Good News: On the Installation of Four Way Stop Controls and Pedestrian Crosswalks at Meridian Avenue Intersections

We have received very encouraging news on the installation of four way Stop Controls and the positive resolution of ramps and crosswalks at Meridian Avenue Intersections.  Many thanks for the steadfast advancement of this project goes to FPNA advocates --  Tammy Young, Ben Batchelder, Jeff Donnelly, Adam Shedroff, Judy Robinson and Jack Johnson!

Stop signs and crosswalks are planned to be installed on Meridian Avenue at Seventh and Ninth Streets within the next four weeks.  The City will also address the correction of intersection ramps at the bump-outs.

Further the City and County will continue the effort to tally traffic counts, review and analyze the data, and determine the appropriateness of four way stops at seven other intersections in the neighborhood.  The results of this review are expected by the end of February.

We appreciate the continued focus of City and County personnel on this project, including -- Rick Saltrick, Josiel Ferrer-Diaz, Jose Gonzalez, Fred Beckman, and Duncan Ballantyne  from the City of Miami Beach  and Ayman Elbermawy, Pedro Cueto, Joan Shen and Esther Calas from Miami-Dade County.  Thank you so much for your attention to this issue as we strive to make Flamingo the most pedestrian-friendly neighborhood in Florida!

From: Saltrick, Richard

Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 4:15 PM
To: Denis Russ
Subject: Installation of Stop Control at Meridian Avenue Intersections

Denis,
Hope all is well with you. Thought you might like some good news. The warrant studies on Meridian Avenue at 7th and 9th have determined that multi-way stops are needed. The County will be installing the stop signs in a month or so. We will also address the ramps and crosswalks.  The analyses of the remaining intersections should be completed by the end of February.


Richard SaltrickI
MIAMI BEACH PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

From: Ferrer, Josiel
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 11:42 AM
To: Saltrick, Richard
Subject: Installation of Stop Control at Meridian Avenue Intersections

FYI

Josiel Ferrer-Diaz, Civil Engineer Engineering/Transportation Division
MIAMI BEACH PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT,




From: Calas, Esther (PWWM) 
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 11:36 AM
To: Gonzalez, Jose
Cc: Denis@miamibeachcdc.org;
Subject: Installation of Stop Control at Meridian Avenue Intersections

Good Morning Jose,

In response to the subject request, Miami-Dade County Public Works Department (PWWM) staff conducted a traffic study to evaluate the existing traffic conditions and physical characteristics of these locations. As a result, it was determined that both locations warrant “Multi-Way” stop controls. Therefore, these controls will be installed by our Traffic Signals and Signs Division within the next four (4) weeks.

Furthermore, PWWM staff is currently studying the remaining seven (7) locations within the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association for “Multi-Way” stop controls, with results expected by the end of February 2012. These locations include:


Pennsylvania Avenue and 10 Street; Euclid Avenue and 9 Street; Jefferson Avenue and 9 Street; Michigan Avenue and 9 Street; Lenox Avenue and 9 Street; Michigan Avenue and 6 Street; Michigan Avenue and 8 Street


Furthermore, if the City wishes to collect traffic counts at these seven locations, we will review and analyze the data and provide a written response. Should you have any questions or require additional information, please feel free to contact Dr. Joan Shen, P.E., PTOE, Assistant Chief, Traffic Engineering Division, at (305) 375-2030.

Thank you,
Esther L. Calas, P.E., Chief County Engineer
Public Works and Waste Management Department

Report on Pedestrian Initiative; Taking the Next Step

Report from Ben Batchelder and Tammy Tibbles
on Next Steps for Pedestrian Initiative

As the next step in our neighborhood's Pedestrian Initiative to make Flamingo the most pedestrian friendly neighborhood in Florida, a document has been drafted to present the initiative to the City Commission.

The draft document Flamingo: Becoming Florida's Most Pedestrian Friendly Neighborhood will be discussed at our Monday meeting.  We recommend you take a few moments to review the document and provide comments in advance of the meeting.  This will facilitate our action on this item Monday.

The goal is to aprove this document Monday and send it on to the Commission via the Neighborhoods Committee and later a Resolution vote by the full Commission.

Flamingo will Host Webinar Internet Seminar on Bike Boulevards + Greenways

Bicycle Boulevards and Neighborhood Greenways

Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 3:00 to 4:00 pm

Miami Beach CDC, at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

5 Participants may join us for this Internet Webinar, sponsored by

apbp -- Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals

Learn about the evolving best practices in the creation of bicycle boulevards. This webinar will be drawn from lessons learned in Portland, Ore., as well as across the nation. Presenters Mia Birk, CEO, Alta Planning + Design, and Greg Raisman, Traffic Safety Specialist, Portland Bureau of Transportation, will describe the current state of the practice and the next big thing—neighborhood greenways, which incorporate the idea of bicycle boulevards with green streets, neighborhood enhancements, and community building; this larger vision can appeal to more people and help with funding.

Advance Registration is required.  Please contact Denis Russ at 305-672-4782, Denis@MiamiBeachCDC.org.

