ANALYSIS:
To enhance cleanliness and beautification strategies, departments must first identify and assess areas of concern, such as streets, sidewalks and waterways. As tools are developed to provide staff with the metrics needed to support their strategies, the Administration’s goal is to not only quickly address issues, but to enhance services and improve perceptions.
Launched in 2014, the City’s Egov mobile application allows users the opportunity to notify the City of ongoing concerns, especially those pertaining to cleanliness. Since its inception, users have created over of 47,000 requests. Of these requests, 18 percent were to address some form of cleanliness. Examples include but are not limited to, illegal dumping, graffiti, right-of-way maintenance concerns and public property maintenance issues.
Recently the City Manager implemented NEET (North End Enhancement Team), initiated in January 2019 to combat the problems that have plagued North Beach such as illegal dumping, cleanliness, etc. Since the formation, seven (7) deployments have been conducted with resources from Police, Code Compliance, Sanitation, Greenspace, Property Management and Parks. Areas in North Beach from 63rd Street to 82nd Terrace have been the focus of NEET. The core of NEET has in addition focused on the Business Districts on Collins from 69th Street North, 71st Street and Normandy Drive. Trash Receptacles have been replaced, curbs repainted, tree pits mulched, graffiti removed, and signage issues addressed. Areas where dumping has been a problem have been addressed. Additional work referrals have also been made to Public Works, Parks and Transportation on related issues.
The Department of Public Works has been working with the Parking Department to identify a couple of areas that parking restrictions can be put in place for a few hours on a routine basis to permit street sweeping of entire blocks. This work has traditionally been done by hand crews using brooms and blowers. The initiative has the potential of providing a better level of service, decreasing the usage of blowers and the noise and dust associated with blowers, and the ability to perform other services along the corridor at the same time without the need for further disruption (i.e. roadway repair, tree trimming, etc.). The targeted areas for this transition will be in the multifamily neighborhoods and an abutting commercial corridor. Areas in Flamingo and North Beach are being considered. By performing select pilot areas as a proving ground, it is envisioned that a citywide implementation could be achieved.
Successful street sweeping programs in other cities have an enforcement component. Signage will be posted identifying the hours of parking restrictions (i.e. No Parking on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday from 9 am to Noon). Therefore, it should be noted that in order to properly deploy this initiative, there may be circumstances where residents’ vehicles may be cited and towed away in order to make way for the intended street sweeping to be completed. Clearly, proper signage and notification is necessary, including the advanced issuance of warnings. However, despite well intended and best efforts, it is anticipated that some level of parking enforcement, including towing, may likely take place.
There are also enhancements being made to this year’s response to spring break. The deployment of light towers on the beach and the assignment of beach cleaning tasks to both Sanitation and Parks and Recreation evening crews has resulted in a much cleaner beach. Staff from these departments utilize the light towers to collect trash and litter each evening after the bulk of the beach goers have departed. They typically leave behind a great deal of litter on the water’s edge and on the face of the beach. The staff from both departments collect this litter preventing it from being swept into the ocean or from remaining overnight until the arrival of the county beach cleaning crews.
The Parks Department has implemented the following measures in furtherance of the City’s cleanliness improvement initiatives:
• Established dedicated maintenance crews for areas with high visitor volume, specifically, Lummus, South Pointe and North Beach Oceanside Parks;
• Enhanced janitorial porter services at public restrooms, expanding hours of coverage into nights and weekends;
• Provided dedicated, per restroom, janitorial porter services at public restrooms during high impact periods (special events, holidays, spring break, etc.);
• Designated a staff member to manage, inspect and enforce the janitorial contract;
• Added Landscape Inspectors to monitor and enforce contractor compliance with the City’s ground maintenance and cleanliness standards;
• Enhanced maintenance staffing during high impact periods, to ensure continuous litter control and cleaning services are performed;
• Established dedicated weekly or biweekly pressure washing rotations for all parks;
• Established procedure for park rangers to include maintenance and cleanliness inspections as part of their daily routines.
Similarly, Beach Maintenance has and continues to:
• Relocate the rope and post fencing from within the dune to the eastern edge of the dune, along the entire 7.5 miles of Miami Beach. Straightening and installing new posts as needed in all beach access paths. As well as installing new rope and post fencing on the west side of the dune in all areas where it is missing.
• Maintaining daily, the condition of the boardwalk, all ramps and stairways leading to and exiting from the boardwalk in a safe and hazard free condition.
• Install all beachfront signage as required with the most notable of these recently being the “No Bikes Permitted” signs on the boardwalk.
• Removed very old and deteriorating beach access wooden bridges at 64th and 73rd Streets, with additional locations scheduled for the future.
• Repair, maintain, and upkeep all Life Guard Towers in Miami Beach.
• Remove all graffiti on Beachwalk, boardwalk, Life Guard towers, and beachfront signage.
• Currently working on a resolution to require all Food and Beverage service on the beach to use 100% reusable wares for this service in order to reduce the amount of garbage created by this service.
• Currently working with Miami Dade County and private beach maintenance companies to improve the care and grooming of all of Miami Beach.
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