The City Administration (“Administration”) recommends that the Mayor and City Commission (“City Commission”) approve the Resolution. 

The City of Miami Beach (“City”) entered into an Intergovernmental Agency Agreement (“IAA”) with Miami-Dade County (“County”) in July 2011 to install traffic calming devices on local residential municipal streets. Pursuant to the IAA, the County grants authority to the City to employ the City Commission adopted City of Miami Beach Traffic Calming Manual (“TCM”) to measure, analyze, and develop traffic calming measures on local residential municipal streets with the final approval granted by the County. However, collector residential roads including, but not limited to, Prairie Avenue, South Pointe Drive, and Washington Avenue, are not included in the existing IAA.

The Administration is currently designing various neighborhood traffic calming projects which propose traffic calming devices on collector roadways operated, maintained and owned by the City to reduce speeding and cut-through traffic, improve safety, and enhance quality of life in residential neighborhoods.  As such, the City and the County have been collaborating on an IAA that will grant authority to the City, pursuant to Sections 2-95 and 2-96.1 of the Miami-Dade County Code, to install and maintain traffic calming devices and other related traffic control signs on collector residential streets operated, maintained and owned by the City.

Approval of this IAA will allow the City to move forward with permitting, installation, and maintenance of various proposed traffic calming devices on collector roads.  Such devices include, but are not limited to, a proposed traffic circle at the intersection of Prairie Avenue and 44 Street in the Orchard Park neighborhood, several proposed speed tables along Prairie Avenue in the Bayshore neighborhood, and proposed traffic circles at the intersections of Prairie Avenue and 28 Street, and Prairie Avenue and 34 Street as part of the Bayshore Neighborhood Traffic Calming project. Furthermore, this IAA will allow the City to install a proposed raised intersection at South Pointe Drive and Collins Avenue and a raised crosswalk at the intersection of Washington Avenue and 3 Street as part of the South of Fifth Neighborhood Traffic Calming project.  

Should the City Commission adopt a resolution approving this IAA, in substantial form, the Administration will continue to work with the County to obtain approval from the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners for final execution.

Based on the 2022 Miami Beach Community Satisfaction Survey, 81% of residents expressed concerns with pedestrian safety (vehicles not yielding to pedestrians) when crossing the street at an intersection. Over half of the residents surveyed (56.5%) walk as one of their primary modes of transportation within the City. Furthermore, 52.2% of residents surveyed expressed that capital projects that involve more walking/biking friendly streets, greenways, and paths are among the top three most important types of capital projects.

City Commission approval of this IAA will allow the City to move forward with permitting, installation, and maintenance of various proposed traffic calming devices on collector roads, thereby improving safety and quality of life on collector roads in residential neighborhoods throughout the City. 

The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the Resolution, approving, in substantial form, an IAA with Miami-Dade County; and further authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute the final Agreement.