The webinar will focus on helping to fully optimize existing bicycle boulevards, through

• route selection
• levels of intervention
• examples of challenges and solutions for a range of design issues
• neighborhood greenway strategies, and
• processes for getting project buy-in and approval.

Presenters:

Mia Birk is CEO and Principal at Alta Planning + Design, with 20 years experience in sustainable transportation focused on pedestrian, bicycle, trail and greenway planning, design and implementation. She is also Adjunct Professor at Portland State University, where she co-founded the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI) in the College of Urban Studies. She is the co-author of the PSU IBPI Bicycle Boulevard Planning and Design Guidebook. Mia was the City of Portland Bicycle Program Manager from 1993-99, where she led a period of rapid growth of Portland's bikeway network. She has led numerous groundbreaking studies in the field of non-motorized transportation and is a co-founder of the Cities for Cycling project of the National Association for City Transportation Officials.

  

Greg Raisman is a Traffic Safety Specialist with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. He works in the Traffic Operations Division on the Community and School Traffic Safety Partnership team. Greg specializes in bicycle safety, school and residential traffic safety, drunk driving, red light cameras and crash data mapping and analysis. Greg's current projects include developing a citywide network of neighborhood greenways, utilizing "green streets" for traffic calming, and building programs to increase behavior change from multi-modal police enforcement.

Evaluation of Residents Guide -- Ch 1, Problem Identification; Ch 2 Who Can Help

Over the last six months the Flamingo Neighborhood Association has participated in a testing of the Resident’s Guide for Safe and Walkable Communities, under the auspices of the Pedestrian Bicycle Information Center PBIC within the University of North Carolina.


PBIC has requested that we respond to a survey to evaluate the first two chapters of the Resident’s Guide. A copy of the survey instrument can be accessed at the following link:  

http://flamingomb.org/1Q2010/Survey_ResGuide.pdf

Please provide any of your own personal responses which you want to be incorporated into our response to the survey. We will submit the Flamingo response by the deadline target date, February 10th. So please submit any information you wish be included as soon as possible – and no later than February 9th.

If you wish to discuss the Readers’ Guide or the survey response, give me a call at your early convenience or you may join me on this Saturday morning at 9:30 am for a quick discussion about the project. If you let me know that you’re coming, I’ll do something about providing the coffee.

You may want to refer to the relevant information in the Resident's Guide.  You can access Chapters One and Two through the following links:

http://flamingomb.org/ResidentGuideCh1ProblemIdentification.pdf 

http://flamingomb.org/ResidentGuideCh2WhoCanHelp.pdf

Walkabout Pedestrian Safety Survey -- Information Please -- Deadline Jan 31st

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association is one of 15 communities from around the country seeking to create Livable Communities -- Safer and More Walkable.

In the month of January we are seeking to collect infomration about the issues and concerns that hamper walking in the neighborhood.

Please join us in this effort by participating in the Walkabout Pedestrian Safety Survey. Just download the following form, take a walk in our neighborhood, jot down your response to the questions and submit the completed form by Jan 31st. You will be able to download the Survey in either word or pdf format from the following source:

http://flamingomb.org/WalkaboutPedestrianSafetySurvey.doc

http://flamingomb.org/WalkaboutPedestrianSafetySurvey.pdf

Everyone benefits from walking. These benefits include: improved fitness, cleaner air, reduced risks of certain health problems, and a greater sense of community. But walking needs to be safe and easy. As we find problems --take heart; together we can find ways to make things better.

Getting started: Just pick a place to walk, like the route to school, over to the park, heading for one of the adjacent commercial steets. Then complete as much of the survey form as you can, identify problems, include any notes, and the concluding section on suggestions for improvement.

Then be sure to send us the survey -- by mail, e-mail, fax or just drop off at the office. And then take a moment to connect with us by going to our website at www.flamingomb.org and then signing up to receive posts to our blog and calendar notices.

We welcome the attendance and participation of all residents of the Flamingo Park Neighborhood at our monthly meetings.

Flamingo Walkabout -- Monday, November 23rd, 5:30pm -- Pedestrian Safety Program

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association invites residents of the neighborhood to participate in a Walkabout the Neighborhood on this Monday, November 23, 2009, 5:00 pm, at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The purpose of the Walkabout the Neighborhood is to gather information on How Walkable is our Community and it will cover the following questions –

Did you have room to walk?
Was it easy to cross streets?
Did drivers behave well?
Was it easy to follow safety rules – for children as well as adults?
Was your walk pleasant?

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association is participating in a special program including 15 communities across the country to Create Livable Communities – Safer and More Walkable. The program is sponsored by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Center at the University of North Carolina and funded by the U. S. Department of Transportation.

Upon identifying problems and issues and safety concerns information will be provided about what corrective action residents can immediately do to improve the walkability of the neighborhood. In addition we will identify what the community can collectively do over time to improve conditions.

