At the February 21, 2024 City Commission meeting, at the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the Mayor and City Commission (“City Commission”) referred an item (C4 O) to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (“PSNQLC” or “Committee”) to review and discuss the City of Miami Beach (“City”) modal prioritization strategy.

On March 18, 2015, the City Commission held a City Commission Workshop on Transportation which included a proposal for a transportation mode hierarchy. In the proposal, the City Administration (“Administration”) recommended a transportation mode hierarchy consisting of pedestrians first; transit, bicycles, and freight second; and private vehicles last.

On July 8, 2015, the City Commission adopted the mode hierarchy presented at the March 18, 2015 City Commission Workshop on Transportation, via Resolution No. 2015-29083. Following the adopted modal hierarchy, the Miami Beach Transportation Master Plan (“TMP”), Street Design Guidelines, and the Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan (“BPMP”) were adopted by the City Commission on April 13, 2016 via Resolution Nos. 2016-29371, 2016-29372, and 2016-29373, respectively. Similar to most master plans, the TMP and BPMP set forth local goals, objectives and policies and serve as a framework for long-range project planning and implementation.

Given the broader scope and scale, the TMP and BPMP include a robust multi-modal Project Bank prioritized into three (3) categories based on the need, capacity, connectivity, safety, modal split, and ease of implementation: Priority 1 (0 to 5 years), Priority 2 (5 to 10 years), and Priority 3 (10 to 20 years). The long-range planning approach is common for robust master plans that require a significant amount of funding for the implementation of projects over time. Moreover, projects identified in Priority 2 and 3 require significant coordination with various governmental agencies with jurisdictional authority and purview over the roadways in the City, policy changes, identifying funding sources, and/or inclusion as part of neighborhood improvement projects to maximize funding and minimize the impact to the community.

According to the 2022 City of Miami Beach Community Satisfaction Survey, 81% of resident respondents expressed that they are most concerned/dissatisfied with pedestrian safety (vehicles not yielding to pedestrians) when crossing an intersection.  In addition, 51% of residents responded that at least one (1) person in their household regularly rides a bike and 37% of residents consider bicycling the most viable alternative to using cars for trips within Miami Beach.  Based on the same survey, while 64% of residents feel somewhat safe when riding their bicycle in the City, 37% of residents feel unsafe.

The Administration is committed to continue to strategically implement pedestrian safety improvements and build a connected and protected citywide bicycle network over time; however, the implementation of bicycle lanes on many of the City’s constrained roadways often requires the removal of on-street parking or vehicular travel lanes, or narrowing sidewalks/reducing landscaping in order to introduce a new bicycle facility. These potential modifications to the roadway often require feasibility studies, traffic studies, Miami-Dade County (“County”) or Florida Department of Transportation (“FDOT”) reviews and approvals, community engagement, parking mitigation, and final design plans to be permitted by the County.

Furthermore, the Administration has been successful in incorporating individual bicycle facility projects from the TMP and BPMP (e.g. protected bicycle lanes, shared-use paths, greenways, and complete streets) into current and future neighborhood improvement projects, General Obligation Bond (“G.O. Bond”) projects, and FDOT projects. This project integration approach is fiscally prudent and community sensitive; however, it has the potential of extending the timeline for completion of the pedestrian and/or bicycle improvement projects.

While the Administration is committed to completing the bicycle network in an efficient manner, various factors impact the timing and phasing of project implementation. These factors include, but are not limited to, project feasibility, roadway jurisdiction, regulatory agency permitting processes, community support or opposition, project pauses, City staffing resources, and funding availability.

Notwithstanding, the City has completed and is currently working toward the implementation of numerous multimodal projects identified in the TMP and BPMP. Note that several projects listed below have been “firsts” in Miami-Dade County. Examples of key completed mobility projects and initiatives include, but are not limited to:

Completed Bicycle-Pedestrian Improvements

• Venetian Causeway Protected Bicycle Lanes
• Meridian Avenue Protected/Buffered Bicycle Lanes from 16 Street to Dade Boulevard
• 16 Street Green Bicycle Lanes from Washington Avenue to Alton Road
• Meridian Avenue Green Bicycle Lanes from 41 Street to 47 Street
• West Avenue Green Bicycle Lanes from 16 Street to Dade Boulevard
• West Avenue and 17 Street Green Bicycle Box
• Meridian Avenue Green Sharrows
• Euclid Avenue Green Buffered Bicycle Lane
• 72 Street Green Bicycle Lanes
• Indian Creek Drive Protected Bicycle Lane from 26 Street to 41 Street
• Normandy Drive Pedestrian Signage at Rue Granville and Rue Versailles
• Automatic Pedestrian Phases at Various Intersections
• Lead Pedestrian Intervals at Various Intersections
• Exclusive Pedestrian Phases at Various Intersections, including along Collins Avenue and Alton Road
• Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) at Various Intersections, including Prairie Avenue and 23 Street; West Avenue and 6 Street; Jefferson Avenue and 15 Street; Pine Tree Drive and 45 Street
• Collins Avenue and 79 Street Pedestrian Signal and Crosswalk
• Meridian Avenue Mid-Block Crossing Pedestrian Signal between 18 Street and 19 Street
• 25 MPH Speed Limit Reduction and Signage on Residential Streets
• Bicycle Repair Stations throughout the City
• Long-Term Bicycle Parking in City Garages

