Flamingo to WAvNA: Flamingo's own, Ben Batchelder Presents Pedestrian-friendly Initiative to West Avenue Neighborhood Association

South Beach is already Florida’s most pedestrian-intensive neighborhood, now it just needs to become its most pedestrian-friendly one!

 

Several years ago, I volunteered to lead the FPNA through a brainstorming process that resulted in our Pedestrian Safety Initiative. In it, we describe the many shortcomings of a traffic system, laid down by county Public Works decades ago, that continues to favor autos over pedestrians. Literally. One of our most disturbing findings, with the help of the supportive MB Police Dept., is that auto-on-pedestrian accidents are up a whopping 80% in South Beach over the last six years, with almost all the growth in our residential neighborhoods.

 

The goals of our initiative are to bring public attention to this situation, to engage concerned residents, and to sensitize public officials, both City and County, to the importance of protecting pedestrians.

 

This is where neighborhood associations such as WAvNA come in. The more neighborhoods which formally adopt this initiative, the more likely that public officials will respond. So I heartily recommended that WAvNA do so.

 

What can you do on an individual level? Get involved!

 

1. On a basic level, when you view aggressive driving (including cars which don’t stop for people in crosswalks) call the non-emergency # 305-673-7901 (24/7) and report it. Even if you don’t get the plate #, car color, make, and state, plus, say, number of occupants can do the trick. Just last weekend, Capt. Causey emphasized their eagerness to stop aggressive drivers. He also reminded that east/west/south/north travel direction is critical after citing the intersection.
2. When you notice the (often) deplorable condition of crosswalks, or dangers caused by speeding cars and/or inadequate signage, report it at the city’s Ask it, Report it page http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/residentsportal/csc.aspx Years ago I complained that among the scores of options there is no Pedestrian or Crosswalk category to ease reporting, to no avail. The closest thing I can find is the Traffic Hazard tab, which captures the outdated attitude perfectly: pedestrians are hazards to traffic.
3. Attend some of the many public meetings which impact on the issue and let your views be known to elected and unelected public officials. FDOT will revamp Alton Road shortly. In my opinion, their preliminary proposal earlier in the year was more anti-pedestrian than the actual deplorable conditions. Public meetings were held earlier this year on a Bike Masterplan. (Watch out! Insisting on a designated bike lane often locks in current unsafe pedestrian conditions. In my opinion, a tree corridor along a narrower auto travel lane signed for joint bike & auto use (a ‘sharrow’) is not only the safest bike solution, but allows for wider, safer, and more shaded pedestrian sidewalks.) The Neighborhoods Committee, whose staff rejected our Initiative, may be addressing the issue in the coming months.

Several years of advocacy has brought some limited success. The Police Dept. has reacted favorably, by providing critical data and with the recent acquisition of 40 stand-alone Crosswalk warning signs, which are helping to educate aggressive drivers (many from the Wild West that is Miami). Also, persistent pressure from Denis Russ and Tammy Tibbles (who also spearheads our initiative and has followed-up frequently with public officials) has resulted in the County finally initiating Traffic Studies and agreeing to install All-way stop signs at nearly a dozen of our neighborhood’s most dangerous intersections.

 

So patience and persistence can bring results. The more help from concerned citizens, the better.

 

Ben Batchelder -- www.benbatchelder.com