Action Step 1 – Determine the Scale of the Issue;
Action Step 2 – Building Awareness and Community Support;
Action Step 3 – Identifying the Agency Responsible for Making Improvements;
Action Step 4 – Contact Agency Representatives and Present the Case;
Action Step 5 – Build Support for Long-Term Change

How to Identify Problems with Walking Conditions in the Neighborhood

To be able to walk safely in the neighborhood, pedestrians need:

• A safe space to walk
• The ability of see or detect traffic
• Access to sidewalks and crossings
• Enough time to cross streets
• Signs and markings designating the pedestrian route
• Continuous facilities

Chapter One of the Resident's Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities covers these three Section Topics:

1. Types of Pedestrian Problems
2. Ways to Assess Pedestrian Problems
3. Linking Problems to Solutions

The discussion of Problem Identification will culminate with developing plans to Identify Pedestrian Safety Concerns in the Flamingo Neighborhood Using a Walkability Audit.

The materials serving as a resource can be accessed at the following:
http://flamingomb.org/ReadersGuideCh1ProblemIdentification.pdf.

Flamingo Pedestrian Safety Project -- Mon, Sep 14, 5:00 pm

Creating Livable Communities: Safer and More Walkable

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will Kick-off its Pedestrian Safety Project at a meeting on Monday, September 14th, 5:00 pm, at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue.  The University of North Carolina Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is working with 15 communities across the country to help make neighborhoods more walkable and safer for pedestrians.

Participating communities will test the newly developed guidebook entitled A Resident’s Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities. At the meeting we will overview an introductory section of The Resident’s Guide, which is available online at:  http://flamingomb.org/ResidentGuideOne.pdf.

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will use the Resident’s Guide as a resource to develop greater awareness, to provide public education and to stimulate effective advocacy in support of pedestrian safety projects and programs, including advocacy for pedestrian amenities in the CMB Flamingo Street Improvement ROW program.

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood participates in this program in order to increase community awareness, public education and effective advocacy to build and sustain a more walkable community, safer for pedestrians.  Related Capital Improvement Projects offer the opportunity to advance an agenda supporting a more walkable community, safer for pedestrians. The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association is providing community support for a program of neighborhood improvements. These include streetscape improvements aimed at providing greater pedestrian amenities. Community recommendations evolved from a series of community charrettes and workshops. These have now been formulated into a proposed Streetscape Improvement Program authorized by the City Commission with plans being finalized by the City’s Capital Improvement Projects Department.


Highlights of the Capital Improvement Program advocated by the community include:
• Improve the way Flamingo Park relates to the community; Improve the neighborhood connection to Biscayne Bay; Create a strong pedestrian link from Lincoln Road to Espanola Way to Ocean Drive;
• Improve the tree canopy throughout the neighborhood with native shade trees to protect pedestrians from sun, rain, and off-course autos; Provide pedestrian scale street lighting throughout the neighborhood;
• Slow down vehicular traffic on neighborhood streets, narrowing traffic lanes, and introducing other traffic calming measures (medians, roundabouts, bulbouts, street trees, wider sidewalks, and special treatments and crosswalks;
• Introduce street corner bump-outs to facilitate a shorter pedestrian crossing of traffic lanes;
• Create a pedestrian Safe-way from Fisher-Fienberg School to Flamingo Park;
• Introduce neighborhood entrances and pathfinder signage;
• Repair and replace street pavement, sidewalks, curb & gutter and cross walks.

Flamingo Selected for Pedestrian Safety Program

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association is pleased to announce participation in a special program to Create Livable Communities – Safer and More Walkable. The Flamingo Park Neighborhood participates in this program in order to increase community awareness, public education and effective advocacy to build and sustain a more walkable community, safer for pedestrians.

Fifteen communities from across the U.S. have been selected to receive technical assistance and modest grant funding of $2,000 from the Pedestrian / Bicycle Information Center within the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina. Participating communities will test the newly developed guidebook entitled A Resident’s Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities. The Resident’s Guide -- designed to improve safety and walkability of neighborhoods -- is available online at: http://flamingomb.org/residentsguide.pdf.

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will use the Resident’s Guide to develop greater awareness, to provide public education and to stimulate effective advocacy in support of pedestrian safety projects and programs, including advocacy for pedestrian amenities in the City of Miami Beach Flamingo Streetscape program.

All residents of the neighborhood are invited to attend and participate in regularly scheduled meetings on the second Monday of each month, 5:00pm for Pedestrian Safety Demonstration Program and at 6:00 pm for other Community Livability matters. Meetings are held at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue, Miami Beach.

Supporting Partner Organizations working on the project, include:Miami Beach Community Development Corporation;Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization / Bicycle / PedestrianCity of Miami Beach Department of Public Works / Transportation DivisionMiami Beach Police Department.

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association is providing community support for streetscape improvements aimed at providing greater pedestrian amenities. Community recommendations evolved from a series of community charrettes and workshops. These have now been formulated into a proposed Streetscape Improvement Program authorized by the City Commission with plans being finalized by the City’s Capital Improvement Projects Department.