• Bicycle Racks

Examples of key ongoing mobility projects in various phases of development include, but are not limited to:

Ongoing Bicycle-Pedestrian Projects/Improvements

• Vision Zero Action Plan
• Miami Beach Senior High Safe Routes to School
• Dade Boulevard/17 Street Crosswalk with Bicycle Detection
• Chase Avenue/34 Street Shared-Use Path
• Alton Road Shared-Use Path
• Dade Boulevard Shared-Use Path
• Meridian Avenue Shared-Use Path
• 22/23 Street Complete Street
• South Beach Pedestrian Priority Zone
• 17 Street Corridor Bicycle Lane
• South Beach Promenade (Española Way East/West and 14 Place Tactical Urbanism)
• Flamingo Park Slow Streets 2.0 (Tactical Urbanism)
• Pine Tree Drive/La Gorce Drive Bicycle Lanes
• 71 Street/Normandy Drive Corridor Pedestrian Safety Audit
• Beachwalk Safety Markings
• Ocean Drive Pedestrian Promenade
• Collins Avenue Multimodal Project from 41 Street to 63 Street
• RRFBs at Various Locations, including North Shore Drive/South Shore Drive at Bay Drive; Harding Avenue and 87 Street
• Neighborhood Traffic Calming Improvements in South of Fifth, Central Bayshore, Normandy Isle; Orchard Park; Lake View
• Prairie Avenue and 44 Street Traffic Circle
• Pedestrianization of 200-300 Lincoln Road

Ongoing Transit Services and Initiatives

• Citywide Trolley Service
• On-Demand Transit Services
• Water Taxi Commuter Service Pilot Program
• North Beach Connectivity to Mount Sinai Medical Center
• New Bus Shelter Program
• Julia Tuttle Causeway Bus Express Rapid Transit Service
• Washington Avenue Dedicated Transit Lanes
• “Next Generation” Citywide Municipal Circulator Service

Ongoing Traffic Management Initiatives

• Intelligent Transportation System/Smart Parking System including Real-Time Traffic Management Center at FDOT District SunGuide Center 
• Traffic Monitoring and Management Services
• Traffic Signal Optimization Technology Pilot Program
• Collaborating with DTPW and FDOT to Optimize Traffic Signal Timing along Major Thoroughfares
• Miami Beach Convention Center Multimodal (Special Events) Traffic Study
• 63 Street Drawbridge Traffic Study
• Venetian Causeway East Drawbridge Traffic Study
• Miami Beach Senior High Pick-up/Drop-off Lane
• 41 Street Corridor Analysis (Adding Left-Turn Lanes)
• Alton Road and 16 Street Left Turn Lane
• Century Lane/Island Avenue and Venetian Causeway Intersection Improvements

Furthermore, the City has implemented various policies intended to reduce vehicular trips during peak traffic and high impact periods, including, but not limited to:

• Transportation Demand Management Strategies for New Developments
• Construction Parking Management Plans
• Restricted Lane Closure Times on Major Thoroughfares
• Special Event Multimodal Transportation Mitigation Plans (currently under development)

The TMP aspires to complete the implementation of the vision to create a less car-centric city by 2035. As such, from 2015 to 2035, if all projects in the TMP Project Bank are implemented, the number of private vehicle trips in the City are anticipated to decrease by 13.5%, and transit and bicycle trips are anticipated to increase by 8% and 2.5%, respectively. However, it is important to note that a mode share analysis conducted in 2020 by a City consultant found that private vehicle trips in the City had increased by 7.5% between 2015 and 2020. This increase can be attributed in part to the start and popularity of rideshare services during this period. Additionally, over the past eight (8) years, the number of Vehicle Miles Traveled (“VMT”) has increased by 4.7% in Miami-Dade County, based on data obtained from FDOT. VMT represents the cumulative number of miles that all vehicles on our roadways are traveling. This is a separate metric than average daily traffic which represents the volume of vehicles on a roadway segment. VMT is more representative of what drivers experience while entering, exiting, and traveling within the City.  

Tangentially, the Transportation and Mobility Department is preparing to engage one of the City’s pre-qualified rotational transportation consultants to update the current 2016 TMP. It is important to note that the upcoming TMP update will be based on the existing mode hierarchy adopted by the City Commission in 2015, unless a different direction is provided based on a policy decision by the City Commission.