Sunny Isles Beach officials press Miami-Dade on 20 vs. 25 mph policy after county study

City of Sunny Isles Beach commissioners pressed Miami-Dade County traffic engineers on Wednesday over a county-led effort to standardize residential speed limits at 25 miles per hour, arguing the city—s current 20 mph signage reflects local safety needs.

Commissioner Jerry Joseph said Sunny Isles Beach has posted 20 mph on interior streets since the city—s incorporation and asked why the county was now questioning those signs. Miguel Soria, assistant director of traffic engineering for Miami-Dade County, and Jamilesa Nesplena, chief of the county—s traffic engineering division, told the commission the county—s current approach follows the FDOT Speed Zoning Manual and Federal Highway Administration practice and therefore recommends 25 mph in municipal interlocal agreements.

The exchange focused on three points: the county—s aim for consistency across municipalities, the engineering method the county uses (which relies on 85th-percentile speed readings), and a separate "expert system" approach used in earlier local studies that recommended 20 mph for many Sunny Isles corridors. Nesplena said the county—s records do not show approved 20-mph regulatory postings for Sunny Isles Beach and that the county—s interlocal template allows a 25-mph limit plus authority for local traffic calming measures.

"There is no increase in the speed limit at this point because the 20 mile per hours that are posted right now in the city are not approved by the county," Soria said. He added the county—s engineering practice uses 85th-percentile data and FDOT criteria to set posted speeds.

Commissioners and residents pushed back, highlighting local conditions: narrow interior streets, high pedestrian activity, scooters and bicyclists, limited sidewalks and a dense population. Vice Mayor Lamo and others urged Miami-Dade to view Sunny Isles as unusually dense and pedestrian-heavy; Lamo asked the county to conduct drive-alongs and a stand-alone public workshop so residents and commissioners could review methodology and locations used for speed sampling.

Commissioner Joseph emphasized the speed-study differences: one city-commissioned report using an expert system recommended 20 mph on 10 corridor segments and 25 mph on one segment; county-engineering results based on 85th-percentile speed data recommended 25 mph citywide. Commissioners noted that the expert system incorporated pedestrian activity and other local context that the county—s chosen method does not.

Several commissioners and the county agreed on two operational next steps: the county offered to return for a dedicated workshop to explain the methodology and traffic-calming options, and county staff said they would provide the engineering study records they used. A county engineer also described how municipalities with interlocal agreements combine posted 25-mph limits with local traffic-calming installations (speed tables, roundabouts) under the agreement.

The city manager and commissioners requested written answers to additional questions and asked staff to set up a public workshop where residents could hear the county methodology and submit questions in advance.

The discussion closed with county staff agreeing to meet again and with the commission asking staff to prepare a longer public session; no formal change to posted speeds was adopted at the meeting.