aesthetics of the pilot program, the City removed the construction signs and, in collaboration with the Marketing and Communications Department, proceeded to design and deploy contextual slim signs and flexible planters with pictorial signs and low-level landscape throughout the slow streets network.  The slim signs and planters were positioned on the centerline of each of the slow streets for maximum visibility and effectiveness.  However, given their exposure, the signs and planters were frequently struck and damaged by vehicles, particularly trucks, requiring a high level of maintenance and frequent replacement of signs and planters. 

Ultimately, in early March 2022, the Administration determined that the pilot, as deployed, was not sustainable from a long-term maintenance perspective and, as a result, City staff removed all slim signs and planters from the slow streets network.  As a supplementary measure, however, the City painted numerous 9’ wide x 15’ long textured pavement markings along the slow streets with the following message: SLOW 20 MPH to emphasize the reduced speed limit along the slow streets network (Attachment A).

At the April 6, 2022 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Mark Samuelian sponsored a referral item to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee entitled Discussion and Take Action on The Slow Streets Program.  Additionally, the City Commission directed the Administration to pursue a Slow Streets 2.0 pilot program in the Flamingo Park neighborhood on an expedited basis.

At the May 4, 2022 City Commission meeting, Commissioner David Richardson sponsored a referral to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) to discuss the expansion of the  open/slow streets pilot project for the benefit of additional neighborhoods in the City, and the potential sources of funding for the expansion of the program.

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Slow Streets 2.0
The Transportation and Mobility Department has engaged Streetplans Collaborative, a local consultant with expertise in tactical urbanism, including in Miami Beach, to assist staff with developing a Flamingo Park Slow Streets 2.0 program.  The goal of the program is to provide an improved aesthetic quality and deploy sustainable quick-build interventions to discourage vehicular through-traffic and create streets that prioritize safe bicycle and pedestrian mobility, while reducing maintenance costs to ensure the long term sustainability of the program.

Implementation of the program will require working with Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works as the agency with jurisdictional authority over traffic control devices, including permitting slow streets,  tactical urbanism, and traffic calming improvements on local streets. 

The Transportation and Mobility Department staff is working closely with the Neighborhood Affairs Team in the Marketing and Communications Department to engage the Flamingo Park community in the development of the Slow Streets 2.0 program.

On Saturday, April 30, 2022, the Transportation and Mobility Department staff conducted a community charrette with Flamingo Park residents to provide information and obtain feedback on the potential types of tactical urbanism treatments being considered for Flamingo Park Neighborhood Slow Streets 2.0.  In addition, on June 11, 2022, City staff and Streetplans organized a walk-through with neighborhood residents to provide updates and obtain additional feedback on the draft plan recommendations (Attachment B).  The charrette included an interactive planning exercise that asked residents to rank potential locations and treatment types to determine the interventions most desired by residents.  Over the last few months  Streetplans has continued to advance the concepts for the Slow Streets 2.0 program.  Furthermore, Streetplans has developed a two-phase approach to program implementation to allow the City to advance improvements in terms of priority, connectivity, anticipated effectiveness, and cost.

Phase 1 focuses on implementation of slow-streets along Jefferson Avenue from 5 Street to 11 Street and along 13 Street from Lenox Avenue to Washington Avenue, to enhance accessibility to Flamingo Park, using a variety of solutions such as bike lanes, curb extensions, traffic diverters, mid-block islands, speed humps, pavement markings, and signage.  The cost associated with implementation of Phase I was estimated to be $1,200,000.  Funding was requested as a budget enhancement for FY 2022/2023; however, funds have not been identified.

Phase 2 builds upon Phase 1 and expands slow streets improvements to additional streets in the neighborhood, including 6 Street, 8 Street, 10 Street, 15 Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Meridian Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and Lenox Avenue.  The cost associated with implementation of Phase 2 is estimated to be $2,750,000.  Funding for Phase 2 has not been identified.

Potential Expansion of Slow Streets 2.0 to Middle Beach
In preparation for this item, City staff and Streetplans have preliminarily explored an expansion of Slow Streets 2.0 to residential neighborhoods in Middle Beach.  This preliminary analysis  focused on areas in which traffic calming has not been implemented or is not currently planned (Attachment C).  Streetplans has estimated a preliminary cost of $250,000 for design and $1,750,000 for construction of Slow Streets 2.0 in selected areas of Middle Beach.  Funding for the design and construction of a potential slow street expansion has not been identified.

Available Funding and Potential Funding Sources for Slow Streets 2.0
$200,000 is currently budgeted in the Transportation and Mobility Department’s adopted FY 2021/22 operating budget; and $300,000 has been budgeted in the Department’s proposed FY 2022/2023 operating budget for design and implementation of slow streets and other tactical urbanism improvements.  However, these budgeted amounts are not sufficient to properly fund Slow Streets 2.0 in the Flamingo Park neighborhood or an expansion to Middle Beach.  A potential source of additional funding is the Transportation Fund (Fund 106 - Resort Tax/Quality of Life - Transportation).

Next Steps
Should FERC and the City Commission wish to move forward with a Slow Streets 2.0 program in FY 2023, either limited to Flamingo Park neighborhood or including a potential expansion to Middle Beach, additional funding would is required.  Contingent upon securing funding, the Transportation and Mobility Department will advance the slow streets concepts and work with Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works to secure approval of the proposed tactical urbanism improvements prior to implementation in 2023.  

The Transportation and Mobility Department initially deployed the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Slow Street Pilot Program in October 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.  While data showed that the pilot program was effective in reducing vehicular speeds and increasing bicycle and pedestrian trips throughout the neighborhood, the increasing maintenance of the pilot program was not sustainable from a long-term perspective and the pilot was suspended in March 2022. 

Pursuant to City Commission direction, City staff is currently developing a Slow Streets 2.0 program for the Flamingo Park neighborhood with the goal of enhancing program aesthetics and sustainability through the application of temporary tactical urbanism interventions.  Community engagement and feedback on the recommended concepts has been positive.  In addition, City staff has been directed to explore the feasibility of expanding Slow Streets 2.0 to other neighborhoods. 

Currently, a total of $500,000 has been allocated in the Transportation and Mobility Department’s operating budget to Slow Streets 2.0 and other tactical urbanism improvements.  However, this allocation is not sufficient to fund either the implementation of Slow Streets 2.0 in the Flamingo Park neighborhood as envisioned or an expansion to other neighborhoods.        

The above information is being presented to FERC for discussion and input.