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 controlled with stop signs 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 the installation of 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 (vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles) at an intersection over various periods of time, including peak traffic 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 staff 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 facilitate the installation, if the analysis concludes that the requested traffic control device meets the required criteria.  

Over the past few years, the Transportation and Mobility Department has conducted three separate traffic studies to evaluate the need for all-way stops at the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street. In all three cases, the data and analyses have determined that an all-way stop is not warranted at this intersection. 

In November 2021, 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.

The City’s Transportation and Mobility Department has completed a comprehensive traffic calming study for the Orchard Park neighborhood. The speed data showed that there is sufficient speeding that occurs along both Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street corridors approaching the intersection to warrant the implementation of speed mitigation measures. As such, as part of the planned neighborhood-wide traffic calming project, the City is proposing to install permanent mid-block speed tables along both Royal Palm Avenue and 46 Street to reduce speeding as vehicles approach the intersection (Attachment 2). The draft traffic study is currently being reviewed by Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works, and it is anticipated that the review and comment period for County approval will take a few months approximately. Once the traffic study is approved, design is scheduled to commence in mid-2023 and take about one year to complete. Project construction is anticipated to commence in FY 2024. 

In general, speed tables have been shown to be effective in reducing speeds by approximately 20% and reducing pedestrian crashes by approximately 45%. In the immediate term, to improve pedestrian safety and raise driver awareness, City staff will request that the County install new pedestrian crossing signs at the two (2) 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. 

Supporting Survey Data

According to the 2022 City of Miami Beach Resident Survey, 26.6% of residents feel safe crossing an intersection in the City, and 23.7% of residents feel safe while riding their bicycle in the City. In addition, 56.5% of residents walk as their primary mode of transportation within the City; 27.8% ride their bicycles as their primary mode of transportation; and 54.7% of residents expressed it is more important to have more walking/biking friendly streets, greenways, and paths within the City.

FISCAL IMPACT

The Orchard Park Neighborhood Traffic Calming Project is currently funded in the City’s Adopted 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (Project #62322).