At the October 14, 2020 City Commission meeting, the Mayor and City Commission (“City Commission”) referred an item entitled “Discussion Regarding Methods to Reduce Excessive Vehicular Speeding in Miami Beach” to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (“NQLC”). The item included a discussion on speeding on Collins Avenue between 5800 Block and 6000 Block and various actions to be taken by the City Administration (“Administration”) and the Florida Department of Transportation (“FDOT”) to deter speeding along this portion of the Collins Avenue corridor in Mid Beach. The item was discussed at the December 16, 2020, March 22, 2021, and April 28, 2021 NQLC meetings. Attachment A includes the April 28, 2021 NQLC memorandum.

Pursuant to the Administration’s request to reduce vehicular speeding along the Collins Avenue corridor approaching the horizontal curve at the 6000 Block, in November 2023, FDOT installed raised rumble strips, among other speeding countermeasures, along Collins Avenue between 5700 Block and 5875 Block, in the northbound direction only, as part of its current Resurfacing, Restoration, and Rehabilitation (“RRR”) project on State Road (“SR”) A1A/Collins Avenue/Indian Creek Drive from 5800 Block to SR 907/W 63 Street (Attachment A). Since the installation of the rumble strips, however, the Administration has received multiple complaints from adjacent residents due to the noise generated by vehicles driving over the rumble strips at all times of the day and night.

At the January 31, 2024 City Commission meeting, this item (C4 AE) was referred to the February 12, 2024 Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (“PSNQLC” or “Committee”) meeting for discussion and input.    

Given the recent complaints and quality-of-life concerns from residents along the Collins Avenue corridor adjacent to the rumble strips, City staff reached out to FDOT to explore the potential removal of all or some of the existing rumble strips. FDOT has advised that if the City deems that the rumble strips should be removed due to quality-of-life concerns, the City may remove these from all travel lanes subject to obtaining a General-Use Permit from FDOT. FDOT does not support a partial removal of the rumble strips due to concerns with speed differential and potential sideswipe accidents due to lane swerving (i.e. drivers changing lanes to avoid the rumble strips).

Furthermore, after the implementation of the rumble strips, the Miami Beach Police Department collected speed data on Collins Avenue at two (2) locations (south of and north of the rumble strips) and found that the 85th percentile speed was lower in the area just north of the rumble strips as compared to just south of the rumble strips. However, it is worth noting that the 85th percentile speed south of the rumble strips was not considerably greater than the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour (“MPH”).

FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Should the City Commission direct the Administration to move forward with the removal of the rumble strips, the Administration would engage a pre-selected (i.e. rotational) contractor to perform this work. The estimated cost of the work would be approximately $12,000; and funding is available in the Transportation and Mobility Department’s Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget.